Chemical
industry's bad reputation
"The recent debate over oestrogenic chemicals
in the environment has placed the reputation of the chemical industry at
stake," according to Simon de Bree, president of the European Chemical
Industry Council (CEFIC) at a recent meeting. Results of CEFIC's 1996 public
opinion survey indicate generally that the European public thinks less of the
chemical industry compared with opinions two years ago. The public also believe
industry is making less effort to control pollution. People do not think
chemical companies are fair and open with information, except in Belgium. With a
sense of foreboding, de Bree concluded: "It is dangerous to have this lowly
image; only the nuclear industry has a worse one."
Chemistry & Industry, 1 July 1996.
Worry
over Salmonella-based rodenticides
Public health scientists in the US have learnt
that commercially available Salmonella-based rodenticides are being
produced in Cuba and distributed to developing countries world-wide. The
information on the package states that the product, salmocoumarin (Biorat), is
innocuous to humans and does not contaminate the environment.
The use of Salmonella as a rodenticide was proposed a
century ago. The agents were found to have no definable impact on rodent
populations and caused illness and death in humans during their preparation and
handling. A trial of Salmonella among farm rats showed that some rats
remained culture positive for at least one year, during which the rat population
doubled in size. Salmonella-based rodenticides were banned in the US,
Germany and the UK in the 1920s, 1930s and 1960s respectively.
Lancet, Vol 347, 15 June 1996.
DDT
masquerading as 'pyrethrum'
The Lion brand of mosquito coil, manufactured in
China, used to be imported into Jamaica. It had a label stating it contained
pyrethrum powder 1.3%. In 1995, during a random assessment of the product for
quality control, the coils were found to contain between 6-8% DDT. This result
was confirmed by three separate laboratories both in Jamaica and in the US. All
three laboratories found no trace of pyrethrum in the samples tested. DDT is
banned in Jamaica but, even so, this constitutes an obvious case of fraud. The
product has since been removed from the shelves and, according to the Jamaican
Pesticides Control Authority, no further importation will be allowed into the
country.
Pesticides Control Authority, 10 Caledonia Avenue, Kingston 5, Jamaica, 22 July
1996.
DDT
poisons Italian lake
Lake Maggiore in Italy has been found to contain
at least six times the permitted level of DDT. Levels of this insecticide,
widely banned across Europe, have been discovered in some fish caught in the
Lombardy lake. Edo Ronchi, Italy's environment minister, blamed industry for
dumping DDT.
Daily Telegraph. 17/6/96.
[This
article first appeared in Pesticides News No. 33, September 1996,
page 31]