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THE AMOUNT OF pesticides detected in Irish drinking water supplies increased in the past year.
A total of 81 pesticide exceedances were detected by Ireland’s public water supply monitoring programme during 2020. This represents an increase of five incidences on the previous year.
MCPA remains the most commonly detected pesticide in drinking water sources. The powerful herbicide is an active substance present in many commonly used products for controlling the growth of thistles, docks and rushes.
Irish Water said there are six priority catchment areas of particular concern where frequent pesticide exceedances have been detected.
These are:
Irish Water urged the farming community, greens keepers, grounds keepers, and domestic users, to consider whether they need to use pesticides at all.
“Leaving areas unsprayed can help native flowering plant species to grow and support a range of insects including bees and other vital pollinators,” the utility company said.
One third of Ireland’s bee species are threatened with extinction and by helping the bee population survive and thrive we are also helping to protect our precious water sources.
An exceedance for the pesticide 2,4-D was detected in Dublin city’s public drinking water supply in August last year.
Irish Water said today that, following consultation with the Health Service Executive (HSE), it concluded that the levels seen do not represent a threat to public health.
“It is however undesirable and therefore imperative that users of pesticides are mindful of best practice when using herbicides or pesticides and seek out alternatives,” Andrew Boylan, Irish Water’s Regional Drinking Water Compliance Specialist, said.
The water supply relies on raw water from the River Liffey, which is vulnerable to pesticide runoff from land.
The 2,4-D pesticide was one of the active ingredients in Agent Orange and has been shown to drift considerable distances from where it’s applied. Agent orange is infamous for its use by the US military during the Vietnam War to destroy crops and forest covers.
Research has linked 2,4-D to endocrine disruption, disturbing estrogen, androgen and thyroid hormones. The International Agency for Research on Cancer also named the weed killer a possible human carcinogen.
Irish Water is asking users of any herbicide or pesticide products in the Liffey catchment to consider the vulnerability of the water supplies to contamination and the importance of this supply to the local homes and businesses in the community.
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They wanted the people to pay tax on that slop?
@David Corrigan: do you pay tax, you spend a lot of time on here moaning
@talksense: You on double time tomorrow in FG HQ?
@David Corrigan: you meant to say,” pay a fourth tax on that slop”
@David Corrigan: sure it is paid for from your taxes
I thought farmers were gaurdians of our environment! Ripping down trees, and hedgrows spraying pesticides, spreading slurry up hil from rivers streams.using weed killers to reduce the biodiversity even in the grasses.
Not all of course but far too many joining in.
@Aidan Conway: don’t forget the fires too:(
@Aidan Conway: Teagasc, Dept of Ag. and the EU are to blame for the majority of damage done. Poor advice and contradictory rules have led to farmers destroying habitats for fear of being penalised.
@Aidan Conway: “Guardians of our environment”? That’s the first time I ever heard that. Meat and dairy farmers are amongst the biggest polluters of it more likely. Followed closely by farmers who grow forage crops. The only real guardians are the farmers who grow organic crops for human consumption.
I find it unbelievable that stuff like RoundUp is still sold at all. Should be banned.
@Babs Ruch: don’t forget farmers killed all the wolfs and eagles.
When will measures to ban pesticides be taken?
What do we expect when the food we eat is routinely ripened for harvesting with herbicide.
As a species we really are capping on our own doorstep.
We need to put legal measures in place to seriously curtail use of herbicides and pesticides. These substances once they enter the ecosystem stay there for decades passing through the food chain eventually into us.
Farming practices have to significantly change moving towards more organic, sustainable methods… very likely at the expense of some productivity. The downside is a likely increase in food prices. The upside is healthier consumers and improving environment.
Ban them.
Us it any wonder there are so many people getting Cancer with these toxic practices. Can’t believe it’s not more strictly controlled. Destroys the biosphere too. I despair.
What does Irish Water actually do with it’s 800+ employees?
Junior minister wants people to drink water not beer.
Can some person, with a little more intelligence than the article’s writer please tell me when “Glyphosphate and M,C,P,A” were classified as pesticides?
@John Mc Donagh: Glyphosphate has been registered as a pesticide in the USA since 1974
@Michael Powell: Glyphosphate is a total herbicide used mostly in forestry. Back to your study!
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