PAN International Website

Pesticides News No 36
The Journal of the Pesticides Trust [now PAN UK]
An international perspective on the health and environmental effects of pesticides
Quarterly/June 1997

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Editorial 2

Wildlife
Where have all the birds gone? - RSPB report blames pesticides 3
 A new report from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) shows that an alarming number of bird populations have crashed in the last twenty five years - and pesticides are implicated as one of the main causes. Rachel Carson's seminal work Silent Spring, on the same theme, was written well over thirty years ago. How long can we continue using pesticides in this way? Peter Beaumont reports on the main findings.

Third world
A catalogue of gross contamination organochlorine production and exposure in India 4
 India is one of the few remaining countries still engaged in the large scale manufacture, use and export of some of the most toxic chlorinated pesticides, such as DDT, HCB and pentachlorophenol. David Santillo, Paul Johnston, Ruth Stringer and Bob Edwards analyse the pollution produced by this industry.

Occupational health
Health and safety concerns from European survey of operators 7
 The European Federation of Agricultural Workers (EFA) commissioned Philippe Ruelle of PAN-Belgium to analyse the results of its first ever survey of member's concerns about pesticide issues. Results show that European agricultural workers still experience hazards from pesticides and need improved training and health surveillance.

Third world
Pesticide policy in Costa Rica 8
 This paper by Stefan Agne and Hermann Waibel examines the recent history of pesticide use and the political and institutional setting for crop protection in Costa Rica. It provides an assessment of institutional and economic factors that influence crop protection.

Hazardous chemicals
Disposal dilemma: a persistent sheep dip problem 11
 Recently, attention has focused on the health hazards of using sheep dips, but pollution hazards also arise from the disposal of these chemicals. Robin Maynard outlines the environmental damage caused by sheep dip disposal, the inadequate and contradictory advice given to farmers, and suggests alternative strategies.

PAN International meeting
Feeding the world without poisons 12
 From 17-21 May 1997, 95 people from over 40 countries gathered in Cuba to challenge the view that pesticides are essential for agriculture. The Pesticides Action Network (PAN) was founded fifteen years ago as an outcome of a global meeting on pesticide issues in Penang. Cuba was chosen for the fourth international PAN meeting to mark the great progress made following the country's dramatic conversion to a more ecologically sound agriculture, and to lend support to one of the key actors in this success, the Cuban Association of Organic Agriculture.

Food and agriculture
UK to have new food safety agency 14
Professor Philip James of the Rowett Research Institute has produced a report on the proposed function and structure of a Food Standards Agency (FSA) to replace food safety assessment, currently controlled by the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food (MAFF).

High insecticide residue levels in food 15
A survey by the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food (MAFF) shows that high levels of organophosphate and carbamate residues continue to occur in fruit and vegetables. Sampling of produce from around the world now shows that the problem is more widely spread - both geographically and by the amount of food affected.

Environment
Endocrine disrupters - latest news 16
 In the last few months there have been a number of key meetings on the impact of synthetic endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). How prevalent are these substances? What should we do about them? These questions, and many more, are currently taxing the minds of environmentalists, industry and government in many different ways. This report highlights current thinking and outlines some practical steps to reduce the threat of EDCs. It particularly draws on the input form the World wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the lead environmental non-governmental organisation concerned with EDCs.

International news 17

Local authorities 18
Turf and lawn care without pesticides
Representives from several local councils have expressed a need form information, particularly with regard to pesticide chemicals. The Pesticides Trust [now PAN UK] has produced an information pamphlet on turf and lawn care to help both professionals and householders make more informed choices. Liz Macfie summarises the key points.

Small Doses 19

Fact sheet
Methyl parathion 20
 Methyl parathion is an organophosphate (OP) insecticide that has caused many health problems - particularly in developing countries - since its introduction onto the market in the early 1950s. This fact sheet provides information on the hazards associated with methyl parathion, focusing also on recent restrictions on its application in the US, implemented because of misuse of the product.

Book reviews and resources 22

 
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