Greenhouse connection to neonic contamination disputed
Environment Canada believes those greenhouses, which produce vegetables such as tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers, are contributing to high levels of insecticides in surface water in the surrounding area.
Environment Canada scientists collected surface water samples from 15 locations across Ontario in 2012-14, including a creek and a drain near Leamington.
The scientists were monitoring the water for neonicotinoids, such as imidacloprid, which is applied to fruit and vegetable crops in Canada.
The Sturgeon Creek test site near Leamington in southwestern Ontario had an average imidacloprid concentration of 1,390 nanograms per litre, more than five times the government threshold of 230 nanograms per litre.
Environment Canada also detected high levels of imidacloprid in a creek in the Niagara region, home to vineyards and orchards that rely on the insecticide.
An Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers spokesperson said imidacloprid is used as drench on greenhouse tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers, but it can be used only once per growing season.
It’s not clear that insecticides applied in a greenhouse are responsible for high levels in local streams because many crops are grown in the area around Leamington.
The PMRA has proposed a ban on all agricultural uses of imidacloprid in Canada because of potential risks to aquatic insects.
However, if the problem is related to vegetable, fruit and greenhouse production in specific parts of the country, maybe Health Canada could introduce regulations that target that sector.
Read more at The Western Producer