Undisposed Pesticides Pose Grave Health Hazards

The accumulation of old and unused pesticides that have been banned or expired has mounted to a whopping five lakh tonne globally, posing grave health hazards for the mankind.

Of these, about two lakh tonnes of this poisonous material lies in Asia alone. A similar quantity awaits safe disposal in the Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.

These estimates have been given in a report prepared by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in collaboration with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). The total figure is five-folds the earlier estimate of around one lakh tonnes.

 

The pesticide waste has accumulated over more than 30 years and products are being added continuously, the FAO has said in the report.

The waste sites contain some of the most dangerous insecticides, including organophosphates, persistent organic pollutants (POPs), aldrin, chlordane, DDT.

Dieldrin, endrin and heptachlor that have been banned in most countries for health or environmental reasons. The unused stocks were never removed and disposed of.

As pesticides deteriorate, they form by-products which might be more toxic than the original substance. The waste dump sites also contain contaminated sprayers, empty pesticide containers and huge quantities of heavily polluted soil.

Many stocks are situated near farm fields and wells in poor rural areas as well as near houses, food stores and markets in urban areas. The dumps are often abandoned, unmanaged and in very poor condition.

Though there have been no systematic studies on health effects of these hazardous wastes, local people often complain about headaches, nausea and coughing, the FAO points out.

The removal and destruction of the obsolete pesticides is expensive. The cost of disposal is estimated at around $3 (Rs 145) per kg or litre.

Some countries and agencies, such as the Netherlands, the US, Sweden, Germany and the FAO, have been providing financial assistance to poor countries for the disposal of old chemicals but no more than about 3000 tonnes of such material is estimated to have actually been destroyed.

The FAO has suggested that environmental friendly method of pest control, called the integrated pest management technique, should be promoted to curb the indiscriminate use of harmful chemicals.