Cancer kills more than 500 children / year in France, the equivalent of 20 school classes, a figure that has not fallen for 15 years. While research must be supported in an attempt to reduce the number of deaths, much remains to be done in terms of prevention. Alerted by local residents, Eva pour la vie & the Info Médoc Pesticides Collective co-financed the HAPPI study, aimed at having the KUDZU SCIENCE laboratory analyze dust samples taken from homes bordering vines - welcoming children or pregnant women - as well as in an elementary school classroom.
The results are alarming. 100% of the places where people live, frequented by children, pregnant women, etc. are contaminated, by 11 to 21 different pesticides. In each of the homes and in the classroom, molecules classified as carcinogenic, reprotoxic and / or endocrine disrupting have been detected. In more than 70% of the samples, we find pesticides banned, some for more than 10 years, such as DIURON, in quantities up to 60 times greater than the limit of quantification.
The associations expect effective measures from communities and the State, such as banning the spreading of non-organic products near homes, with appropriate support for farmers and winegrowers, so that the safety of children and pregnant women and inhabitants is improved, while accelerating the economic development of this prestigious sector.
