Recommendations collectively supported by 3,450,000 members, farmers and workers from health and environment focused organisations, unions, farmers and academics has been submitted to DEFRA in response to their consultation on the sustainable use of pesticides National Action Plan (NAP):
The key recommendations for inclusion in the NAP are:
- Pesticide use and risk reduction targets, focused on eliminating the use of pesticides with the most significant impacts on human health.
- Support and development of genuine and comprehensive Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in the agriculture sector.
- A phase-out and ultimate ban on the use of all amenity pesticides (including urban pesticides).
- The introducing of buffer zones to prevent pesticides from being sprayed close to homes and public buildings such as schools and hospitals.
- Mandatory prior notification and access to spray records for the public.
- An effective human health and exposure monitoring and reporting system.
The group submission can be viewed here.
The human health recommendations document is here.
Published by wildcardenvironmentalist
Helen Lynn has worked on issues linking women, gender, health and the environment since 1995, initially at the Women’s Environmental Network where she was health co-ordinator for 12 years, then as a freelance consultant. She has worked internationally and at EU level with Women in Europe for a Common Future and is on their International Advisory Board. Her campaign work began with Putting Breast Cancer on the Map, which encouraged women to map local sources of pollution alongside incidence of breast cancer and she was one of the founders of the No More Breast Cancer Campaign. She is on the Soil Associations Health Products Standards Committee which develops and keeps under review standards for organic health and beauty care products. While at WEN she and the health team initiated the Getting Lippy campaign on harmful ingredients in cosmetics, the campaign covered all aspects of the issue including information on toxic ingredients, making your own cosmetics, misleading labelling and advertising of the products and which alternatives are available. Other campaigns Helen worked on included the Ban Lindane (a toxic pesticide used on crops) Campaign, Healthy Flooring, Enviromenstrual, and Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. She currently facilitates the Alliance for Cancer Prevention which works with occupational and environmental health specialists and activists to challenge the existing emphasis on control and treatment of cancer as the only way forward and to get equal recognition for primary prevention, particularly in relation to environmental and occupational risk factors. In 2014 along with fellow breast cancer activists she began the From Pink to Prevention campaign which aims to move the agenda towards Stopping Breast Cancer before it Starts.
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