In January 2014, the Dutch Health Council concluded that residents of areas near agricultural plots in the Netherlands regularly report health effects such as nausea and skin, eye or upper respiratory tract irritation. However, hardly any research has been carried out on possible health effects due to pesticide exposure in the Netherlands.
This advice was submitted to the State Secretaries of the ministries of Infrastructure & Water Mangement and of Economic Affairs & Climate Policy. The Dutch Health Council also stated that data on the health complaints of residents outside the Netherlands are insufficient to indicate whether they could be correlated with pesticide exposure. Moreover, the Council concludes that there is a lack of available data in the Netherlands.
Exposure research first
The Dutch Health Council advised to start with exposure research. Followed by research on potential health effects, depending on the results of the exposure research. Therefore, Dutch parliament committed to long-term exposure research for residents near agricultural plots. The ministries of Infrastructure & Water Mangement and of Economic Affairs & Climate Policy commissioned RIVM (Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu) to coordinate this research, starting with the exposure of residents near flower bulbs cultivation.