Small doses - Pesticides News No. 26

EPA claims safety error at DuPont and Rhone-Poulenc
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued its first civil administrative case against the agrochemical companies DuPont and Rhône-Poulenc for “misbranding”, or incorrectly labelling, pesticides and posing a risk to workers’ health. In total, the EPA is seeking a total of US $ 2.125 million in penalties from these corporations.
    The EPA cites 379 counts of prohibited sale and distribution by DuPont involving Bladex 4L, Bladex DF (containing cyanazine), Extrazine II DF and Extrazine II 4L. Rhône-Poulenc was cited for 46 counts of prohibited sale and distribution of a registered products Chipco Ronstar 50 WP (containing oxadiazon). Both compaflies were issued a “Notice of Serious Error” by the EPA during last year.
    The EPA’s notices advised DuPont and Rhône-Poulenc that their proposed amended Worker Protection Standard labels contained serious error(s) which may create a potential for serious harm to workers, pesticide handlers and other people in the environment.

EPA Activities Update, 24 October , 1994.

Australian cattle contaminated
Australian cattle farmers fear that up to one million cattle have been contaminated by a pesticide that makes them unfit for export. The Australian government says that a drought in eastern Australia since May has caused a shortage of feed, and producers in New South Wales and Queensland therefore gave cotton-leaf trash instead.
    Unfortunately, the insecticide chlorfluazuron had been used on the cotton to control caterpillars, leading to the beef being contaminated. An emergency standard of I part per million (ppm) of chlorfluazuron in fat was set. This level has been exceeded—as much as 8 ppm have been found. An Australian government-industry residue management group has introduced a mandatory testing programme.

Economic Times 11/11/94 and Asahi Evening News 18/11/94.

Polish radio makes waves mosquitos
zet Radio, in Poland reckons that the 14.5 KHz signal which it broadcasts on drives away mosquitoes. Mr Andrez Wojciechowski, the station president, claims that the operating frequency corresponds with the noise made by male mosquitoes. Pregnant females, the only mosquitoes which bite, want to avoid males and are therefore dispersed by the radio waves. Professor John Brady of Imperial College, London is more sceptical, saying that there has been no evidence to suggest that mosquitoes respond to 14.5 KHz emitted by Zet Radio.

Pest Control News, No. 22, Oct 1994.

[This article first appeared in Pesticides News No. 26, December 1994, page 11]