Hundreds sign petition to ban '˜dangerous' pesticides in Rother

The petition, created by Lenka Medlik, wants the spraying of glyphosate herbicides to be banned in Rother amid claims they can cause cancer.

The online petition, on the campaign website, (http://www.38degrees.org.uk|www.38degrees.org.uk}, calls on Rother District Council (RDC) not to spray toxic pesticides in its parks.

More than 720 people have so far signed it.

Members of 38 Degrees are pushing councils to drop ‘toxic pesticides’ in 43 places across the UK, setting up online petitions as part of their campaigning.

Lenka said: “The use of toxic glyphosate chemicals in weedkillers has already been banned or restricted in eight countries.

“We are extremely concerned that our community, including young children and dogs, and our precious wildlife are being routinely exposed to glyphosate that the World Health Organisation states is ‘probably carcinogenic’.”

Edinburgh, Brighton, Aberdeen and Glastonbury have already banned the chemicals.

Earlier this year, the French government announced its plans to ban glyphosate mixed with certain additives.

Carcinogens are substances that can lead to cancer under certain levels of exposure. Glyphosate is mainly used on crops such as corn and soybeans that are genetically modified to survive it. The weed killer has been detected in food, water and in the air after it has been sprayed, according to a report from the WHO, which was published last year.

The evidence for the WHO’s conclusion was from studies of exposure in the USA, Canada, and Sweden published since 2001.

A spokesman for RDC said the authority was investigating in the wake of the online petition but was unable to provide a comment as the Observer went to press.

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