After the discovery of traces of pesticides in the hair children living near cereal growing areas, a new controversy concerning the treatment of crops near schools is taking place, this time in Gironde. Twenty-three elementary school students in the village of Villeneuve and their teacher showed worrying symptoms on Monday May 5, the newspaper reveals. South West, following the treatment of a vine located near the school.
The firefighters took care of the children who suffered from coughing, itchy tongue, eye irritation, nausea and headache, and the teacher was transported to the emergency room following a malaise. The owner of the vine, Catherine Verges, also mayor of the village, would have refused to suspend the spreading, denying its link with the symptoms of the patients. “We were able to observe projections of droplets, carried by the wind, into the schoolyard”, says the director of the school, Jean-Daniel Sans, quoted by Le Figaro.
Inappropriate conditions
However, the prefect of the Aquitaine and Gironde region, Michel Delpuech, has just received the conclusions of the investigation carried out on this subject by the services of the regional directorate for food, agriculture and the forest of Aquitaine (DRAAF) as well as those of the Regional Health Agency. In question, the products used to combat vine fungi, which are only authorized on condition that the weather conditions guarantee safe use.
“Everything indicates that the spreading of the products near the school took place in inappropriate conditions without all precautions for the neighborhood being taken”, explains the prefecture. The children are not at any long-term risk, but the local authorities intend to firmly remind the neighborhood of the school of the rules to follow when using pesticides.