A cocktail of a number of pesticides was found in the water supply of 1 out of every 4 Brazilian cities between 2014 and 2017. In this period, supply companies in 1,396 municipalities detected the presence of all 27 pesticides which they are obligated to test for by law. Of these, 16 are classified by Brazil’s sanitary authority (Anvisa) as extremely or highly toxic, and 11 are associated with the development of chronic diseases such as cancer, fetal malformations, and hormonal and reproductive dysfunctions.
Among the cities with multiple contaminations are the state capitals São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Fortaleza, Manaus, Curitiba, Porto Alegre, Campo Grande, Cuiabá, Florianópolis, and Palmas.
The data is from the Ministry of Health and was obtained and analyzed in a joint investigation by Repórter Brasil, Agência Pública, and Swiss organization Public Eye. The information is part of a public database on drinking water quality, known as Sisagua, which gathers results from tests carried out by supply companies.
The numbers show that water contamination is increasing constantly and significantly. In 2014, 75 percent of tests detected the presence of pesticides. This level rose to 84 percent in 2015 and 88 percent in 2016, reaching 92 percent in 2017. At this pace, in the next few years it could become a struggle to find any water free of pesticides in Brazilian taps.
While the data is public information, the tests are not published in a comprehensive manner, leaving Brazilians in the dark about the risks they run drinking a cup of water. In a joint effort, Repórter Brasil, Agência Pública and Public Eye put together an interactive map with the pesticides found in each city. The map also shows which are above the safe limits according to Brazilian law and European regulation.
Click on the image below to find out the level of contamination in Brazilian cities.
The nationwide scenario of water contamination caused alarm among health professionals. “The situation is extremely worrying and certainly represents risks and impacts on the population’s health,” stated toxicologist and occupational physician Virginia Dapper. The concerns were shared by Aline Gurgel, a researcher in public health at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) in Pernambuco: “alarming data, representing a serious risk to human health.”
Among the pesticides found in over 80 percent of the tests, five of them are classified as “likely carcinogens” by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of the United States, and six are listed as endocrine disruptors by the European Union. Of the 27 pesticides found in Brazil’s water, 21 are banned in the EU due to the risks they offer to health and the environment.
The lack of monitoring is also a serious problem. Of Brazil’s 5,570 municipalities, 2,931 did not carry out tests on their water between 2014 and 2017.
The mixture between these chemicals was one of the aspects which created the most concern among the consulted specialists. The danger is that the combination of substances could multiply harmful effects or even create new dangers. These reactions have been demonstrated in tests, according to chemist Cassiana Montagner. “Even if one pesticide has no effect on human health, it could develop one when mixed with another substance,” explained Ms. Montagner, who researches water contamination in the Institute of Chemistry of the State University of Campinas (Unicamp), in São Paulo state. “The mixture is one of our main worries about pesticides in water.”
Inhabitants of São Paulo drank this cocktail more than anyone else in recent years. The state topped the list of the number of municipalities where all 27 pesticides were found in the water—over 500 cities, including Greater São Paulo and the state capital itself. The state of Paraná came in second, with the full cocktail present in 326 cities, followed by Santa Catarina and Tocantins.
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