Belgium exports banned pesticide chlorpyrifos that can cause neurological problems | Interior

The crop protector chlorpyrifos is used to protect fruit, vegetables and cabbages against soil insects. The European Commission had decided in 2020 to ban the product from the market after the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) reported an association with “adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes” in children.

However, exports were not restricted and they continued to export from Belgium, write Knack and Le Soir on the basis of data requested from the Belgian government by the Swiss NGO Public Eye and Unearthed, Greenpeace UK’s environmental journalism project. the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA).

It shows that last year export plans were declared in only two Member States: Belgium (349 tonnes) and Denmark (30 tonnes). The Belgian export is in the name of Arysta LifeScience Benelux, a subsidiary of the Indian multinational UPL. In addition, the Walloon company announces in the documents that it will export another 313 tons of chlorpyrifos products in 2023.

The company did not answer the question whether the export actually took place. “UPL complies with all Belgian, European and international laws and regulations,” says Arysta spokeswoman Caroline Marlair. She confirms that the chlorpyrifos was produced at the UPL site in Ougrée, a village in the province of Liège.

“Belgium appears to be the largest exporter of a dangerous pesticide that has been banned in Europe for three years, and then mainly to low-wage countries where the population is often extra vulnerable to the health impact of such toxic products,” spokesperson Joeri Thijs of Greenpeace Belgium responded. “According to the letter of the law, this shouldn’t be a problem (yet), it’s just immoral.”

The agent can also be re-imported via food. For example, last year the Belgian Food Safety Agency (FASFC) issued a warning to other EU member states in 15 cases because the maximum residue limit for chlorpyrifos in food had been exceeded. These included wild strawberries from Serbia and cocoa beans from Ecuador, two countries that buy chlorpyrifos from Belgium.

Ministers of the Environment Zakia Khattabi (Ecolo) and her colleague of Public Health Frank Vandenbroucke (Vooruit) are working on a draft royal decree that prohibits the export of harmful pesticides. The spokeswoman for Khattabi confirms to Knack and Le Soir that chlorpyrifos will be added to the list of pesticides in the Royal Decree.