{"id":24827,"date":"2011-03-22T11:57:59","date_gmt":"2011-03-22T15:57:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/24827\/pesticide-causing-problems-2\/"},"modified":"2011-03-22T11:57:59","modified_gmt":"2011-03-22T15:57:59","slug":"pesticide-causing-problems-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/24827\/pesticide-causing-problems-2\/","title":{"rendered":"An Old Pesticide Causing New Problems"},"content":{"rendered":"

Posted here by:
\nAfSD\u2122(ADVOCATE FOR SAVING DOGS\u2122)<\/a>
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

An Old Pesticide Causing New Problems<\/strong><\/h4>\n

posted by: Emily L.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

\"An<\/strong><\/p>\n

NOTE: This is a guest post from Tori Timms, a campaigner for the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF).<\/a><\/em> <\/strong><\/p>\n

Around fifty years ago, German company Hoechst Schering AgrEvo patented
\nwhat was then perceived to be a new ‘wonder’ chemical pesticide \u2013
\nendosulfan. This, they believed, could be used on almost all crops and
\ncould selectively pick its way through the application zone, eliminating
\npests but leaving useful insects unscathed. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Sadly this has
\nnot been the case. Fast forward a few decades, and endosulfan has come
\nout of patent, and generic versions are being produced and sold around
\nthe world, mainly in developing countries. All but one of the top ten
\ncotton producing countries used it and other regular uses include on
\nsoy, rice, wheat, vegetables, fruits, nuts, coffee and tobacco crops. <\/strong><\/p>\n

There has been growing concern internationally about the unintentional
\nconsequences of endosulfan. This has triggered a wave of national bans
\non the pesticide, and in 2011 the future manufacture and use of the
\npesticide is under debate. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Since last year, endosulfan, like
\nDDT, has been officially classed as a Persistent Organic Pollutant
\n(POP). POPs take a very long time to break down naturally once they have
\nbeen released into the environment, and they can be transported over
\nlong distances. Traces of endosulfan have been found in the blood of
\npolar bears in Svalbard, the blubber of minke whales and even in grasses
\non Mt. Everest. <\/strong><\/p>\n

All pesticides are hazardous by design,
\nmanufactured with the sole aim of killing, repelling or inhibiting the
\ngrowth of organisms, and those which are POPs are particularly noted for
\ntheir high toxicity. Endosulfan is no exception. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Endosulfan
\nis readily absorbed through human skin, the stomach and lungs and acute
\nexposure can be fatal. The National Poison Control Information Center of
\nthe Philippines recorded 278 poisonings including 85 deaths due to
\nendosulfan in 1990 and more recently, in 2008, five school-age boys died
\nin Jharkhand, India, after drinking contaminated milk. <\/strong><\/p>\n

The
\nstories of fatal accidental exposure are almost always in developing
\ncountries, and always devastating for the families and community of
\nthose lost. The Pesticide Action Network<\/a>
\nreported one such story where a father in Benin had come back from
\nworking in the fields and left his pesticide-soaked work clothes on the
\nroof of his house to keep them safely out of reach from his young
\nchildren. Overnight it rained, and water from the roof ran over his
\nclothes and down into the family’s water containers. The next morning
\nthe children used the water for drinking and washing. Within minutes
\nthey suffered headaches, nausea and convulsions. Within 20 hours, all
\nfour children were dead. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Chronic endosulfan exposure has been
\nlinked to severe physical deformities, delayed reproductive development,
\nsuppressed immunity, renal failure, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, increased
\nrisk of Parkinson’s Disease and infertility. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Unborn children
\nand infants are particularly vulnerable because endosulfan accumulates
\nin placental tissue, umbilical cord blood and breast milk. <\/strong><\/p>\n

This is a worldwide concern: despite domestic bans on its use, it has
\nbeen found in samples from women living in countries including Denmark,
\nFinland, Spain, and the US. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Endosulfan is also devastating to livestock and wildlife. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Run-off from fields has emptied life from large stretches of rivers,
\nand spraying has resulted in severe declines in beneficial insects.
\nKerala Agricultural University recently published their findings that
\nwithin a day of endosulfan being applied to cardamom plants, honey bees
\nin Idukki had shown symptoms of poisoning and colony populations had
\ndeclined. <\/strong><\/p>\n

There are proven, effective, economically-viable and
\nsocially sustainable alternatives for all uses of endosulfan.
\nRecognising this and the huge body of scientific evidence against the
\ncontinued use of endosulfan, more than 70 countries have now announced
\nnational bans. These include Brazil, Colombia, Cote d’Ivoire, Indonesia,
\nAustralia and all EU countries. <\/strong><\/p>\n

When announcing the US phase
\nout, the US EPA highlighted that “endosulfan poses unacceptable risks to
\nagricultural workers and wildlife” and that it simply cannot be applied
\nsafely for the majority of its uses. <\/strong><\/p>\n

However, because of its
\npersistence, no country can protect its people from endosulfan until a
\nglobal ban is in place. This could be achieved by listing endosulfan
\nunder Annex A of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic
\nPollutants (POPs), with no exemptions made for any of its uses. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Last year, the Stockholm Convention Scientific Committee (POPRC) made
\nthe recommendation that endosulfan be globally restricted. National
\nparties to the convention will make the final decision on this in Geneva
\nnext month. <\/strong><\/p>\n

We are very close to a global ban on endosulfan,
\nbut first it is necessary to persuade the handful of countries in
\nopposition it is the right action to take. Opposition is being led by
\nthe Indian delegation, the same government that is the owner and
\nbeneficiary of one of the world’s top endosulfan manufacturers. <\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong>Please
\nshow your support to governments putting people and planet before
\nprofit by signing EJF’s petition for a global ban on endosulfan.<\/a><\/strong> <\/p>\n

—
\nThe
\nEnvironmental Justice Foundation is a charity working to empower people
\nwho suffer most from environmental abuses to find peaceful ways of
\npreventing them. EJF provides film and advocacy training to individuals
\nand grassroots organisations, enabling them to document, expose and
\ncreate long term solutions to environmental abuses.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Source:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.care2.com\/causes\/environment\/blog\/an-old-pesticide-causing-new-problems\/<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/strong>Please join me at Friendburst<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/strong>Advocate for Saving Dogs\u2122<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>Animal Rights<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>\u2665We\u2665Are\u2665All\u2665Connected\u2665<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong> <\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong> <\/strong><\/strong><\/strong> <\/strong><\/strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Posted here by: AfSD\u2122(ADVOCATE FOR SAVING DOGS\u2122) An Old Pesticide Causing New Problems posted by: Emily L. NOTE: This is a guest post from Tori Timms, a campaigner for the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF). Around fifty years ago, German company Hoechst Schering AgrEvo patented what was then perceived to be a new ‘wonder’ chemical pesticide […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43,13,14,28,17,10,19,837,26,2,1428,25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cooking","category-environment","category-family","category-health","category-home","category-life","category-lifestyles","category-nature-2","category-news","category-other","category-politics-2","category-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24827","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24827"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24827\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}