The water of nature and recreation areas is still too much polluted with toxic pesticides. Some of these products even exceed the set standard by up to a hundred times. That’s in one research report published Friday carried out by the Leiden Center for Environmental Sciences (CML), on behalf of the action group Natuur & Milieu. In ten years time, it has not been possible to bring the water quality in line with the cabinet’s clearly defined goals.
The researchers focused specifically on agricultural poisons that the European Union wants to get rid of as soon as a less harmful alternative is available. Such toxins have been found in 80 percent of the tested waters. The standards were exceeded in 40 percent of the areas surveyed. The researchers found the controversial pesticide glyphosate, which is possibly carcinogenic, in more than half of the waters.
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The findings clash with policies to reduce the use and environmental impact of pesticides. One of the government’s goals was to reduce the exceedance of environmental standards for surface water by 90 percent by 2023.
Exceeding environmental standards can lead to disease or death in animals and plants. Berthe Brouwer of Nature & Environment calls the results worrying. “The Netherlands is a major consumer of agricultural poisons and you can see the sad consequences of this in the water. Normally a water cleans itself, but that is no longer possible if the system is so affected.”
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