French Study Shows Banned Pesticides in Children’s Samples

A cluster of pediatric cancers in Saint-Rogatien, a small town in southwestern France, has led to a project that detected traces of several banned pesticides in urine and hair samples from children recruited from the town and surrounding areas.

Five children and adolescents had been diagnosed with cancer in the town between 2008 and 2017, according to an initial study conducted by the Poitou-Charentes Cancer Registry and French biomedical research institute Inserm and published in October 2020. Local families demanded explanations for the “unexplained explosion of pediatric cancers” in Saint-Rogatien. Around 50 adults had also been diagnosed with tumors.

When another 15-year-old died of cancer in 2018, families fearing some kind of local toxin exposure founded the Avenir Santé Environnement (ASE) association, based in Charente. ASE believed the cause could be environmental and, in September 2022, published a statement urging a complete ban on synthetic pesticides within 5 years, citing “risks to health and biodiversity as they contaminate air, soil, and water.”

Pesticide Compounds in Hair

The group then began the citizen-led research project “ Nos Enfants EXposés aux Toxiques” (NEEXT).

The NEEXT study recruited 70 children aged 3-17 years from six communes in the La Rochelle area: Périgny, Saint-Rogatien, Montroy, Clavette, Bourgneuf, and Dompierre-sur-Mer, an agricultural area claimed to have record levels of pesticides in the air. The children’s hair and urine samples were tested for the presence of pesticides.

The study released its initial findings on 12 October. These have not yet been formally published, but according to early reports accessed by Le Monde, a French daily newspaper, 14 different chemicals were found in urine samples and 45 in hair samples, with individual children showing up to six compounds in their urine and 10 in their hair. “All participants showed traces of pesticides, some of which are particularly concerning,” Le Monde reported. Several of the pesticides detected are currently banned in France, including:

• Fipronil: Banned in agriculture since 2013 but permitted in veterinary use as an antiparasitic
• Atrazine: Banned in 2004 due to endocrine-disrupting and neurotoxic effects
• Dieldrin: Banned since the 1970s because of its carcinogenic potential but remains highly persistent in the environment

Neonicotinoid insecticides, like acetamiprid, linked to neurodevelopmental toxicity since 2013 by the European Food Safety Authority, were also found. Additionally, phthalimide — a breakdown product of the fungicide folpet, classified as potentially carcinogenic, mutagenic, and reprotoxic by the European Chemicals Agency — was detected in the urine of over 15% of the children. Pendimethalin, present in 20% of hair samples, is associated with an increased risk for pancreatic and colorectal cancers.

Health Authorities Unresponsive

Despite these findings, ASE’s initial study has not attracted public health agency attention. According to ASE president Franck Rinchet-Girollet, speaking to the French radio station Sud Radio, “The National Agency for Food, Environmental, and Occupational Health and Safety stated that any data could prove valuable for researchers and policymakers to take action.”

“However, the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Regional Health Agency (ARS) said they wouldn’t comment on a nonscientific study. We funded this research, collaborated with a medical laboratory for sample collection, sent samples to a public hospital lab, and offered our findings to ARS to assess whether a broader study might be warranted. But hearing their response in the media is disheartening.”

“Since 2018, we have highlighted a pediatric cancer risk excess, and we know pesticides can only contribute to a harmful ‘cocktail effect’ on health.”

This story was translated and adapted from Univadis France using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.