Total ban on bee-harming pesticides likely after major new EU analysis | Environment | The Guardian

Total ban on bee-harming pesticides likely after major new EU analysis |
Environment | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/feb/28/total-ban-on-bee-harming-pesticides-likely-after-major-new-eu-analysis

Analysis from EU’s scientific risk assessors finds neonicotinoids pose a
serious danger to all bees, making total field ban highly likely

The world’s most widely used insecticides pose a serious danger to both
honeybees and wild bees, according to a major new assessment from the
European Union’s scientific risk assessors.

The conclusion, based on analysis of more than 1,500 studies, makes it
highly likely that the neonicotinoid pesticides will be banned from all
fields across the EU when nations vote on the issue next month.

The report from the European Food Safety Authority
<https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/press/news/180228> (Efsa), published on
Wednesday, found that the risk to bees varied depending on the crop and
exposure route, but that “for all the outdoor uses, there was at least one
aspect of the assessment indicating a high risk.” Neonicotinoids, which are
nerve agents, have been shown to cause a wide range of harm to bees, such
as damaging memory and reducing queen numbers.


Pesticides harm bees — EU food safety watchdog confirms 2013 findings

The EU banned three types of pesticides after a 2013 EU study found
evidence they were dangerous to wild bee populations. The latest study has
confirmed that finding and sets the stage for the ban to continue.

http://www.dw.com/en/pesticides-harm-bees-eu-food-safety-watchdog-confirms-2013-findings/a-42767719

Nicotine-like pesticides used in farming harm bee populations, the European
Union's food safety watchdog said on Wednesday.

"Most uses of neonicotinoid pesticides represent a risk to wild bees and
honeybees," the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) said.

Critics have blamed the pesticides for causing a dramatic drop in the
global bee population
<http://www.dw.com/en/the-debate-rages-on-are-neonicotinoid-pesticides-killing-bees/a-39477819>.
Bees play a crucial role in pollinating crops, which has led to fears that
the bee decline could threaten food supplies.

The EFSA report examined three neonicotinoids manufactured by German and
Swiss chemical giants Bayer and Syngenta: clothianidin, imidacloprid and
thiamethoxam.
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