IN THE KNOW
Endosulfan highly toxic, banned in 17 countries
By Cyril Bonabente
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 22:15:00 06/27/2008
Filed Under: Agriculture, Health, Sulpicio ferry disaster
MANILA, Philippines -- Endosulfan is a highly toxic pesticide used on food crops like grains, tea, fruits and vegetables, and on nonfood crops like tobacco and cotton. It is also used as a wood preservative.
The pesticide, a cream- or brown-colored solid that sometimes takes the form of crystals or flakes, is stored in bottles and cans. It is not flammable and does not dissolve easily in water. It attaches to soil particles floating in water and to soil found at the bottom of bodies of water.
Some animals living in endosulfan-contaminated waters suffer from kidney, liver, or testes damage and a reduced ability to fight off infections.
Ingesting large amounts of endosulfan by eating the meat of contaminated animals and drinking contaminated water can cause severe poisoning in humans and lead to their deaths.
Humans are also in danger of breathing contaminated air and having skin contact with contaminated soil.
According to the US Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, endosulfan prevents the human central nervous system from working properly and causes hyperactivity, nausea, dizziness, headache and convulsions.
The Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA), which advocates the use of ecologically sound alternatives to pesticides, says that endosulfan has been linked to birth defects.
In the Indian state of Kerala, many residents are suffering from physical deformities, cancers and disorders of the central nervous system, which are said to have been caused by the decades-long aerial spraying of endosulfan by the government-owned Plantation Corporation of Kerala.
Pesticides intended for the Indian government's cashew plantations reportedly leached into the soil and contaminated the residents' drinking water.
Kerala imposed an indefinite ban on endosulfan in 2002, because of the high incidence of health problems in the area,
The Philippines' Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority banned endosulfan in 1993, but lifted the ban two years later to control a dreaded disease that threatened the country's pineapple export industry.
According to PANNA, endosulfan is banned in Bahrain, Belize, Cambodia, Columbia, Germany, Kuwait, the Netherlands, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Syria, Tonga and United Arab Emirates.
Endosulfan has been severely restricted in Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Finland, Honduras, Iceland, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Korea, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Norway, Panama, Russia, Serbia & Montenegro, Thailand, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and Venezuela, PANNA said.
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