Pollution with agricultural pesticides is pointed out. A new exploratory study confirms an increased risk of pediatric cancers in Charente-Maritime, in three homes near La Rochelle, and another west of Saintes.
The report, unveiled by the daily The Parisianwas produced by the general register of Cancer de Poitou-Charentes, attached to the CHU de Poitiers. The director of this establishment, Doctor Thomas Systhenko, and the biostatistician Nolwenn The Stang analyzed the cases of cancers of the under 24s that occurred between 2008 and 2022 in Charente-Maritime for their exploratory study, subsidized by the Cancer League.
7 cancers observed for 1.8 expected in Saint-Rogatian
And the figures are alarming in several municipalities. Two of the Plaine d’Aunis, the land of intensive cereal farming (wheat, corn, oilseeds), “present excess risk”, in the words of the doctor: Saint-Rogatian, with seven cancers observed for 1.8 expected, and Saint-Vivien (five for 1.1 expected). The coastal commune of the Houmeau is also displayed in red on the map, with five cancers observed for 1.8 expected, even if the weakness of the workforce does not allow “to speak of excessively significant risks” in this case, specifies Dr. Systechenko.
A “rude” has also been identified in wine territories west of Saintes (54 cancers observed for 29 expected). “It is a health scandal,” denounces Franck Rinche-Girollet, spokesperson and founder of the future Health Environment, whose eight-year-old son is in remission. It is a real nightmare to learn that there are now three homes of pediatric cancer in the agglomeration of La Rochelle. »»
Throughout the department, Thomas Systhenko noted 514 cases of cancers in 0-24 year olds between 2008 and 2022, against 522 expected, which makes him say that at the Charente-Maritime scale, there is “no significant excess risk of pediatric cancers and young adolescents highlighted”.
An association requires a “Pesticides’ Summary Plan”
The General Register of Cancer of Poitou-Charentes had launched a sanitary alert in 2018 concerning the high number of patients with hemopathies and cancers in Saint-Rogatian. About fifty adults and several children were then affected in this town of 2,200 inhabitants near La Rochelle, in the Plaine Cerealière d’Aunis.
In October, a study presented by Avenir Santé Environnement also revealed the presence of pesticides, including some prohibitions, in the hair and urine of 72 children in six municipalities in this area, where 15 cases of pediatric cancers have been identified since 2008, causing two deaths, according to this local association. She claims a “plan to leave pesticides of synthesis”, of which Charente-Maritime is the eighth largest buyer in France in 2022, according to a classification established by another association, future generations, from official data.
Our file on pesticides
The National Commission for Public Debate (CNDP) performs a “consulting mission on grouped cases of pediatric cancers in the Plaine d’Aunis”, at the request of the prefect of Charente-Maritime Brice Blondel. She must make her conclusions before the end of April.
(tagstranslate) News