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PAN AP Hits Croplife on Aerial Pesticide Spraying in Davao del Sur's Banana Plantations |
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10 June 2009, Pesticide Action Network Asia and the Pacific
Pesticide Action Network Asia and the Pacific (PAN AP), an international group working towards the reduction and elimination of pesticides, criticized Croplife and the Philippine Banana Growers and Exporters Association (PBGEA) for reacting negatively to a Department of Health (DOH) study and claiming that pesticides are safe to use.
"It is expected that Croplife will defend the banana industry's claim that aerial spraying is safe because they need to protect their corporate members which are multi-billion dollar businesses," said Sarojeni Rengam, Executive Director of PAN AP. She added, "In fact, people across the globe should be informed that Croplife is actually facing a class suit in a US court filed by Ecuadorian aerial spray pilots, plantation workers and residents for the dangers and long-term effects of Mancozeb that is consistently sprayed aerially."
Rengam commended the Philippine health department for undertaking the study and called on health officials to act on the recommendations of the study so as to protect the lives of residents affected by toxic chemicals.
The DOH recently presented their 2006 study entitled "Health and Environmental Assessment of Sitio Camocaan in Hagonoy, Davao del Sur", a small village located in Southern Mindanao, Philippines. The study revealed that the majority of the village residents are exposed to pesticides as it found higher levels of ETU (ethylenethiourea) in their blood samples.
ETU is a breakdown product of a group of fungicides called EBDCs (ethylenebisdithiocarbamates), one of which is Mancozeb, approved for use in the Philippines. Mancozeb is listed by the State of California, USA, as a chemical known to cause cancer in humans and classified as carcinogenic by the Swedish pesticide regulatory authority. In Southern Mindanao, Mancozeb is also routinely sprayed aerially by big banana plantations.
In addition, the study also confirmed high levels of ETU and chlorothalonil in the air and soil as a result of drifts of pesticide into the community. The disturbing effects of pesticide poisoning on the village residents, as reported, include sentinel cases of chloracne, childhood global developmental delay and thyroid gland disorders.
The DOH study recommended, among others, the banning of aerial spraying of pesticides that is significantly causing numerous illnesses linked to symptoms of pesticide poisoning among the residents.
Such recommendation elicited strong reactions from banana plantations and Croplife, who have since been repeatedly hitting the researchers on their methodologies and study findings.
Croplife International is a global association of agro-chemical corporations. Its company members include the top 6 chemical transnational companies in terms of profits - BASF, Bayer CropScience, Dow Agrosciences, Dupont, Monsanto and Syngenta.
The DOH study was originally prompted by complaints from Camocaan residents in the late '90s. The residents also sought the assistance of PAN AP toxicologist Dr. Romy Quijano who then made an investigation in the village. His findings included positive results for pesticide metabolite ethylenethiourea (ETU) in 11 out of 24 individuals examined. A spectrum of complaints and symptoms that are similar to that of acute pesticide poisoning were also found which included, among others, asthma, thyroid cancer, goiter, ulcerated and non-healing skin lesions, cleft palate, and delayed mental development in children.
"I was not involved in any way in the DOH study and the companies' reference to my previous findings on the Camocaan situation is erroneous and misleading", Dr. Quijano said.
Dr. Quijano is a recipient of the prestigious Jennifer Altman award in honor of his outstanding dedication to scientific integrity in environmental health sciences and the pursuit of science for public interest. He works as a professor at the University of the Philippines College of Medicine Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology.
"The professional integrity of the toxicologists are beyond doubt and the efforts of the companies to discredit the results of the study by misinforming the public that fungicides and the method of aerial spraying do not pose risks on human health and environment only expose their callous disregard of human health and the environment in their pursuit of profits," Rengam added.
The Malaysia-based PAN AP and Dr. Quijano have been documenting the ill-effects of pesticides poisoning for almost two decades now and have been instrumental in banning extremely hazardous pesticides known as the "Dirty Dozen" worldwide.
PAN AP hopes that the veracity of the DOH study will lead to strong government policies banning aerial spraying in the Philippines and supports efforts in protecting the lives of people by reducing with the aim of eliminating the use of highly hazardous pesticides worldwide.
Resources: http://www.panap.net/48.0.html?&no_cache=1&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=577&tx_ttnews[backPid]=69&cHash=0fffb15fe6
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