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Book Reviews - Pesticides News No.40
Generic pesticides
update
A new series of reports from Agrow
provides an important update on the generic pesticide companies, products
and markets. With generic producers expanding their production of
out-of-patent pesticides, these three reports (one still in press) are a
valuable reference point.
A generic
producer is defined as a “company whose major activity consists of
manufacturing the active ingredients of pesticides, the patents for which
have expired, and for which it did not hold the original patent.” The 100
companies profiled here, whose combined sales were nearly US$5 billion in
1996, represent about 75% of all generic sales.
Almost none of these companies produce their
own pesticides for patenting. Likewise, the research-based companies which
still dominate the industry to the tune of about 80% of global sales,
rarely get involved in production of generic
pesticides.
There are some exceptions to both these
trends. The phenomenally successful Monsanto herbicide, glyphosate, which
is now licensed to many generic producers, and generics screening for new
compounds include LG Chemical of South Korea, Shanghai Zhongxi of China,
and Cheminova Agro of Denmark.
In terms
of size, the biggest generic producer is the Israeli company
Makhteshim-Agan, whose sales bring it into the top 20 agrochemical
companies world-wide, and its sales are rising faster than any of the
leading R&D led companies. Other major companies are the US Griffin,
which recently formed a 50-50 joint venture with Du Pont, and the Danish
company Cheminova Agro, which recently acquired a large Indian company.
Chinese and Indian companies remain a major and growing force in the
generic market.
By their nature, the
generics are major producers of many of the older pesticides, notably DDT,
lindane, carbamates and organophosphates. The main generic herbicides are
glyphosate (all global sales over US$2 billion), paraquat, atrazine, 2,4-D
and metolachlor. The leading insecticides are chlorpyrifos (global
sales over US$600 million), and the pyrethroids cypermethrin and
deltamethrin. These are followed by aldicarb, carbofuran, methamidophos,
methyl bromide, propoxur, terbufos and trichlorfon. Other big sellers
causing health concerns are carbaryl, methomyl, monocrotophos, endosulfan,
phosphamidon, parathion-methyl and
parathion.
Useful tables in the report allow the producers to be easily identified.
For example DDT by Hindustan Insecticides in India, which also produces
lindane. Another major lindane producer, Inquinosa of Spain, entered a
joint venture with Oltchim in Romania, where the produce is now made.
Overall, the reports will add to the
global picture of pesticide production and products.
Brian Hicks, Generic Pesticides No.
1—The Companies, February 1998, £500, 202pp; Generic Pesticides No. 2—The
products and markets, April 1998, £600 220pp; Generic Pesticides No.
3—Successful Business Strategies (in press), Agrow Reports, 18/20
Hill Rise, Richmond, Surrey, TW10 6UA, UK, Fax +44 181 332 8992, www.pjbpubs.co.uk/agrep. Agrow
offers its reports at half price to non-profit-making organisations.
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Endocrine
disruptors
This book focuses on the
properties of some 67 chemicals which are suspected of being endocrine
disruptors. The introduction also provides a very brief outline of some of
the effects which might be attributable to such chemicals in humans.
However, although it is a useful compendium of data, this book has several
drawbacks. Firstly, the references provided are not always those which
provide the most scientific basis for the assertion. Secondly, the book is
not particularly comprehensive in that several substances which are
believed to be endocrine disruptors are not included, and finally, the
book is expensive and will soon be bettered.
Keith also adopts a rather limiting selection
strategy for the inclusion of chemicals. The 67 chemicals were
chosen because there was a reasonable amount of information available on
them and because they figured on one or more of the lists from the
following three organisations:- the Centre for Disease Control and
Prevention in Atlanta, the US Environmental Protection Agency, and World
Wildlife Fund, Canada. This means, for example, that the anti-androgenic
herbicide linuron, which is still much in use, does not receive a
mention.
Perhaps the book’s main problem
will be the future competition in this area. For example, the UK
Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, has contracted
the Institute for Environment and Health (IEH) in Leicester to set
up a data base on potential and known endocrine disruptors. This will
include production volumes and physical and chemical properties, alongside
references to the studies indicating whether the substance is active in
vivo and/or in vitro. It is likely that, although the IEH data base will
take many months to complete, eventually this will provide a more useful
source of information with better references.
Meanwhile, Keith provides a useful and
competent reference book on endocrine disrupting chemicals, which is also
available on CD-ROM.
Lawrence Keith, Environmental Endocrine
Disruptors: A Handbook of Property Data, John Wiley Ltd, Baffins Lane,
Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 1UD, UK, Tel, +44 (0)1243 779 777, Fax, +44
(0)1243 775 878, 1997, 1232pp.
International residue
analysis
The Food and Agriculture
Organisation (FAO) and World Health Organisation panel of experts on
pesticide residues has published the results of the evaluation of 31
active ingredients. Some of the more notable assessments include amitrole,
captan, carbofuran, cabosulfan, chlormequat, chlorothalonil, 2,4-D,
fenthion, fipronil, glyphosate, lindane (see also page 15), malathion,
methamidophos and mevinphos.
Pesticide Residues in food–1997, WHO/FAO, No 145, Rome, Italy, 1998, 245pp.
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Organic
food guide
Why do people buy organic food?
According to The Shopper’s Guide to Organic Food it is because of
health issues, fewer pesticide residues, taste, the belief that organic
food has a higher nutritional value, and a concern for the environment and
animal welfare.
The main point of the book is
however to provide a practical A-Z guide for consumers helping them to
source organic produce. Interest in this area is increasing all the time,
yet finding adequate supply can still sometimes be a bit tricky.
The book is liberally peppered with
references to the policy issues of organic farming that informs adequately
whilst not over-loading the reader with too many facts.
Food writer Lynda Brown explains how to
authenticate organic food and how to interpret the labels. She provides a
compact review of the main retail outlets from supermarkets to mail order
and box schemes.
The book looks at the
difference between organic and non-organic food. A main example includes
pesticide residues. Each food type is listed with likely residues found in
the produce, according to data from official government analysis.
It is the first major book to explain what
organic food to buy, and where to buy it.
Lynda Brown, The Shopper’s Guide to
Organic Food, Fourth Estate Ltd., 6 Salem Road, London W2 4BU, UK, 1998, 370pp.
Parathion exposure
levels
The Australian National Occupational
Health and Safety Commission have assessed the respiratory and dermal
exposures of mixer-loader-applicators to ethyl parathion and methyl
parathion in airblast application in 14 orchards in Goulburn Valley,
Victoria. Dermal samples by skin pad dosimetry, and urine samples were
collected to determine the p-nitrophenol levels.
Exposure Modelling: Assessment of
respiratory and dermal Exposures to ethyl parathion and methyl parathion
in airblast application in orchards, Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals
Section, National Occupational Health and Safety Commission, GPO Box 58,
Sydney NSW 2001, Australia, Tel, + 61 2 9577 9459, Fax +61 2 957 9378,
1997, 57pp.
Two OPs
assessed
The World Health Organisation
(WHO) Environmental Health Criteria (EHC) Programme has evaluated the
organophosphate insecticides demeton-S-methyl and
diazinon.
The WHO report says animal studies
show demeton-S-methyl causes cholinergic activity. The evaluation of
effects on human health draws on several reports of accidental and
suicidal poisoning among the general public, and episodes of poisoning in
inadequately protected workers. The report concludes that demeton-S-methyl
should be handled and applied only by well-trained and closely-supervised
operators. These sorts of conditions are very unlikely to occur in many
developing country use situations.
Diazinon has been implicated in several cases of accidental or suicidal
poisoning, some of which were fatal. In some of these cases the
cholinergic syndrome may have been more severe than expected because of
the presence of highly toxic impurities such as
TEPP.
Demeton-S-methyl is highly toxic to aquatic
invertebrates and toxic to fish and birds. Diazinon has a high acute
toxicity to aquatic invertebrates, fish, terrestrial birds, leading to
high risk factors for many of these organisms. Field kills of waterfowl
have been reported following use of the compound on amenity turf. For both
OPs, the reports stress the need to minimise the exposure of non-target
organisms.
Data on the production these
OPs is not known, despite the fact that both these WHO reports were
complied with a number of pesticide industry experts listed as observers.
For Diazinon, the concluding recommendations for the protection of human
health and the environment says: “agricultural workers and employees in
the chemical industry, have the potential of being exposed to diazinon.
Gardeners and householders may also be involved.” Do we really need a
panel of 34 WHO expert members, observers and secretariat staff to tell us
this?
Demeton-S-methyl, No. 197, EHC, WHO,
1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland, 1997, 83pp.
Diazinon, No 198,
EHC, WHO, 1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland, 1997, 140pp.
Sheep
dipping
This new leaflet published by the
Health and Safety Executive, Veterinary Medicines Directorate, Environment
Agency and Scottish Environmental Protection Agency outlines what
practices must be undertaken to comply with the Control of Substances
Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH, 1994).
Sheep Dipping, HSE Books, PO Box 1999,
Sudbury, Suffolk CO10 6FS, UK, Fax: +44 (0)1787 313995, March 1998,
14pp.
HCB
analysis
The WHO EHC programme and the
International Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS) have reviewed the
hazardous organochlorine hexachlorobenzene(HCB)(1,2).
1. Hexachlorobenzene EHC 195, WHO, 1211
Geneva 27, Switzerland, 1997, 160pp.
2. Hexachlorobenzene
Health and Safety Guide, WHO IPCS, Switzerland, 1998, 28pp.
Managing
disposal
The British Crop Protection
Council (BCPC) has published proceedings of a meeting on the disposal of
pesticide waste and packaging, attended mostly by researchers from
industry, academia and government.
The
pesticide sector generates 14 million waste packs weighing 3,000 tonnes.
Delegates heard that the principles of responsible care and correct use
continue to apply after the pesticide has been applied to the target crop.
It is simply not acceptable that containers be allowed to accumulate on
farms without guidelines for ultimate disposal/recovery, the report
said.
R. Smith of Zeneca Agrochemicals said
that disposal is an important area to address because historically little
attention has been given to ‘container management’ after pesticide
application. Consequently it was common to find heavily contaminated
pesticide containers on farms.
Caroline Drumund of
Linking Environment and Farming (LEAF) maintained there is still room for
technical advances to be made, such as better plastic disposal, better
accuracy of spraying techniques, and better forecasting techniques.
The report cites numerous ways to reduce
the impact of pesticide disposal.
Managing Pesticide Waste and Packaging,
Proceeding No. 70 of a symposium held at the University of Kent, BCPC
Publications, Bear Farm, Binfield, Bracknell, Berks, RG42 5QE, UK,
Fax +44 (0)118 934, 1998, 228pp.
Pesticide
use in UK
The Pesticide Usage Survey of the
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) has produced three new
reports on pesticide use in cereals stores, orchards and fruit stores and
aerial application.
1. Report 138: Commercial grain stores
in Great Britain 1994/95, MAFF and Scottish Office, MAFF Publications,
London SW1A 2XX, 1998, 20pp.
2. Report 142: Orchards and Fruit
Stores in Great Britain 1996, MAFF Publications, 1998, 56pp.
3.
Report 148: Aerial Applications in Great Britain 1996, MAFF Publications,
1998, 16pp.
Insect
endocrinology
Studying the endocrine
systems of insects can lead to developing ways to control this group of
animals that are major agricultural pests. Knowledge in these areas has
increased significantly in the last decade. This volume brings together
contributions from many of the leading academic workers in the field,
providing in-depth accounts of the current state of knowledge of a wide
range of hormonal systems.
Geoffrey Coast and George Webster
(Eds.) Recent Advances in Arthropod Endocrinology, Cambridge University
Press, Cambridge CB2 2RU, UK, Fax, +44 (0)1223 312 393, 1998,
406pp.
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Genetic
engineering
According to academic Mae-Wam
Ho, genetic engineering is an untried and inadequately researched
technology that has become out of control. She hits out at transgenic
food, monoculture and cloning calling the technology “bad science working
with big business for quick profit against the public good.”
Mae-Wan Ho, Genetic Engineering Dream or Nightmare? Gateway Books, The Hollies, Bath, BA2 8QJ, UK, Fax +44 (0)1225 840 012, 1998, 277pp. Order direct from Amazon.co.uk Order direct from Amazon.co.uk or to order the latest edition click on links to the right of the page.
[This
article first appeared in Pesticides News No. 40,
June 1998, pages 22-23]