A popular farm fungicide, now banned in Europe as a suspected carcinogen, remains in widespread use in Canada today.

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 The European Union halted sales of all crop fungicides containing the active ingredient, chlorothalonil this spring. The move followed advice from its Food Safety Agency (EFSA) that chlorothalonil "may cause cancer in humans." Canada, on the other hand, re-approved the same product just over a year ago. Hard numbers on amounts still being applied in this country are hard to come by. But official government documents show it continues to be approved for use in no less than 29 crop protection products. 

 by Larry Powell
A ground sprayer in Manitoba. Stats Canada says farmers in that 
province apply fungicides "more frequently" than their counterparts 
in any other province, "possibly due to its large potato sector."
A PinP photo.
Chlorothalonil is the active ingredient in several agricultural fungicides used to treat mildew, blight and mold in many food crops.    
                                              
It's been used worldwide, since bing approved in the US in the '60s. Almost 5 1/2 thousand tonnes were applied to American crops in 2017, making it the third most-used fungicide there, only after copper and sulphur. 

And, according to The Guardian, it's the most widely-used pesticide in all of the UK.
Chlorothalonil use in the
US in 2011.
A research project at the University of British Columbia, CAREX reports that 581 tonnes of chlorothalonil were sold in BC alone in 2010 - 1,121 tonnes in Ontario in 2008. No more recent figures are given and no other provinces are mentioned.

 But tables which remains posted on a Government of Canada website (see bottom), shows chlorothalonil remains approved for use in no less than 29 different agricultural products.

And CAREX has reached the same conclusion as the EU. Its website declares, "Chlorothalonil is associated with cancer of 
the kidney and stomach." 

While Statistics Canada does not give a breakdown of active ingredients, the federal agency says almost one in four (23%) of all crop farms in this country applied fungicides of one kind or another in 2011. And it adds, farmers in Manitoba used them "more frequently than those in any other province," possibly due to that province's high level of potato production.

Here's what the European study finds: 

·      Chlorothalonil binds to red blood cells, delaying its removal from the body, 
·      is very toxic if inhaled and can cause serious damage to the eyes and skin, 
·      mainly attacks the kidneys and forstomach, producing both benign and malignant tumours, 
·      slows sexual maturity in treated lab animals and causes them to give birth to underweight young,
·     produces acute risks to amphibians and long-lasting damage to fish,                 
. could pose a hazard to groundwater, especially when it exceeds allowable standards.
    

But there was too little information to determine whether it harms wild mammals, aquatic species other than fish, or bees. (Earlier research, however, has linked it to diminishing numbers of bumblebees, as well.)The study was peer-reviewed by experts in the field.

Canada' approach - a study in contrasts

In May of last year, Canada's Pesticide Management Regulatory
Agency, PMRA - a division of Health Canada, released results 
of its "re-evaluation" of chlorothalonil. The agency did impose some restrictions, including its use on cut flowers grown in greenhouses. (Even that restriction, however, does not need to be met until next spring.)

But the PMRA's main finding was: "Most uses...meet current 
standards for protection of human health or the environment. It’s continued registration is acceptable." 
                              

                  

  
                                

           













July 16th, 2019. Still waiting for the PMRA to respond to my e-mail,
below!!
==============
Media Qs






  • Larry Powell

    To:
    pmra.infoserv@hc-sc.gc.ca
    Mar. 31 at 9:16 p.m.

    Dear PMRA,

    I'm a journalist in Manitoba. I am attaching the draft
    of an article I am writing for my blog and perhaps
    some weekly newspapers here in Manitoba.

    My questions are;





  • Will you be reviewing the status of the fungicide chlorothalonil, now that the European Union is banning it?
    • How do you explain the differences between the findings of the EFSA and your own re-evaluation?
    • Would you kindly review my attached script and correct any factual errors you may encounter?
    • Please feel free to include any additional comments you feel may be relevant, which I can include in my final draft. 
    Many thanks for your attention.

    Sincerely.
    Have a green day!
    Please visit Planet in Peril -  "where science gets respect."
    Skype - larry.powell9
    Videos.                  

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