Small Doses - Pesticides News No. 24

Metam-sodium spill—$40 million payout
The State of California and the US Federal Government have reached a proposed US$ 40 million settlement with the companies held responsible for the 19,000 gallons railway spill of metam-sodium into the Sacremento River in 1991 (See PN 13 p.14) which killed 100,000 fish. The biggest payout of US$35 million is due from the Southern Pacific railroad operators.

Chemistry & Engineering News 21/3/94.

Pesticide fire in Pakistan
Eight people were admitted to hospital when a fire broke out on 12 April at Ciba-Geigy’s pesticide manufacturing plant in Karachi, Pakistan. The blaze occurred two days after the company had inaugurated a new warehouse on the same site and demonstrated safety features to local dignitaries. About 50-60 tonnes of pesticides were destroyed in the fire, including mono-croptophos, cypermethrin/profenofos, metalaxyl and triasulphuron/terbutryn. Losses were put at US$ 1 million.

European Chemical News, 25/4/94.

Pet cat sprayed then stirred
A pest control operator who treated a house in High Wycombe, England, for fleas, was found guilty of using a pesticide (Ficam Plus containing bendiocarb) and failing to comply with the approval conditions. The operator carried out the treatment of the property correctly, then offered to spray the cat, a Persian Blue, as a further ‘precautionary measure’. Following the spraying, the cat went into a fit and lost control of its back legs. The operator and his company were fined £300 and £750.

Ministry of Agriculture, Campaign against illegal poisoning of wildlife, London, April 1994.

Air spray objections
Federico Pena, US Transportation Secretary wrote in March to 26 mostly tropical nations to ask them to stop a requirement for incoming airliners to conduct a knock-down spray (often involving D-phenotrhin) of their passenger compartments against any insect stowaways (especially mosquitoes). US citizens raised so much objection that the practice was stopped for planes landing in the US as long ago as 1979. There is a worry that it does more harm to people than to the targeted insects. There are currently at lest two lawsuits filed against US carriers that claim the spray does harm. “It’s not an insecticide. It just kills bugs,” was one big contradiction in terms quoted by an airline using the insecticide spray.

Barron’s, US, 28/3/94.

[This article first appeared in Pesticides News No. 24, June 1994, page 15]