PAN Europe - Issues

Issues

Pesticide Use
Every year over 200,000 tonnes of pesticides are released into the European environment. These chemicals cause harm not only to the pest species they are intended to control, but in many cases have the potential to impact upon the well-being of human adults and children.

This overlap is particularly associated with insecticides designed to interfere with biological systems common throughout the animal Tractor Spraying © MDRGF

kingdom, such as the nervous and reproductive systems. Worryingly, the EU's use of insecticides has more doubled over the past decade. All of the EU's top 10 insecticides are described as hazardous by the World Health Organisation (WHO).