Pesticides in the Aunis Plain: collected hair and urine from 70 children

“We would like ARS or the state to do this. We want to change the situation. We are talking about the health of our children,” emphasizes Gwenaël Mondet, representative of the “research and studies” center of the Avenir Santé Environnement association, whose volunteers took strands of hair from almost 70 children this Wednesday, April 10. 17. Last Monday their urine was already sent to the laboratory. The operation, carried out at the association’s headquarters located in Périgny (Charente-Maritime), is part of the civil project “NEEXT”, an acronym meaning “Our children are exposed to toxic substances”. Purpose: to detect whether or not the presence of pollutants is present.

Founded in 2018, Avenir Santé Environnement has since campaigned to ban synthetic pesticides and begin a real transition to agriculture. These samples recruited children living in six municipalities (Périgny, Saint-Rogatien, Clavette, Bournieuf, Dompierre-sur-Mer and Montrouille) in the La Rochelle region. “I wonder about the health of my daughters. I hope there won’t be any, but the idea, if pesticides exist, is to nudge decision-makers to act,” says Sebastien Calt, who came with his two teenage daughters, ages 10 and 14. This trained agronomist, based in Saint-Rogatien, on the Aunis Plain, gave his daughters the opportunity to choose whether or not to participate in the operation: “They hesitated before agreeing. Naturally, it doesn’t bother me, but pesticides are everywhere,” he adds.

“I want to know if it’s important”

Sandrine Piveteau accompanied her daughter and son, aged 14 and 15. “We came from Lyon in 2016 and have since discovered a problem in the Aounis plain. I want to know if this is important, maybe there is something that needs to be adjusted every day,” explains this mother. One hundred hairs had to be taken from each young man at a distance of up to 1 cm from the root. Each of these hairs retains even a tiny trace of the pollutants that passed through their body, and thus allows them to go back in time. The first results will be sent to the association within four months. Avenir Santé Environnement will then propose public restitution in the presence of scientists.