France now considers prostate cancer caused by exposure to pesticides in agriculture as an occupational disease. Farmers no longer need to prove the link between their illness and exposure to chemicals themselves. Ten years ago, France already recognized Parkinson's Disease as an occupational disease in agriculture.
The condition is that agricultural workers have been exposed to the pesticide for at least ten years and that the cancer develops no later than forty years after contact. The French legislator attributes the increased risk of illness not to one specific active substance, but more generally to repeated exposure to crop protection products. Exposure is understood to include direct contact with the substances, inhalation, or contact with treated crops.
French Minister of Agriculture Julien Denormandie had already promised recognition of prostate cancer at the end of October in the presence of agricultural officials. Those involved can now apply for sickness benefits at their social security fund. The decree applies to all agricultural workers, but is especially important for all residents of the French Caribbean islands Guadeloupe and Martinique.
Between 1972 and 1993, the pesticide chlordecone was used there in large quantities on banana plantations. In one study, residues of the substance were found in 90 percent of adults. Guadeloupe and Martinique have some of the highest prostate cancer rates in the world.
In the Netherlands and other EU countries, scientific research on the medical consequences of using chemical agents in greenhouses and fields has also been ongoing for some time. The trade union FNV had previously stated that the link between pesticides and fatal diseases among farmers has already been scientifically proven.
At the end of 2019, the TV program Zembla drew attention to Parkinson’s disease caused by agricultural chemicals, but in the Netherlands the link has not yet been officially recognized. According to neurologist Bas Bloem (Radboud UMC Nijmegen), the connection is unmistakable.
After the Zembla broadcast, more than eighty people reported to the reporting point of the Dutch Parkinson’s Association that they have Parkinson’s and had previously worked with pesticides.