Poisonous Spray [Roundup]
on a
Course Towards Drinking Water
by ANDERS LEGARTH SCHMIDT
Politiken 10may03
Denmark's most popular herbicide Roundup is polluting the underground
water far more than previously thought. Agriculture uses yearly 800 tons
of active glyphosate in herbicide. The Environment Minister is looking
at taking steps to address this.
The Danish drinking water resources are under attack from an
unexpected quarter. The chemical glyphosate that is in the popular
herbicides Roundup and Touchdown is against all expectations sieving
down through the soil and polluting the ground water at a rate of five
times more than the allowed level for drinking water.
This has been shown from tests done by the Denmark and Greenland
Geological Research Institution (DGGRI) in an as yet unpublished
article.
Believed Bacteria broke down glyphosate
"When we spray glyphosate on the fields by the rules it has been
shown that it is washed down into the upper ground water with a
concentration of 0.54 micrograms per litre. This is very surprising,
because we had previously believed that bacteria in the soil broke down
the glyphosate before it reached the ground water."
It is the Environment Ministry that has given permission to use
glyphosate - based on the producers [Monsanto's] own research.
Used against Twitch and Thistles
Farmers spray glyphosate on their fields after the harvest to keep
the soil free of twitch and thistles. It had been earlier found in wells
in Roskilde and Storstroms regions as well as the Copenhagen district
council area. Critics say glyphosate causes cancer, while its defenders
call it a wonder herbicide.
Professor Mogens Henze the head of the Institute for Environment and
Resources at Denmark's Technical University, says that the consequence
of the new knowledge is that water works in five to ten years will need
to clean the water before Danes can drink it.
"The results show that glyphosate is polluting our drinking
water. And unfortunately we have only seen the tip of the iceberg,
because glyphosate and many other spray chemicals are on their way
through the soil at this point in time. Politicians need to look at
agriculture in relation to clean drinking water and decide what it is
they are going to do." says Mogens Henze, who isn't blaming the
farmers who use something that the authorities have allowed.
Use Doubled
Statistics from the Environment Ministry show that the use of
glyphosate has doubled in the last five years. In 2001 800 tons was used
and that made up a quarter of farmers total use of pesticides. This
shows that glyphosate is the most used herbicide by farmers.
As a result of the new research from DGGRI the Environment Minister
Hans Christian Schmidt is currently thinking about doing something about
the use of glyphosate on Danish fields.
"It is simply not acceptable that this stuff is turning up in
our groundwater in such a concentration so high over the acceptable
level. If this is the case then we must react quickly" says the
Environment Minister, who is awaiting a report from the Environment
Ministry. |
Sprøjtegift har kurs
mod drikkevand
Af ANDERS LEGARTH SCHMIDT
Politiken 10. maj 2003
Danmarks mest populære sprøjtemiddel Roundup forurener grundvandet
langt mere end hidtil antaget. Landbruget bruger årligt 800 ton af
aktivstoffet i sprøjtegiften. Miljøministeren overvejer at gribe ind.
De danske drikkevandsressourcer er under angreb fra uventet kant.
Kemikaliet glyfosat, der indgår i populære sprøjtegifte som Roundup
og Touchdown, siver stik mod forventning gennem jorden og forurener
grundvandet med en koncentration på fem gange over grænseværdien for
drikkevand.
Det viser forsøg, som Danmark og Grønlands Geologiske Undersøgelse
(GEUS) beskriver i en endnu ikke offentliggjort artikel.
Troede bakterierne gjorde kål på stoffet
»Når vi sprøjter glyfosat på markerne efter reglerne, så viser
det sig, at stoffet bliver udvasket til det øvre grundvand med i
gennemsnit 0,54 mikrogram per liter. Det er meget overraskende, for vi
har hidtil troet, at bakterierne i jorden gjorde kål på glyfosat,
inden det nåede vandlaget«, siger projektleder Jeanne Kjær fra GEUS.
Det er Miljøstyrelsen, der har givet tilladelsen til at bruge
glyfosat - ud fra producentens egne undersøgelser. Styrelsen er nu ved
at revurdere stoffet, men kontorchef Søren Bukh Svenningsen vil ikke
kommentere sagen.
Bruges mod kvikgræs og tidsler
Landmænd sprøjter glyfosat på markerne efter høsten for holde
jorden fri for kvikgræs og tidsler. Stoffet er tidligere fundet i
vandboringer i Roskilde og Storstrøms Amt samt Københavns Kommune.
Kritikere kalder glyfosat kræftfremkaldende, mens forsvarere betegner
det som et vidundermiddel.
Professor Mogens Henze, leder af institut for Miljø & Ressourcer
på Danmarks Tekniske Universitet, mener, at konsekvensen af den nye
viden er, at vandværkerne om fem-ti år bliver nødt til at rense
vandet, før danskerne kan drikke det.
»Resultaterne viser, at glyfosat forurener vores drikkevand. Og
desværre har vi endnu kun set toppen af isbjerget, for glyfosat og
flere andre stoffer er på vej ned gennem jorden i dette øjeblik.
Politikerne må opveje hensyn til landbruget mod hensyn til rent
drikkevand og beslutte sig for, hvad vej de vil gå«, siger Mogens
Henze, der ikke klandrer landmændene for at bruge et stof,
myndighederne tillader.
Indkøbet er fordoblet
Tal fra Miljøstyrelsen viser, at indkøbet af glyfosat er næsten
fordoblet de seneste fem år. I 2001 var omsætningen 800 ton og
udgjorde en fjerdedel af landmændenes samlede forbrug. Dermed er
sprøjtegiften langt den foretrukne blandt landmænd.
På baggrund af resultaterne fra GEUS overvejer miljøminister Hans
Christian Schmidt (V) at gribe ind over for brug af glyfosat på danske
marker.
»Det er overhovedet ikke acceptabelt, at stoffet dukker op i
grundvandet i en koncentration så højt over grænseværdien. Så hvis
det er tilfældet, må vi reagere hurtigt«, siger miljøministeren, der
afventer rapporten fra Miljøstyrelsen. |