COPENHAGEN (dpa-AFX) - Despite progress in some EU states, the use of chemical pesticides continues to pose a significant risk to human and environmental health in Europe. This is the conclusion of the EU environmental agency EEA in an analysis published Wednesday. It said policymakers and member states must do much more to meet EU targets for reducing the use and risks of chemical pesticides by 50 percent by 2030, among other things. Dependence on such inputs could be reduced, for example, by moving to alternative farming models with organic approaches, he said.

The widespread use of pesticides is a major source of water, soil and air pollution, as well as driving biodiversity loss and leading to pest resistance, the Copenhagen-based agency wrote. Human exposure to them is linked to chronic diseases such as cancer and heart, respiratory and neurological diseases, it said. Yet the agricultural sector in Europe still relies on the use of large amounts of these substances to maintain crop yields, it said.

Pesticide use has remained relatively constant in EU countries in recent years, EEA expert Dario Piselli said. From 2011 to 2020, about 350,000 tons per year of them were sold, according to the report. The largest quantities of most active substances were sold in Germany, France, Spain and Italy - the four largest agricultural producers in the EU.

The use has consequences for both the environment and humans, according to the experts: Nearly 22 percent of monitoring sites in rivers and lakes in Europe were found to have pesticide levels above the threshold of concern in 2020, they said. In a 2019 study, 83 percent of all agricultural soils tested would have contained pesticide residues. Insects, in particular, are suffering as a result, endangering their important role in food production, he said.

Humans are affected primarily through ingestion of food and drinking water, according to the study. A comprehensive survey in five European countries between 2014 and 2021 found at least two pesticides in 84 percent of urine samples taken - a rate that is worrying, Piselli said. Children consistently had higher pesticide concentrations than adults and were particularly vulnerable to adverse health effects, he said./trs/DP/mis