Dr. Shahrar Ali, Brent Green Party’s spokesman for the environment, says the use of the chemical Glyphosate to kill weeds could put the safety of London residents at risk.
Shahrar said: “There are still investigations in the European Union whether or not it could be allowed because there are cases where it could be causing harm to human health. It is still a controversial chemical so to be putting it on to the streets, I think this is reckless."
Brent Council has recently decided to stop weeding by hand, in favour of spraying Glyphosate. Glyphosate has been criticised by both environmental groups and scientists, who say it poses a risk to human health.
Shahrar concluded by saying that the council has not invested enough in manual weeding: “The weeding wasn’t being done last year, which was causing problems and embarrassment for the council. Using chemicals may be a cheaper way of doing it, but the cost to the earth has not been factored in.”
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Notes for Editors:
– Dr. Shahrar Ali is a European candidate for the London region and a former biochemical engineer. In 1999, he undertook environmental risk research in the European Parliament on endocrine-disrupting chemicals and GM foods
– Denmark imposed a ban on the spraying of glyphosate in 2003 after the release of data that found that it had contaminated the drinking water resources of the country. The chemical had sieved down through soil and polluted ground water to five times more than allowed levels, according to tests done by the Denmark and Greenland Geological Research Institution (DGGRI). The Danish environment minister at the time, Hans Christian Schmidt, said "Danes should be able to put the coffee on in the morning without worrying about pesticides." Source: http://www.twnside.org.sg/title/service.76.htm.
– The European Commission has acknowledged that long-term exposure to pesticides can lead to "serious disturbances" to the immune system, cancers, and genetic damage. In 2008, the EU’s Food Monitoring Report revealed that pesticide contamination had increased at roughly 20% over the past 5 years alone. Food products sold in the EU now contain 354 different pesticides.