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Urgently wanted -  Aid for obsolete stocks

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has again brought attention to the huge amounts of unused pesticides which threaten human health and the environment in many developing countries at a recent meeting on pesticide disposal. FAO urged the international community to increase its efforts to solve this environmental tragedy.

The meeting listed priority countries where it said clean-up operations should  begin soon. This includes Gambia, Madagascar and Tanzania. Several donor countries indicated their interest in funding such operations. It is estimated that there are more than 100,000 tonnes of obsolete pesticide stocks in developing countries, of which Africa has about 15,000 - 20,000 tonnes.
    "Leaking and corroding metal drums filled with obsolete and dangerous pesticides dot urban and rural landscapes of developing countries," said FAO expert Alemayehu Wodageneh. "If stocks are located in urban areas or near water bodies, which is often the case, ground water, irrigation and drinking water are at risk." Enormous stocks of pesticide waste also exist in Eastern Europe and parts of the former Soviet Union.
    Particularly in Africa, large proportions of obsolete pesticides are left-over from earlier foreign assistance programs. They can no longer be used because they are now banned or they have deteriorated as a result of prolonged storage. Among the highly toxic and persistent pesticides identified were aldrin, DDT, dieldrin, endrin, HCH, lindane, malathion, parathion and others.
    According to FAO, in Africa and the Near East only 1,511 tonnes have been disposed of in 10 countries (Niger, Uganda, Madagascar, Mozambique, Zanzibar, Yemen, Tanzania, Zambia, Seychelles, Mauritania). Total costs to remove obsolete pesticides from Africa alone are estimated at US$80 million. Most of the money spent on disposal of pesticides in Africa was financed by the Netherlands, Germany and FAO. Denmark recently committed US$6 million for pesticide removal and capacity building. Up till now the agrochemical industry contributions have been very limited, but they are expected to grow in the near future.
    "Aid agencies are prepared to contribute, but do not wish to cover all costs without a substantial contribution from the agrochemical industry," FAO stressed.
    During the meeting, industry representatives indicated their commitment to finance on a case-by-case basis up to 30% of disposal costs. The industry said it would help to clean up pesticide waste in countries like Senegal (275t), Madagascar (75t) and Gambia (21t).
    The preferred way to dispose of obsolete pesticides is high temperature incineration. Safe incinerators do not exist in developing countries, so pesticides generally need to be re-packaged and shipped to a country with a hazardous waste destruction facility, generally in Europe.
    Unless prevention occurs, FAO warned, it is likely that accumulation of hazardous pesticides in the environment will continue unabated as the world-wide sales of pesticides increased substantially both in 1995 and 1996.
    According to FAO, the main causes for the accumulation of pesticides are:

  • pesticides banned while in storage

  • inability to forecast pest outbreaks and excessive donations

  • poor assessment of pesticides requirements

  • inadequate storage facilities and poor stock management

  • ineffective or wrong pesticide formulations

  • aggressive sales practices.

FAO called on its members to apply integrated pest management (IPM) and to reduce the use of pesticides, where this is possible. (MD)

The creation of obsolete pesticide problems

Buried 'cocktail'  threatens Yemen  ground water
A total of 262 tonnes of obsolete pesticides were disposed of from Yemen in 1996 in an operation jointly funded by the Government of the Netherlands, the FAO technical Cooperative Programme (TCP)  and the Government of Yemen which cost a total of about US$1 million. FAO monitored and supervised the entire disposal operation which was considered a success.
    However, a total of 30 tonnes of a cocktail of pesticides were buried in the  middle of an irrigation scheme in the early 1980s. That total of pesticides and contaminated materials is currently estimated to have passed 100 tonnes through dispersion in ground and irrigation water and has contaminated a large area.
    Surdod Farm is an irrigated state farm which was managed between 1982 and 1985 under a project called Tehama 3, co-financed by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Bank. The actual management of the farm was under a US company known  as Oppenheimer Industries.
    During that period, about 30 tonnes of unwanted or unusable pesticides were ordered by the project management to be buried. Oppenheimer Industries is now untraceable, and the World Bank and IFAD are denying their responsibility in causing the problem and in contributing towards a solution.
    The continuing presence of these buried pesticides poses a serious threat to the health and well-being of those who live and work in the area, primarily because of the very high risk of water contamination. Once these pesticides reach local water supplies it will be impossible to turn back the clock and the contamination will continue for years.
    The cost of disposal is currently estimated at US$ 400,000, but will grow as long as no solution is provided, because the contaminated area is expanding.

Greek donations to Tanzania cause toxic threat to environment
Confusion and misunderstanding surrounds events from the late 1980s when Greece offered a donation of pesticides to Tanzania if the costs of transport could be covered. The Tanzanian authorities notified the Greek authorities that they were unable to cover the costs of transportation and were therefore forced to decline the pesticides donation.
    Shortly thereafter the Tanzanian Ministry of Agriculture was informed that a vessel containing pesticides from Greece was awaiting release.
    It seems that the Greek donors had unilaterally decided to ship to Tanzania about 600 tonnes of pesticides which could no longer be used in Greece due to national and EU restrictions. Much of the shipment consisted of DDT in various formulations and all the packages were labelled in Greek.
    The pesticides were off-loaded from the ship and stored in the open. Some were used but much of the stock spilled from its packaging and deteriorated. When the storage area was examined recently it was found to be so heavily contaminated that breathing equipment was needed despite it being an open and unprotected site.
    Subsequently the Swedish development agency SIDA contributed funds to build a pesticides store and the pesticides were repackaged and placed inside. Contaminated soil and waste material have also now been packaged placed in the store. The total quantity of material awaiting disposal is as much as 200 tonnes. 

[This article first appeared in Pesticides News No. 40, June 1998, page 16]
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