Title: APVMA wrong to defend atrazine says WWF Australia
[WWF 02 May 2009] The herbicides atrazine and diuron are threatening the health of the Great Barrier Reef and the Australian Government is failing to act, WWF-Australia said today. The conservation organisation has accused the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) - the Australian Government's regulator of pesticides - of undermining the Government's own Great Barrier Reef 'Reef Rescue' program by failing to restrict the use of the dangerous chemicals despite clear scientific evidence that they are poisoning the reef.
"The Federal Government is playing Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde on this issue. On the one hand it has invested $200 million dollars into Reef Rescue to help protect the reef against poor water quality, while another arm of government is defending dangerous and unnecessary herbicides that are risking its health," said Dr Piet Filet, WWF-Australia's Reef Catchments Manager.
Research presented at this week's Reef and Rainforest Conference in Townsville shows these chemicals have been detected frequently and in relatively high concentrations in rivers and creeks that discharge to the GBR.
Dr Filet warned that the Government's defense of the herbicides could cost Queensland dearly. "These chemicals pose a serious risk. The Great Barrier Reef is a globally important hotspot for biodiversity and an economic powerhouse that supports over $5 billion a year in tourism spending and over 60,000 jobs. Is the APVMA willing to put all that at risk?
"Scientists have said over and over again that unless we dramatically remove the stresses from chemical and sediment pollution, the reef will not be able to survive the impacts of global warming." Herbicide residues have been detected in concentrations that present a proven risk to marine plant communities such as mangroves, seagrass and corals up to a hundred kilometres offshore in parts of the GBR.
Research from the Australian Centre for Tropical Freshwater Research has shown that atrazine and diuron are found in particularly high concentrations in areas of sugar cane farming.
Atrazine is one of Australia's most widely used herbicides, but has been banned from use in the European Union since 2007 over safety concerns.
Dr Filet said more scientific research was needed into the risks of both chemicals. "APVMA needs to urgently update their information based on latest science and commit to assessing the risks to this irreplaceable ecosystem, and work to complement existing measures. An independent scientific review of the risk posed by these herbicides is urgently needed."