After warning the BMZA that the uncontrolled use of pesticides causes discomfort among the population, it recalls that many studies have shown the damage these drugs cause to human health. Doctors in Bilbao have stressed that the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM) has ratified that these pesticides are related to the proliferation of cancers and other diseases.

The Academy of Medical Sciences of Bilbao has also warned that Directive 2009/128/EC of the European Parliament ordered aerial spraying of pesticides, allowing exceptions for very special situations and always in places where there are no people in the area; in a populated country such as the CAPV, this last condition is obviously not met. For this reason, doctors believe that spraying cuprous pine trees from the air will unreservedly affect water, air and the environment as well as the people and animals living there.

Having recalled that the lands of Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa have suffered for more than a quarter of a century fumigations of pesiticide Dimilin, which has harmed human health and the environment, the BMZA distinguishes between the limited use of cuprous oxide – for the treatment of tomatoes or vineyards, for example – and the massive and indiscriminate distribution of the same product, in this second case. Among the health damage caused by cuprous oxide, doctors have highlighted the effects it can cause on the liver, such as in the kidneys, throat and lung irritations, diarrhea, dermatitis.

For all these reasons, BMZA has asked the authorities not to use the fumigation of cuprous oxide on the pine forests concerned, as it will harm the health of the local population and the environment. They have called on the Administration to begin the transition to a more sustainable forestry industry, financially supporting the owners of pine trees affected by the disaster.