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Wednesday, December 03, 2003
Banana plantations use controversial herbicide
DAVAO CITY -- The City Council's environment committee discovered recently that a controversial herbicide is among the chemicals used by banana plantations in the City.
Environmentalists earlier raised fear over banana plantations' indiscriminate use of pesticides that seep in to the aquifer and threaten the City's potable water supply.
The committee, chaired by Councilor Beethoven Orcullo, made the discovery from the list submitted by the Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association (PBGEA) in relation to the ongoing controversy over the threats on the City's watersheds.
Orcullo, who is chairman of the committee on environment, said the Fertilizers and Pesticides Authority (FPA) approved the different pesticides enumerated in the list for use in banana productions and other crops.
"I have furnished FPA a copy of the list for evaluation. On December 12, various government and non-government agencies involved in the issue on watershed protection will be convening and I hope, by that time, the FPA will be able to present an evaluation on the lists," Orcullo said.
Of the 10 herbicides in the list, one was paraquat dichloride.
Described to be the most highly toxic herbicide to be marketed over the last 60 years, Paraquat is also the most widely used herbicide in the world and is unrestricted in most countries where it is registered.
It has been determined to accumulate in aquatic vegetation, binds to soil particles and accumulates in soil. Paraquat is used on over 50 crops in over 120 countries.
Paraquat is already banned, severely restricted or restricted in 14 countries, including five EU member states and the United States of America. Last year, Malaysia was the first Asian country to ban and phase out the use of Paraquat.
Although listed as moderately hazardous (Class II) by the World Health Organization, as little as a teaspoon of concentrated Paraquat can kill a person through respiratory failure occurring within a period of few days or a month after ingestion. There is no antidote.
Lesser amounts has been known to damage the lungs, heart, kidneys, adrenal glands, central nervous system, liver, muscles and spleen and can cause multi-organ failure. The use of Paraquat can also cause severe acute and long-term health problems, like, severe dermatitis, second-degree burns, nosebleeds, rapid heart rate, kidney failure, and respiratory failure.
Some chronic effects have been identified: an association with developmental and reproductive effects, as well as links to skin cancer. There is mounting evidence linking it to Parkinson's disease.
Meanwhile, Orcullo said he already limited himself from issuing statements regarding the pending moratorium on the expansion of banana and pineapple plantations near the Talomo-Lipadas watershed area as his committee is still discussing the matter with various environmental groups.
Orcullo is hopeful that after the December 12 meeting, the controversy involving the watershed will be resolved as it has already caused dispute among councilors and media practitioners.
Environmentalists earlier appealed to the council to impose a moratorium on plantations expansion, following alleged continued violation on environmental laws, citing the lack of mitigating measures to prevent flooding and soil erosion that has allegedly caused contamination on water sources.
They alleged that harmful pesticides used by pineapple and banana plantations pose a great risk of contaminating the City's potable water source. Some plantations are located in areas within the City's watershed.
But environment officials said the use of pesticides in the plantations may not mean contamination of drinking water sources in watershed areas. In a study conducted by the FPA, pesticides expire after two and a half days to 35 days of exposure in the environment. AAG/SAE
(December 3, 2003 issue)
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