In the largest study of its kind so far,
researchers found that exposure to concentrated
sheep- dip is most likely to cause nerve damage
and that splashes from the diluted product are
also a threat to farmers' health.
The study focused on working
farmers: it has not included those whose health
has already been devastated by sheep-dip.
Continued exposure may cause long-term illness.
Findings of the long-awaited
IOM report include:
Reaction to the report
Farmers and
campaigners may hold a rally later this year to
protest against the lack of government action on
OP chemicals.
Although the report found that
farmers did suffer damage from long term exposure
to low doses of OP dip, the government has so far
refused to make any radical changes in the
marketing or use of dips. Instead, Ministers have
accepted advice from the Veterinary Products
Committee (VPC), the Veterinary Medicines
Directorate (VMD) and the Health and Safety
Executive (HSE) that dips are safe to use.
In a letter sent to farmers
after the report was published, the HSE and VMD
said: "The IOM study observed that dippers
handling concentrate were not following the
recommended safety precautions and, in
particular, that the recommended gloves were not
being worn or not being used properly." One
farmer who received the letter described it as
"rubbish. There was one sentence in the
whole IOM study on gloves," said Gary
Coomber, who used to dip sheep on his Kent farm.
"They are trying to push the onus back on
the farmer when they know the protective clothing
specified is not adequate, and never will
be."
Another letter about the report
from Professor Liam Donaldson, the Chief Medical
Officer, invited doctors with patients suffering
from symptoms of peripheral neuropathy nerve
damage to refer them to a consultant neurologist
or to "discuss the case with medical staff
within the National Poisons Information
Service." Elizabeth Sigmund, co-ordinator of
the OP Information Network (OPIN) dismissed the
letter as " ... next to useless. The only
way to bring this out into the open is to have an
international conference. There are OP experts in
Europe and work is being done in the United
States: we need to hear from these people."
Earlier this year, OPIN's application to fund a
conference was turned down by the European
Commission's environment directorate.
Owen Tudor, senior policy
officer for health and safety, at the Trades
Union Congress (TUC) has had discussions with
OPIN about this. "In some ways, the report
is just another brick in the wall rather than the
main breakthrough," said Mr Tudor. "It
was greeted by the regular refrain that more
research is needed, but that point was passed
some time ago." TUC policy is that OP sheep
dipping should be banned.
Mr Tudor is a member of the
Health and Safety Commission-the HSE's parent
organisation-which has discussed the IOM report
and should be giving more advice to Ministers
soon. A working party of the Committee on
Toxicity chaired by Professor Frank Woods will
also examine the IOM work before publishing its
own report on OPs. The VPC-which advises
Ministers on OPs-has provoked a row by insisting
on re-examining some of the data used to compile
the IOM report. VPC chairman Professor Ian Aitken
confirmed the VPC's medical and scientific panel
had already begun the work. When he was asked why
the VPC wanted another look, Professor Aitken
said: "We need to try to get the maximum information possible out of the original
data."
Dr Goran Jamal, a consultant
neurologist who co-wrote the IOM report, said the
VPC's reaction was absurd. "This project was
discussed by the VPC sub committee responsible
for assessing research in 1995." After that,
there was 'step-by-step approval' by a Government
steering committee on which the VPC was
represented. "I did not think anyone from
the VPC would have the nerve to raise objections,
because they were part of the study," said
Dr Jamal, who is at the West London Regional
Neuro-Science Centre, part of Imperial College's
school of medicine.
There are three reasons why the
report should not be forgotten, said Dr Jamal.
Firstly, taxpayers had spent £500,000 on the
study. "Chemical companies make big profits
from selling these compounds, but haven't funded
independent research in this area."
Secondly, the implications of the report went
beyond farming. "From a scientific and
clinical point of view, if one occupational group
is being affected, there's no reason why others
won't be as well." Thirdly, in the light of
BSE and concern about genetically modified
organisms (GMOs), there should be a
re-examination of the advice given to Ministers
by scientific committees. "Since 1992, two
or three scientists, saying there is evidence
that OPs cause damage, have been dismissed by
people from within the committee structures. Now
those same people have been proved wrong."
The report has also raised
concerns in the US. Congressman Christopher Shays
represents Connecticut for the Republicans. He
chairs the committee on national security,
veterans affairs and international relations, a
sub-committee of the House Government Reform
Committee. He has been concerned about Gulf War
veterans exposed to OPs, and saw the IOM report.
His spokesman told Pesticides News:
"We are very concerned about the role of OPs
in either causing or contributing to nerve
damage. As a result of our research into Gulf War
illness, there have been studies by the Institute
of Medicine-as required by the Veterans Health
Bill which Congressman Shays has helped to pass.
We feel the veterans' administration is doing all
it can to research OPs."
Pesticides Trust [now PAN UK] comment
This report has
produced significant findings that should be
taken seriously by regulatory authorities.
Medical resources should now be directed towards
diagnosing and treating the victims, and a regime
of no-fault liability should be introduced so
that they are compensated as soon as possible.
There are important
international implications from this study. OPs
are widely used in developing countries in
situations where exposure can be much higher than
the UK. Regulatory restriction in the UK would
send the right signals abroad and possibly
facilitate similar action in developing
countries.
"The safety of all OPs is
now in question", concluded Peter Beaumont
of the Pesticides Trust. "These are highly
dangerous chemicals and we should not be using
them."
Epidemiological study of the relationships between exposure to organophosphate pesticides and indices of chronic peripheral neuropathy, and neuropsychological abnormalities in sheep farmers and dippers, Institute of Occupational Medicine, May 1999. Copies of the report available from Fintan Hurley, Director of Research Quality, +44 (0)131 667 5131.
John Harvey is a broadcaster and writer on farming issues.
[This article first appeared in Pesticides News No. 45, September 1999, page 3]