7 mei 2024 om 12:02 Update: 3 uur geleden
ProRail wants to use fewer chemical weed killers on and along the track. In the coming years, the use of substances such as the controversial glyphosate must be phased out. The railway company says that suitable alternatives are not always available.
Glyphosate is a controversial herbicide that is also used in agriculture. Apart from the consequences for biodiversity, according to some experts, the drug can cause cancer or Parkinson’s. After much discussion, the EU has extended the authorization for the use of glyphosate for ten years.
ProRail says it uses chemical weed killers, especially glyphosate, to keep the tracks and inspection paths along them safe. The railway manager wants to do that less. ProRail promises not to use chemical weed control along the track at all by 2028.
So that will take a while. “We want to guarantee safety as much as possible in a sustainable way, but this is not possible everywhere,” the railway company writes. ProRail further emphasizes that the chemical agents should be sprayed “very specifically on the weeds and not used on the roadside”.
ProRail already prohibits the use of chemical weed killers on tracks and inspection paths in water extraction areas, groundwater protection areas and Natura 2000 areas in contracts with contractors.
Tags: ProRail reduce controversial weedkiller glyphosate railways Economy
