The nine studies, which looked at how different nine pesticide chemical compounds affected the developmental neurotoxicity (DNT) in rats, were however shared with regulators in the United States, the Sweden-based researchers said.
The two companies behind the majority of the studies, German chemicals giant Bayer and Swiss agriculture firm Syngenta, said they complied with all regulatory requirements.
The researchers said their study, published in the journal Environmental Health, was the first that sought to quantify the seemingly "recurring phenomenon" of companies not disclosing DNT studies to EU authorities.
"It is outrageous and unbelievable that a good fraction of these studies do not make it to the authorities as required by law," study co-author Axel Mie of Stockholm University told AFP.
The researchers looked at the DNT studies on pesticide chemical compounds submitted to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in recent decades.
Out of 35 studies conducted between 1993 and 2015 submitted to the EPA, nine were not shared with EU authorities, they found.
The studies were conducted on pregnant rats, testing whether the offspring of those exposed to the compounds suffered developmental problems.
Decreased weight gain, delayed sexual maturation and deteriorating motor activity were among the side effects reported in adult offspring in the studies.
Of the nine pesticide compounds, four have now been taken off the EU market, while another four are currently under review, Mie said.
"There must be legal consequences and serious ones for the companies if they do not follow the law," he said.
Bayer and Syngenta, which each sponsored three of the studies, rejected the conclusions of the research.
Bayer said in a statement sent to AFP that it has "always submitted the necessary studies that were required by the EU regulations at the time," adding that the process had changed over the years.
Syngenta said in a statement that it had "complied with all EU and Swiss data requests," adding that the studies in question were produced to meet US regulatory guidelines.
- 'Protecting brains of our children' -
A spokesperson for the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) said stronger legislation in this area came into force in 2021, which requires companies to share "all safety studies" about their products.
Study co-author Christina Ruden urged EU authorities to cross-check data with the EPA and other regulators, calling this change "low-hanging fruit".
But she added that "the absolutely most important action is to remove the responsibility of testing chemicals from the producers, and put that responsibility back on authorities."
While the studies on rats are not directly applicable to humans, the aim of DNT research is to protect people against chemicals which could affect their attention span, concentration, coordination, learning, memory and IQ, Mie said.
"This is about protecting the brains of our children," Ruden added.
French NGOs sue state over pesticide use
Paris (AFP) June 1, 2023 -
A coalition of French environmental charities on Thursday accused the French state of negligence in regulating the use of pesticides, in a landmark legal case.
The five organisations allege the French state is indirectly responsible for the sharp decline in insect, bird and other animal populations which an increasing body of scientific research shows is linked to pesticide use and intensive farming.
In a first court hearing at the Paris administrative court, the NGOs received an initial boost, with the public rapporteur suggesting judges confirm several faults on the part of the state,
The rapporteur suggested ordering the government "to put an end to all the shortcomings that we have identified and take all useful measures to repair the resulting ecological damage".
The conclusions of the rapporteur are often -- but not always followed by the judges -- and it will now be some two weeks before their final ruling.
Similar action against the French state for failing to prevent air pollution or respect its own climate change targets have been successful in recent years, with environmental groups turning to legal activism across Europe to hold governments to account.
In its complaint, the five French groups say the state has failed "with the implementation of procedures to evaluate the risks and authorisations for the commercialisation of pesticides" which have been used in an "excessive" way by the farming sector.
They cite figures showing that insect populations have fallen by 75 percent and wild birds by 30 percent in France over the last 30 years.
- 'Molecules made to kill' -
"As the main cause of this collapse, pesticides are authorised today after an incomplete evaluation procedure which does not enable the products responsible for the decline in insects, birds and the rest of our biodiversity to be identified or banned," the complaint says.
The case has been dubbed "Justice for the Living" by the complainants, the NGOs Pollinis, Notre Affaire a tous, the National Association for the Protection of Water and Rivers, Biodiversite sous nos pieds, and ASPAS.
The French state, represented by the agriculture ministry, said in its written deposition to the court that the European Union was responsable for regulating pesticides and that EU law "takes defending the environment into account."
It denied that two previous national roadmaps for reducing pesticide use since 2007, contained in plans known as Ecophyto 1 and 2, were legally binding.
The government's position has been backed by industry lobby group Phyteis, which says that EU regulations are "some of the strictest in the world" and that there are many factors to explain the decline in insect and bird populations.
Responsible use of pesticides helped provide food security for the country and its citizens, it argues.
But Benoit Fontaine, of the National Museum of Natural History, one of the co-authors of the study showing the decline in biodiversity said: "Pesticides are molecules made to kill."
"I hope the law will go in the right direction and say that we must be responsible in the use of pesticides," he added.
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