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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Environment
Ajit Niranjan

EU chemical firms plan to export rising quantities of ‘toxic’ pesticides, documents show

A plane spraying pesticide in Costa Rica, where the Guardian has previously reported on the dangerous effects of chemicals imported from the EU.
A plane spraying pesticide in Costa Rica, where the Guardian has previously reported on the dangerous effects of chemicals imported from the EU. Photograph: Adrian Hepworth/Alamy

European chemical corporations have issued plans to export increasing quantities of “toxic” pesticides deemed too dangerous to spray on EU farms, an investigation has found, despite a pledge to end the practice.

Planned exports of domestically banned pesticides rose from 81,600 tons in 2018 to 122,000 tons in 2024, according to export notifications obtained via freedom of information requests by Unearthed, the investigative newsroom of Greenpeace, and the Swiss nonprofit Public Eye.

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