Over 40% of pesticides that have been detected in Australian waterways do not have guideline limits under the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines, making it difficult to determine possible health impacts associated with people who are exposed to that particular pesticide. Because there is no Australian Government authority that monitors biocide use, water authorities often do not know what is being used within their water supplies and what to test for. This further complicates the issue.
Friends of the Earth is recommending that the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), who publish the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines, should contact every water authority across the country to get access to their water pollution data. In this way, the NHMRC can then better determine which pesticides require guidelines based on actual pesticide pollution events.
FoE is also calling on the National Environment Protection Council and the Agriculture and Resource Management Council of Australia and New Zealand to urgently update ANZECC Ecological Guidelines, some of which have not been updated in almost two decades. “A mountain of scientific research on pesticides and other pollutants has been published since the ANZECC Guidelines were last produced” Mr Amis added.
FoE is also recommending bans and label changes for pesticides commonly detected in waterways, particularly the herbicides Atrazine and Simazine, which represent 20% of pesticides entering waterways.
Links …
http://www.3cr.org.au/earthmatters/episode-201610161100/whats-water-mapping-pesticide-pollution
Report
http://www.foe.org.au/sites/default/files/Pesticides%20Detections%20in%20Australian%20Waterways.pdf
http://www.foe.org.au/articles/2016-09-27/study-confirms-widespread-pesticide-pollution-australian-waterways
Alison Bleaney
