They are in the air, on our vegetables, in our cupboards. Pesticides can not be seen with the naked eye, but are part of our daily lives. These phytosanitary substances - herbicides, insecticides or fungicides - are not insignificant. Not content to have harmful effects on the environment, they also have an impact on our health. 

 Risks for professionals

Why are they exposed? When handling, spraying or breathing plant protection products, professionals are particularly exposed. Farmers, winemakers and pesticide designers are one of the most at risk and the most watched categories in this field.

What do scientists say? Many studies tend to show the implication of pesticides in the occurrence of certain pathologies. In  June 2013, Inserm published a synthesis (PDF) of studies based on  thirty years of epidemiological and toxicological work, conducted on a  professional population. The  report highlights some fifteen pathologies whose presumed link with  pesticides is classified into three levels of scientific evidence:  strong, average (contradictions in studies) and weak (not enough  studies).

Thus,  the data collected show a strong link between occupational exposure to  pesticides and the onset of Parkinson's disease, non-Hodgkin lymphoma,  prostate cancer or multiple myeloma (a kind of blood cancer). According  to Dr. Pierre-Michel Périnaud, president of the association Alert  doctors on pesticides, contacted by francetv info, "there is also  evidence strong enough for leukemia or Alzheimer's disease or other  cognitive disorders" . However,  there are not enough studies about fertility disorders or the  appearance of rare diseases, such as testicular cancer or brain tumors.

The work of Inserm shows above all that professional adults are not the only ones concerned. Their children, exposed in utero or very young, can also suffer the consequences. Thus,  the synthesis establishes a link between the exposure of professionals  during pregnancy and the occurrence of brain tumors, leukemias,  congenital malformations or neurodevelopmental disorders in their  children. "It's  solid." For leukemias, for example, the Inserm has looked 75 to 80  studies, he did a huge job that gives a certain level of knowledge of  the problem, "said Pierre-Michel Perinaud.

What can they do to protect themselves? For professionals, the key to the problem lies in ... their work. Farmers are very exposed during spraying periods. "They are encouraged to take precautions and wear protective equipment," said Pierre-Michel Perinaud. But  for this general practitioner, it is not enough: "Studies have shown  that it was not always very effective and sometimes poorly adapted." It therefore calls on the public authorities to "limit the use of products that are known to be toxic".
Risks for residents

How are they exposed? The  neighboring inhabitants of agricultural domains are also concerned by  the pesticides which, after a spreading, will be transported in the air.  Contamination can be by respiratory route. Children  living near agricultural areas may also touch plants sprayed with  pesticide droplets and then put their hands to their mouths. In  the same way as for children of professionals, they can also be exposed  during pregnancy, "pesticides passing the placental barrier".

What do scientists say? "In  this second category, we do not know much for adults because the  studies were mainly conducted on the child," said Pierre-Michel  Perinaud.

Thus,  according to some works compiled by Inserm, children exposed in utero  seem more likely to develop leukemias, birth defects or  neurodevelopmental disorders. "Roughly speaking, we find the same profile between these children and the children of professionals," says the doctor.

What can they do to protect themselves? "We must ask questions and get closer to associations to alert the public authorities," says Pierre-Michel Perinaud. Objective: that the authorities take precautionary measures, such as the installation of hedges or breaking nets. But, again, their effectiveness "is only partial," says the doctor. "It takes action on the contamination, without waiting to have thirty years of studies to prove a link of cause and effect!" says  Pierre-Michel Périnaud, who also recommends tests on the urine of  residents to know the true impregnation pesticides of their body.
Risks to consumers

How are they exposed? Pesticides do not stop in the field. They enter the soil, but also (and especially) into the plants, fruits and vegetables they process. It is by eating processed foods that consumers are exposed to plant protection products. They are also at home, at low doses, when they use herbicides for their 

 What do scientists say? "In  this second category, we do not know much for adults because the  studies were mainly conducted on the child," said Pierre-Michel  Perinaud.

Thus,  according to some works compiled by Inserm, children exposed in utero  seem more likely to develop leukemias, birth defects or  neurodevelopmental disorders. "Roughly speaking, we find the same profile between these children and the children of professionals," says the doctor.

What can they do to protect themselves? "We must ask questions and get closer to associations to alert the public authorities," says Pierre-Michel Perinaud. Objective: that the authorities take precautionary measures, such as the installation of hedges or breaking nets. But, again, their effectiveness "is only partial," says the doctor. "It takes action on the contamination, without waiting to have thirty years of studies to prove a link of cause and effect!" says  Pierre-Michel Périnaud, who also recommends tests on the urine of  residents to know the true impregnation pesticides of their body.
Risks to consumers

How are they exposed? Pesticides do not stop in the field. They enter the soil, but also (and especially) into the plants, fruits and vegetables they process. It is by eating processed foods that consumers are exposed to plant protection products. They are also at home at low doses when they use herbicides for their garden or insecticides in their homes.

What do scientists say? For the moment, difficult to have a clear idea about the risks incurred by the consumer. "We have nothing to say that there is a risk effect or not," notes Pierre-Michel Perinaud. Indeed, there are few studies on the subject.

However,  in 2013 the French Institute for Public Health Surveillance published a  report (PDF) on the level of exposure of the French population to  pesticides. The  study covers nearly 400 people, aged 18 to 74, and studies three  families of pesticides: organochlorines (mostly now banned but  persistent in the environment and the body), organophosphorus and  pyrethroids ( used for their insecticidal action). His findings show that the French population is largely (90%) impregnated with organophosphates and pyrethroids. "People  are certainly at low rates, but these figures are of great concern to  us because, among these pesticides, some are endocrine disruptors, so  the risk does not depend on the dose, but on the period of time. found impregnated, "says Pierre-Michel Périnaud. According to him, pregnancy and childhood (until the end of puberty) are times when you have to be particularly vigilant.

What can they do to protect themselves? For  Pierre-Michel Périnaud, mistrust must be put to endocrine disruptors,  especially if it is a couple who plans to have a child. The doctor recommends simple actions such as "going organic".