the state is trying to catch up

Effects that are still just as worrying in the immediate term, but which could be absorbed more quickly than expected in the very long term. This is what emerges from the report on the impact of chlordecone in the French West Indies presented this Friday, March 3 by the Parliamentary Office for the Evaluation of Scientific and Technological Choices (Opecst). Insufficient funding for research, blind spots around the health consequences, excessive centralism of the State in its management of the crisis are the main black points of the report.

Used in the West Indies as a pesticide between 1972 and 1993 to eliminate the weevil, a parasitic insect, mainly in banana crops, chlordecone contaminated 90% of adults in Guadeloupe and Martinique. Thirty years after its ban, its effects on health and the environment are still being felt.

Undervalued health risks

Main problem pointed out by Opecst, the analysis of the health consequences of chlordecone was not broad enough. Studies conducted since 2009 establish that exposure to the insecticide increases the risk of developing prostate cancer, but Catherine Procaccia, senator (LR) from Val-de-Marne and rapporteur for Opecst, “regrets the focus that has caused us to forget to take an interest in other forms of cancer and the risks for women”.

Contrary to what has been said, chlordecone has no impact on male fertility. But research has been years behind in the woman’s case. We must also speed up the analysis of the “cocktail effects” which combine the impact of chlordecone with that of other insecticides.

The lack of health care is added to the fact that a large part of the data concerning the contamination of the population and the environment “has not been updated for more than ten years, for lack of massive screenings” . The latter “come up against the reluctance of the population”, underlines the parliamentarian. The mapping of polluted soils also remains “partial” and the effects of contamination on biodiversity “are not sufficiently well informed”.

Real but late progress

Nevertheless, there are grounds for satisfaction. “Progress in research is real, although too slow given the expectations of the populations”, believes Catherine Procaccia. Despite “late and insufficient” funding, scientists have been able to make progress on the question of the long-term consequences of contamination and their conclusions are “optimistic”.

While the last Opecst report on the subject, in 2009, predicted that the soil would remain polluted “between 350 and 700 years”, the decrease in contamination is “much faster than expected” and the rate of chlordecone could be below current detection limits before the end of the century.

To promote this decontamination, scientists are working on several solutions to decontaminate the soil, in particular by “sequestering the chlordecone molecule using compost”, which reduces its transfer to plants. Or by adding “chemical reducers”, effective in the upper part of the soil.

The downside of fishing

On the other hand, even if chlordecone disappears from the soil, fresh and maritime water “risks remaining contaminated for several additional decades due to the significant recharge times of the Caribbean aquifers”. The only solution to avoid contaminating the population through food products from the sea or the river remains for the time being a total ban on fishing in polluted areas.

For products from agriculture, vegetables, poultry, eggs, Opecst recommends “improving the control of informal circuits”, in particular self-production and roadside sales. The risks are much more limited for products from official circuits, which are more controlled.

Budget up by 20%

More generally, the report criticizes the management of the State and the insufficiency of the first three chlordecone plans carried out since 2008, which neglected the effects produced on the environment and biodiversity. Directed by excessively centralized administrative bodies, they involved little local authorities and representatives of civil society, causing “difficulties in adhering to the systems and dietary recommendations on the part of the populations”. Communication, failing, fueled mistrust.

Opecst is however delighted to see that the fourth plan (2021-2027) seems to have taken these previous pitfalls into account. It creates the conditions for dialogue by involving associations and local authorities. Its annual budget has increased by around 20% and a third of the funds are devoted to research. A good omen for Catherine Procaccia, provided that all the necessary lessons are learned: “What is happening in the West Indies must serve as a model for the State to manage any future pollution by relying on research and involving all the players. »

---

Source

---