A bill proposal presented by a Buenos Aires deputy has triggered an agrochemical alert. The norm allows pesticide spraying within just 10 meters of the population.
The proposal is about the bill of minimum environmental protection standards regarding the management, application, and use of phytosanitary products in agricultural and agro-industrial production.
It was presented by the Radical deputy and rural producer from the province of Buenos Aires, Silvina Vaccarezza, and has been in parliamentary status since September 25.
Agrochemical Alert: what does the proposal say
The health hazards of agrochemicals.[/caption>
This proposal has alarmed all environmental organizations and neighborhood assemblies as it authorizes the spraying of agrochemicals at just 10 meters from populated centers, rural schools, protected areas, natural reserves, watercourses, and water mirrors.
According to the proposal, all phytosanitary applications must be carried out at “ten meters for ground applications and 45 meters for aerial applications counted from the area or lot boundary towards the productive zone” defined as “sensitive areas”.
In other words, urban areas, populated centers, groups of permanent residences, and homes where rural workers and their families live.
The same aerial and ground protection distance applies to “lots where rural educational establishments are located”; “permanent bodies of natural or artificial surface water and wells for extracting drinking water for human consumption and their margins”.
It also includes “protected areas and properties with cultural and historical heritage”.
Reactions to the controversial proposal
The Radical deputy’s proposal caused outrage among assemblies and residents of fumigated villages. They are the main victims of a production model based on the use of pesticides and insecticides in industrial quantities.
It has been proven in hundreds of cases, some even brought to justice, that using these chemical products poses significant health risks in both the short and long term.
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