Atmo Occitanie carried out a study which does not specify the impact on health.
Pendimethalin, metolachlor, prosulfocarb, cymoxanil… Behind these terms, which seem to come out of a pharmacy, hide pesticides. Traces of which are found everywhere in the air of the region. Most of the time in fairly small quantities.
This is what emerges from a study by Atmo Occitanie carried out on eight sectors of the region in 2018 and 2019 to assess the impact of activities (viticulture, arboriculture, field crops, etc.) on air quality.
Plant protection products are found in the air everywhere, Dominique Tilak immediately concedes, the CEO of Atmo. Is it dangerous and is there an impact on health? This is not our point. There is no regulatory value to be able to answer this question.
Localization of pesticides in the air in Occitania.
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In Aude, a “very important” presence of folpel
110 different chemical molecules herbicides, fungicides and insecticides have been sought, 61 were actually found, in proportions close to the national average values. Sometimes even below as in the agglomerations of Montpellier and Toulouse. Sometimes very above as in the Aude and the presence “very important of folpel”, a fungicide used to control late blight in vines. Most certainly because it is the most wine-growing department, still very greedy in phytosanitary products. But there is a very special concern.
In the summer of 2018, studies showed a very large presence of folpel, a well-known potent fungicide in large quantities. The year 2018 was marked, in particular in Aude and Hérault, through very strong downy mildew pressure which developed in connection with the exceptional weather conditions from the end of April to mid-June with numerous precipitations and periods of humid heat. Special climatic conditions who have trainedé an epidemic phase with mildew very intense. This could have accentuated the treatments on the vines to prevent their proliferation. Folpel is used in the fight against mildew.
Lindane banned in 1998 still in the air
Another concern for the institution: the presence of Lindane, an insecticide used to eliminate lice banned in 1998 and present in small quantities. “This is’a persistence of past uses“, assures Régine Lange, first vice-president of Atmo Occitanie. This is to say if the phytosanitary products remain long in the ground but also in the air.
Over the maps distributed to explain this painstaking work, we note notable differences on the eight sites examined. However, pesticides are volatile and a rural area that uses these products can also affect an urban area as evidenced by Atmo’s findings.
31 molecules potentially endocrine disruptors
The case is heard: of the 110 molecules sought, 61 contain pesticides found in the air of the South. But 31 of them are suspected of having an endocrine disrupting effect (PE). Molecules likely to interfere with the hormonal system of individuals and playing a role in the development of certain pathologies. On all the environments and types of culture studied in Occitania. “Rural areas near tree crops are the environments for which we find the greatest number of suspected “PE” molecules, with 29 different substances detected during the 2018-2019 regional monitoring ”, assures Dominique Tilak.
More superbains, although located at a distance from agricultural plots, show a greater number of suspected “PE” molecules than certain rural and agricultural areas. Hence the need “for assimilation and banking of measures in this type of territory, more densely populated than the rural countryside”, notes Régine Lange. Because everything remains a matter of quantity and thresholds. There is nothing to say that these substances found in the air have a harmful effect. But nothing says the opposite either. With these data, the ball is now in the court of the health authorities.
Atmo, decentralized operation
Eight sites studied Atmo Occitanie prefers keep secret the exact places where its sensors are located in order toavoid the stigmatization of small towns who welcomes them. Eight study sites, including two urban: Montpellier and Toulouse. Three sites near wine-growing areas in the Gard (near Nîmes), in the Aude (near Carcassonne) and in the Lot (near Cahors). Two sites for arboreal areas in the Eastern Pyrenees (near Perpignan) and in the Tarn-et-Garonne (near Montauban). A final area for arable crops is located in the Lauragais.
The national Atmo network is reputed to be in alert measure in the event of an ozone pollution peak, especially during the summer heat. For the presence of pesticides, however, it is not possible to do real-time studies as Régine Lange explains: “Our method is analytical over a given period. Samples must be taken on a filter and sent to the laboratory. The results take almost seven weeks to be known. »
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