More than a million consumers, especially in rural areas, drink water polluted mainly by pesticides, denounces Tuesday UFC-Que Choisir, which calls for a ban on some of the products suspected of being endocrine disruptors.
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The consumer association has updated its national study on the quality of drinking water and an interactive map accessible to the general public (www.quechoisir.org/carte-interactive-qualite-eau-n21241/), based on results of analyzes carried out on behalf of the regional health agencies (ARS).
They were carried out in conjunction with the NGO Future Generations.
Water quality is improving: "
98% of consumers have access to water that meets all health criteria, an increase of more than two points compared to the previous study in 2017,
" according to a press release.
Nitrates and pesticides
This improvement can be explained by three factors: “
in large cities, contaminated networks have been closed, the NOTRe law has encouraged skill groups at the inter-municipal level with the objective of putting financial resources into the common pot and it There have been technical improvements
, ”Olivier Andrault of UFC-Que Choisir, who led the study, told AFP.
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Problems remain, however, particularly in rural and mountain areas. According to UFC-Que Choisir, "
agricultural pollution is still the leading cause of contamination: 450,000 consumers drink water that exceeds maximum pesticide standards and 148,000 water contaminated by nitrates
". UFC-Que Choisir cites in particular the towns of Château-Gontier (Mayenne), Langres (Haute-Marne) for pesticides and Berck (Pas-de-Calais), Chinon (Indre-et-Loire) for nitrates. "
The pollution of water, groundwater and rivers has not decreased
", emphasizes Olivier Andrault.
"
This paradox of the good quality of drinking water is explained by the implementation of costly pollution control treatments
", according to the study.
"
The cost of cleaning up agricultural pollution represents between 750 million and 1.3 billion euros per year, entirely financed by consumers via their water bills
," she indicates.
750 pesticide molecules
The two associations for the defense of consumers and the environment are concerned about the disparity, according to the departments, of the pesticides sought in drinking water.
"
750 molecules of pesticides or derivatives can be found in nature, on average only 206 are researched in France
", explains Olivier Andrault.
"
In certain areas such as Aisne, which is nevertheless an agricultural department with large intensive crops that use very much pesticides, we can go down to twelve,
" he continues. The associations are also concerned about the presence of pesticides suspected of being endocrine disruptors, which "
can act at much lower doses and with a cocktail effect
", emphasizes Olivier Andrault.
"
If we stick to current standards, which are admittedly very low in terms of water, and if we do not apply the precautionary principle to pesticides suspected of being endocrine disruptors, we subject the population to a risk
”, he judges. The "
study thus reveals the presence of pesticides suspected of being endocrine disruptors in 28% on average of analyzes considered to comply with the regulations
", according to the press release.
Consequently, UFC-Que Choisir and Générations futures demand that the marketing of these pesticides be prohibited in the name of the precautionary principle.
The associations also ask "
to intensify research into pesticides in connection with the risk levels and the types of surrounding crops
".
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“
The French governments do not want to force farmers to respect environmental regulations. We pay the consequences and the cost in terms of the water bill
, ”denounces Olivier Andrault. Bacterial contaminations concern 80,000 people "
mainly in mountain areas and in rural areas of the East
", which is often explained by the lack of means of small municipalities or dilapidated networks.
