A council in Drenthe is to consider banning growing lilies near schools and residential areas over concerns about the impact of pesticides on children’s health.

Westerveld council took action after a local doctor petitioned parliament to ban the use of chemicals in bulb fields unless it can be proved that they are harmless.

Evelien van Soldt, whose practice is in the village of Wapserveen, said she was alarmed by the high incidence of neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s disease and ALS, also known as motor neurone disease, in the area.

“There are three children at one primary school with leukaemia,” she said in a letter that has been signed by 400 other medical professionals.

“The municipality should ban substances used to protect crops until it can be proved that they are not harmful. If in doubt, don’t spray,” Van Soldt wrote.

The public health agency RIVM carried out a study four years ago into the effect of exposure to chemical pesticides in farming communities. It said there were indications of a link between crop cultivation and some health conditions, but more information was needed to explain the results.

No outright ban

Councillors in Westerveld said they were not looking to impose an outright ban on pesticides, but they were examining legal options such as setting limits on chemicals or banning cultivation near schools and residential areas.

“We are better off improving our agreements with growers rather than coming out with bold statements that don’t stand up to scrutiny,” Christian Democrat (CDA) councillor Gerjo Ballast told RTV Drenthe after councillors unanimously backed the study.

Two years ago a court banned a lily grower in Boterveen, a community in Westerveld municipality, from using pesticides after nine local residents took legal action.

“Regarding a number of crop protection measures used by the lily grower, the possibility cannot be ruled out that they could have an unacceptably adverse effect on people,” the judge ruled.