NEWS OF THE W EEK
STINGING ATTACK ON BEE STUDY INSECTICIDES: Syngenta, Bayer swat at European study linking neonicotinoid pesticides to bee population decline
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Bayer are attacking a study by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) that investigated the cause of bee population decline in Europe. The study finds that the neonicotinoid insecticides clothianidin, imidacloprid, and thiamethoxam, which target the nervous systems of insects, are implicated in bee population decline in Europe—or at least can’t be ruled out as a cause. “This report is unworthy of EFSA and of its scientists,” said John Atkin, chief operating officer of Syngenta, the world’s largest agricultural chemicals firm. “It is obvious to us that EFSA has found itself under political pressure to produce a hurried and inadequate risk assessment. Their report, compiled in under three months, has not taken account of the comprehensive scientific studies that preceded the launch of neonicotinoids
NATIONS STRIKE MERCURY DEAL POLLUTION: International treaty aims to cut use, releases of neurotoxic metal
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FTER FOUR YEARS of negotiations, more than
140 countries, including the U.S., have agreed on a set of legally binding rules to control mercury pollution. The treaty was finalized on Jan. 19 at the end of a six-day meeting of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Geneva. It is the first global effort aimed at reducing the use of mercury in a range of products, Steiner processes, and industries. The “complex and often all-night sessions” in Geneva “laid the foundations for a global response to a pollutant whose notoriety has been recognized for well over a century,” UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner said at the close of the meeting. But environmental groups said the agreement did not go far enough. Called the Minamata Convention on Mercury, after a city in Japan that endured one of the world’s worst cases TONY KARUMBA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES/NEWSCOM
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and many years of extensive monitoring in the field.” Herman Fontier, head of the authority’s pesticides unit, countered on BBC radio that Atkin’s accusation of political influence is “totally nonsensical” and that his claim of a rush job is “not relevant or true.” Other studies, including those by British and French scientists published last year in the journal Science, also link neonicotinoids to bee population decline. Bayer and Syngenta acknowledge that bee populations are in decline but say it is not caused by neonicotinoids. “In reality, the main consensus reached when evaluating the scientific research in this area is that poor bee health and colony losses are caused by multiple factors, the parasitic varroa mite being the key issue,” Bayer said. The firm has offered to help address gaps in knowledge about the bee problem that the study identified. The European Commission and European Union member states aren’t obligated to act on the food safety authority’s findings but could use them to guide legislation. The Environmental Protection Agency acknowledges that honeybees are in decline in the U.S. as well but cites a lack of evidence linking neonicotinoids to the population reductions. Regulators with plans to control the use of neonicotinoids could be in for a fight. “We will deploy all means at our disposal to defend the use of this product,” Atkin said.—ALEX SCOTT
of industrial mercury poisoning, the treaty will require coal-fired power plants, industrial boilers, and other large industrial facilities to control mercury emissions using the best available technology. The treaty officially goes into force once 50 countries have ratified it, and new facilities will have five years after that to comply with the rules. Existing facilities will have 10 years. The treaty will also ban by 2020 the use of mercury in many products, including batteries, switches, some compact fluorescent lamps, soaps and cosmetics, and thermometers. Mercury in dental amalgams will be “phased down.” Mercury-based preservatives used in vaccines, however, are exempt from the treaty. The agreement is being hailed as a victory by government and industry officials. But some environmental groups say it will do little to reduce mercury pollution. “If implemented, the new mercury treaty might slow the rate of increasing mercury levels, but greater political commitment will be needed to actually reduce mercury pollution,” says Joe DiGangi, senior science and technical adviser for the International POPs Elimination Network (IPEN), a global network of nongovernmental organizations working to reduce persistent organic pollutants. IPEN and other environmental groups are criticizing the treaty for stopping short of banning the use of mercury in artisanal and small-scale gold mining. Such mining practices have surpassed coal-fired power plants as the largest source of mercury emissions to air, according to a UNEP report released in the run-up to the meeting.—BRITT ERICKSON
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