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3.1.2        Pesticides, metals, and veterinary medicines

The environmental impacts of pesticides and metals are large, and in addition they cause problems for human health through contamination of drinking water and food.  Unfortunately, specific environmental impacts are not always well understood.

Soil, with the help of various organisms, filter and buffer contaminants in the environment. Substances that are not readily degradable will eventually leach into surface and groundwaters or be dispersed by wind erosion(Sandin, 2017; Silva et al., 2018).

Pesticides

Active substances used in both plant protection products and biocides are approved at EU level. EU countries authorize those active substances on their territory and ensure compliance with EU rules. Agriculture is the primary user of pesticides, but they are also used in forestry, horticulture, and in gardens (chapter 2).

Pesticides can harm the environment by contaminating soil, surface and groundwater. Aquatic organisms are directly exposed to pesticides resulting via surface run-off or indirectly through trophic chains (Maksymiv, 2015). The number of approved active pesticide substances in Europe is around 500 among them around 25% are considered of low risk (EC, n.d.).

Although pesticides pollution is recognized as a main problem in European countries and many studies have documented the presence of excessive pesticides in the environment, data of European coverage are scarce. . According to data reported for the 2nd RBMP under the WFD the number of water bodies exceeding the environmental quality standard (EQS) for pesticides was relatively low; about 160 different synthetic and naturally occurring substances cause poor chemical status in EU Member States. One third of these substances are pesticides. Only a small portion, .806 out of 111 115 surface water bodies fail good status caused by pesticide substances. For groundwater, 370 out of 13 411 water bodies water bodies exceed the EQS for total pesticides, equivalent to 3% (EEA, 2018d).

Pesticide substance concentrations reported to the WISE Waterbase, suggest that exceedance rates could be higher than captured by the 2nd river basin management plans. In surface waters, exceedance rates caused by herbicides and insecticides are found for 5 – 15% and 3-8% of observations respectively. For groundwater, exceedances occur mainly for herbicides in 7 % of observations and less than 1 % of observations for insecticides. Fungicides seem to be of lower importance (ETC/ICM, fothcoming).

The heterogeneous reporting of pesticides in Europe are heterogeneous on both temporal and spatial scale means that a quantitative assessment of the risk to the environment must be modelled. To quantify the effects of pesticides on the freshwater ecosystems, the chronic multi-substance Potentially Affected Fraction (msPAF) of aquatic species can be used as a proxy for pesticides pressure intensity (Figure 5). The msPAF specifies the potential share of the biological community affected by pesticide toxicity (van Gils et al., 2019) It has been derived from modelling the cumulative impact of individual substances, aggregated according to their specific modes of action. The highest share of potentially affected fraction of aquatic species is found in western part of France, Belgium, the Netherlands, the north-western parts of Germany, western UK, Spain and Italy, Romania and Bulgaria, Malta and Cyprus. Low values of msPAF, are found in the northern parts of Europe and in alpine regions where agriculture is less intense.

Metals

Metals accumulate in and contaminates arable soils. Cadmium, copper, and zinc are among the more common metals. They are linked to different sources of fertilizer.

Cadmium — mainly originating from mineral phosphorus fertilisers — accumulates in 45 % of agricultural soils, mainly in southern Europe where leaching rates are low due to a low precipitation surplus (EEA, 2019g). Cadmium is grouped as a priority hazardous substance in the EQSD, i.e. among the most toxic environmental chemicals. Cadmium is however rarely transferred to water, and is of less concern in water. 

Animal manure is the largest source of copper and zinc. The metals are added to animal feed and is introduced into the environment through manure spreading. Because of its bactericidal and fungicidal properties, copper has been widely used as a fungicide spray, especially in vineyards and orchards. Results from the Land Use and Coverage Area Frame Survey (LUCAS) soil sampling 2009-2012 show elevated copper levels in the soils in the olive and wine-producing regions of the Mediterranean (EEA, 2019g).  Copper-containing materials are also applied as anti-fouling agents for farm cages and nets (Burridge et al., 2010)

Veterinary medicines

Veterinary medicines reach agricultural soils, surface waters and groundwater directly by grazing animals or aquaculture or indirectly by the use of manure application. The most used veterinary drugs are antimicrobials, antibiotics in particular(Box 3.2). Modern food animal production depends on the use of large amounts of antimicrobials for disease control, and this provides favourable conditions for selection, spread and persistence of antimicrobial‐resistant bacteria and their impacts for biodiversity and human health in the environment (Aarestrup, 2005). Management of these substances is an emerging subject. 

Box 3.2 Small stream monitoring on veterinary drugs and pesticides in Europe

Based on a scientific study, pesticides and veterinary drugs were monitored in 29 small streams and 10 countries of the European Union.  The results showed, that all the sampled European rivers included in this investigation were contaminated with mixtures of pesticides and, in most of the cases, with several veterinary drugs at the time of sampling, without a clear national or regional pattern. In total, 103 different pesticides, 24 of them banned in the EU, and 21 veterinary drugs were found in the analysed samples.

Source: Casado et al., 2019