Spraying pesticides in a field.

Drawing.

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Jean-Michel Nossant - Sipa

  • Yes, the inhabitants of Occitanie breathe pesticides.

    A study unveiled this Thursday by the Regional Air Observatory (Atmo Occitanie) proves it in detail.

  • Yet far from cultures, the inhabitants of Toulouse and Montpellier are far from being spared.

  • The most common substance in the air is the insecticide Lindane ... yet banned for more than ten years.

No more suspense.

To the question "Are there pesticides in the air that the inhabitants of Toulouse, Montpellier or more generally of Occitanie breathe?"

», The response of the Regional Air Observatory is yes.

He unveiled this Thursday the results of a continuous measurement campaign carried out in 2018 and 2019 on eight sites in the region, from the wine-growing foothills of the Aude, to the orchards of Tarn-et-Garonne, via the two regional metropolises. or the large cereal crops of Lauragais.

The importance of weather

Between herbicides, insecticides and fungicides, out of 110 molecules sought, 61 were detected by the sensors, with an overall logical distribution according to the dominant crops, the seasons and the vagaries of the weather: continuous herbicides in the Lauragais with a small peak in spring, for example, or a predominance of fungicides near the vineyards of Lot or Aude.

In this last sector, the great peak of summer 2018 is due to an “attack” of mildew linked to particularly humid conditions.

The Audois site, kept secret, is also the only one of the eight to stand out with pesticide concentrations higher than the national average.

Toulouse and Montpellier not spared, on the contrary

In terms of the number of pesticides detected, the Tarn-et-Garonne site, at the crossroads of various agricultural practices, is, with 39 different substances, the most “affected”.

But behind, we find Toulouse (34, including the herbicide prosulfocarb) and Montpellier (27, including the fungicide Folpel).

Suffice to say that urbanites who believe they are immune to agricultural pollution are deluding themselves.

"This observation makes it possible to erase certain received ideas and to observe that phytosanitary products move with the masses of air", underlines Dominique Tilak, general manager of Atmo Occitanie.

For the only pesticides considered to be endocrine disruptors, there are 26 in Tarn-et-Garonne, 18 in Toulouse and 14 in Montpellier but only 4 in Lauragais or the Gardois site.

Pesticides detected in Toulouse.

- Atmo Occitanie

A pesticide still very present ten years later

Obviously, the main question is that of the impact of these phytosanitary products on health.

"But that's not our purpose, the idea is to bank this data and communicate it to other actors, health or agricultural", reframes Régine Lange, vice-president of Atmo Occitanie.

She also recalls that unlike other pollutants, there is currently no standard, no official threshold.

"While this is one of the main concerns of the inhabitants of the region," insists the elected.

And one of the findings of the study will not reassure them: the substance most detected in Occitania is Lindane, an insecticide banned ... since 1998. "But well known for its persistence", points Dominique Tilak.

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  • Languedoc-Roussillon

  • Pesticides

  • Health

  • Toulouse

  • Montpellier

  • Pollution

  • Planet