Pesticides News
No.105 November 2016
PAN-UK contributes experience and expertise at the PIC CRC meeting This September, two members of the PAN-UK team, Dr. Stephanie Williamson (staff scientist) and Dr. Rina Guadagnini (toxicologist) shared information from PAN UK’s work on highly hazardous pesticides (HHPs) with the Chemical Review Committee (CRC) of the Rotterdam Convention. PAN UK’s Contributions Drawing on experience from two on-going projects in Costa Rica and six former Soviet Union countries, PAN UK’s scientists presented information on the conditions of use of two of the pesticides under discussion at the CRC – carbofuran and carbosulfan.
CRC delegates are often concerned about the availability of alternative methods of pest control and how farmers will manage if specific pesticides are withdrawn. The PAN UK team therefore took time to share information on IPM approaches and alternative control methods for Colorado beetle in potato (which is the pest that carbosulfan is most commonly used against in Georgia); for tackling whitefly on tomato and nematodes on pineapple in Central America.
Parties in May 2017.
Further, a Severely Hazardous Pesticide Formulation (SHPF) of carbofuran suspension concentrate at or above 330g per litre was recognised as meeting the Rotterdam criteria. It was notified by Colombia as being responsible for a significant number of documented poisoning incidents. They outlined the reasons behind An assessment of 699 Costa Rica’s recent decision to occupational exposure poisoning ban carbofuran (all uses of which cases reported through the terminate at the end of 2016) and Colombian National System for shared the preliminary results Public Health Surveillance, in from a joint PAN UK and The Insecticides 2011, identified carbofuran as, far Rotterdam Convention study in Carbofuran and carbosulfan were and away, the most commonly Georgia that has identified both recommended for addition to reported active ingredient. In carbosulfan as the most frequently the PIC list in 2015 by CRC 2013, follow up surveys of 100 applied pesticide by workers on members. This meeting finalised people affected by occupational large farms. The project results the decision guidance document poisonings with carbofuran also reported on a serious for both pesticides ready for revealed that 95% involved poisoning incident from the national delegates to vote on at the products formulated as a insecticide. next Rotterdam Conference of the suspension concentrate containing 330g carbofuran per litre. The Colombian authorities then notified the Rotterdam Secretariat with the details of this health surveillance study and their proposal for its inclusion as a possible Severely Hazardous Pesticide Formulation under the Convention. This case is a good example of how the Rotterdam Convention can help to identify particularly problematic products causing ill health when used under all too common conditions of limited education and poor handling practices. Dr. Rina Guadagnini (toxicologist PAN UK) presenting to the Chemical Review Commitee of the Roterdam Covention in Rome
www.pan-uk.org
The Herbicide Unfortunately, little progress was 6