Pesticide residues present in more than 80% of European agricultural soils

[safefood]

Soil contamination by pesticide residues has become an issue of increasing concern in the last few decades. Researchers from Wageningen University & Research tested 76 pesticide residues in agricultural topsoils from eleven EU countries. Over 80% of the soil samples contained pesticide residues, the research team reports in the scientific magazine Science of the Total Environment. The presence of mixtures of pesticide residues in soils are the rule rather than the exception, the study reveals.

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