[Pollinator] FW: CATCH THE BUZZ - Health Canada: Neonics Not Sustainable

Mon Sep 23 14:05:49 PDT 2013

From: Kim Flottum [mailto:Kim at BeeCulture.com] 
Sent: Monday, September 23, 2013 2:03 PM
To: mdshepherd at xerces.org
Subject: CATCH THE BUZZ - Health Canada: Neonics Not Sustainable

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CATCH THE BUZZ

Neonics On Corn, Soybeans Not Sustainable: Health Canada

Alan Harman

   Agricultural practices related to the use of neonicotinoid-treated corn
and soybean seed are affecting the environment due to their impacts on bees
and other pollinators, Health Canada's Pest Management Regulatory Agency
says in announcing additional protective measures for the 2014 growing
season.

   "We have concluded that current agricultural practices related to the use
of neonicotinoid-treated corn and soybean seed are not sustainable," the
agency says in a statement.

   It is proposing requiring the use of safer dust-reducing seed flow
lubricants; requiring adherence to safer seed planting practices; requiring
new pesticide and seed package labels with enhanced warnings; and requiring
updated value information be provided to support the continued need for
neonicotinoid treatment on up to 100% of the corn seed and 50% of the
soybean seed.

   "We are working with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, provincial
governments, growers, beekeepers and the pesticide industry to determine if
other options exist that would protect the environment while allowing the
continued use of these seed treatments for corn and soybean," the agency
says in a statement.

   "At a recent meeting with officials from the Ontario and Quebec
ministries of Environment and Agriculture, a number of important research
projects such as those aimed at improving integrated pest management
techniques were discussed and potential solutions were explored."

   The agency is inviting stakeholders and the public to submit written
comments on its proposals to protect bees from exposure to neonicotinoid
pesticides from treated corn and soybean seed.

  It says it is acting after receiving a significant number of pollinator
mortality reports in 2012 mainly from corn growing regions of Ontario and
Quebec.

   Areas of high corn production correlated well with the locations of bee
mortalities. About 70% of the affected dead bee samples tested positive for
residues of neonicotinoid insecticides used to treat corn seeds, while
neonicotinoids were only detected in unaffected bees in one sample at very
low levels.

   "We concluded that the majority of pollinator mortalities were a result
of exposure to neonicotinoid insecticides, likely through exposure to
contaminated dust generated during the planting of treated corn seed," the
agency says.

   The unusually warm and dry weather conditions were thought to be a
contributing factor. Measures were implemented to reduce pollinator
exposure, such as the introduction of best management practices for seed
planting.

   "However, in spring 2013 with more typical weather patterns, we continued
to receive a significant number of pollinator mortality reports from both
corn and soybean growing regions of Ontario and Quebec, as well as
Manitoba," the agency says.

   The agency says bee health is a complex issue that goes beyond the
incidents in 2012 and 2013 and may involve a number of additional factors,
including parasites, disease and climate.

   The agency is conducting a re-evaluation of all uses of neonicotinoid
insecticides in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as
part of the work being done with international partners.

   "We are expediting this re-evaluation, which will help us better
understand and manage potential risks these pesticides may pose to long-term
bee health," it says.

  _____  

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