Glyphosate: SNCF will no longer use it to weed tracks in 2022


Between the SNCF and glyphosate, the rupture is announced. The largest user of this herbicide in France, the company has announced that it will no longer use it in 2022. Another product will be used to weed railways.

In doing so, SNCF is honoring the commitment it had made to no longer use glyphosate from the end of 2021. This decision was based at the time on the promise, since abandoned, by Emmanuel Macron to ” ban its use in France at the same time. Glyphosate was reauthorized by the European Union until December 2022.

Until now, the company has used 35 to 38 tonnes of this product per year, or 0.4% of total national consumption. Glyphosate was used to weed the railway network, a safety requirement for SNCF. Indeed, without intervention, vegetation could retain water and deform platforms and rails. The tufts of grass are also liable to interfere with the laser beams responsible for checking the gauge of the tracks or to disrupt the inspection rounds of the railway workers.

The company is committed to no longer use this herbicide because of the many controversies surrounding glyphosate, considered harmful and in particular accused of causing cancer. “We are working on alternative treatment solutions, as well as their terms of use, with a view to the next treatment period”, indicated Matthieu Chabanel, deputy general manager in charge of the maintenance and operation projects of the public manager. railroad tracks.

SNCF Réseau plans to replace glyphosate with a mixture composed of more than 95% pelargonic acid, associated with a biocontrol product (based on natural ingredients) and a synthetic molecule from the sulfonylurea family. The solution is presented as less efficient, more expensive and more viscous, which requires shipping larger volumes.

It will be used on tracks and tracks, but not on their surroundings. In accordance with the recent Egalim law, for the balance of trade relations in the agricultural and food sector and a healthy, sustainable diet accessible to all, these areas will have to be mown. These new practices will lead to additional maintenance costs estimated by SNCF at around one hundred million euros per year. An amount which, for the time being, is supported by the government stimulus plan.



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