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posted by cmn32480 on Friday September 23 2016, @10:46PM   Printer-friendly
from the bee-nicer-to-nature dept.

Common Dreams reports

Agrochemical giants Syngenta and Bayer discovered in their own tests that their pesticides caused severe harm to bees, according to unpublished documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by the environmental group Greenpeace.

The companies conducted the trials on products that used the controversial pesticides known as neonicotinoids, or neonics, which have long been linked to rapid bee decline. Neonics are also the world's most commonly used pesticide.

According to their own studies, Syngenta's thiamethoxam and Bayer's clothianidin were found to cause severe harm at high levels of use, although the effect was lessened when used under 50 parts per billion (ppb) and 40ppb respectively, the Guardian reports.

However, as Greenpeace notes, the research "assumes a very narrow definition of harm to bee health and ignores wild bees which evidence suggests are more likely to be harmed by neonicotinoids".

That means the findings may "substantially underestimate" the impact of neonics, Greenpeace said.

[...] the studies are not realistic. The bees were not exposed to the neonics that we know are in planting dust, water drunk by bees, and wildflowers wherever neonics are used as seed treatments. This secret evidence highlights the profound weakness of regulatory tests.

Our previous discussions about neonicotinoids.


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  • (Score: 1, Redundant) by Username on Friday September 23 2016, @11:32PM

    by Username (4557) on Friday September 23 2016, @11:32PM (#405762)

    If you publish an unpublished document, isn’t it now published?

    Starting Score:    1  point
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       Redundant=1, Total=1
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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 23 2016, @11:40PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 23 2016, @11:40PM (#405765)

    Wonkey_monkey, you forgot to log out of your sockpuppet account before posting your inane nitpick for this story. You are getting careless.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 24 2016, @12:10AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 24 2016, @12:10AM (#405775)

      I am sockless Sally!

  • (Score: 2) by Username on Sunday September 25 2016, @12:16AM

    by Username (4557) on Sunday September 25 2016, @12:16AM (#406084)

    I gotta say, who ever marks this redundant, Thank you. Thank you for selecting the appropriate moderation instead of troll. It’s a well fitting moderation.