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Pesticide Action Network Updates Service (PANUPS)
A Weekly News Update on Pesticides, Health and Alternatives
See PANUPS updates service for complete information.
December 4, 2008
- Day of No Pesticides — December 3
- Endosulfan threatens Philippine produce
- Endosulfan kills Indian schoolchildren
- Pesticides found in Antarctic krill
- Pesticides found in Thai farmers and students
- Universal Declaration of Human Rights turns 60 — December 10
Day of No Pesticides — December 3
Every year, the global Pesticide Action Network commemorates December 3 as “Day of No Pesticides” to mark the world’s worst chemical disaster: the 1984 Union Carbide pesticide factory explosion in Bhopal, India. A toxic cloud of methyl isocyanate and other deadly gases was released that killed thousands in a single night and has caused more than 20,000 deaths in succeeding years, leaving 150,000 injured. Bhopal has been called the worst commercial industrial disaster in history but, sadly, it may not the last. Around the world, the ongoing manufacture, distribution, and use of chemical pesticides continues to poison the environment and devastate the lives of nearby residents. PAN Asia Pacific Executive Director, Sarojeni V. Rengam, noted several of the global protests: “In Kerala, our partners are asserting the calls of communities struggling against endosulfan in Kasargod, and the devastating effects of the DDT plant in Eloor. In Sri Lanka, the Vikalpani Women’s Federation have galvanized their campaign on paraquat around the death of a young man who succumbed to exposure. From Indonesia to Thailand, China to the Philippines, and Bangladesh to Mongolia, citizen actions will take place against pesticides that continue to cause so much human health and environmental damage.” PAN Asia and the Pacific also issued a statement calling for a global ban on “endosulfan, one of the most dangerous organochlorine pesticides in the world.”
shareMORE – See PANNA’s Dec. Alert and how you can help Bhopalis | DiggThis
Endosulfan threatens Philippine produce
The Philippines’ Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority has detected residues of the “deadly endosulfan pesticide” in cabbages, pechay and other vegetables sold in city markets in Northern Mindanao. The Philippines Sun Star notes that “the cream and brown-colored pesticide gained notoriety after 10 tons owned by Del Monte Philippines went down with M/V Princess of the Stars,” which sank off Sibuyan Island in June (See PANUPS Oct. 9). Endosulfan is persistent in the environment and, the Sun Star notes, the pesticide “sticks to soil particles and may take years to completely break down.” It is currently under consideration for listing as a persistent organic pollutant under the Stockholm Convention because of its ability to persist in the environment and be distributed globally by winds and water. Endosulfan exposure has been linked to convulsions, childhood autism, male sexual dysfunction and death. Although the Philippines has banned endosulfan, the Sun Star reports “unscrupulous importers… smuggle the pesticide from neighboring Malaysia and Indonesia.” Del Monte and Dole had been allowed a waiver to use the banned pesticide on its banana and pineapple plantations, but in response to the ferry accident, that waiver is slated to end this year.
shareMORE – Read more news in PAN’s Endosulfan Campaign page |
Endosulfan kills Indian schoolchildren
shareMORE – Read about “Endosulfan around the World” on PAN’s Web page |
Pesticides found in Antarctic krill
Pesticides were found to “dominate” a roster of toxic chemicals detected in Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba, “the Antarctic keystone species”). A report in Science of the Total Environment explains that adult krill caught in 12 different sites were tested for nearly “100 orgahohalogen compounds including chlorinated pesticides, polychlorinated biphebyls (PCBs), polybrominated organic compounds [POC] and polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/furans.” A team of researchers from Australia, Norway and Germany report that “organochlorine pesticides dominated” their test results, with hexachlorobenzene “the single most abundant compound quantified.” The study, described as “one of the most comprehensive reports of POC contamination of the Antarctic food web to date,” reported finding traces of dichlorodiphenylethene (DDE), a breakdown product of DDT, “at notable concentrations.”
shareMORE – Krill, the Engine the Powers the Antarctic Ecosystem |
Pesticides found in Thai farmers and students
shareMORE – Read NRDC’s Trouble on the Farm: Growing Up with Pesticides |
Universal Declaration of Human Rights turns 60
December 10, 2008 marks the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The UNDR has been called “A Bill of Rights for the World.” In honor of this historic date, Amnesty International USA has launched the Protect the Human campaign and created a special UNDR Web site: a place where people from all over the world can stand together to understand, promote and protect basic human rights. The online activist hub, TakePart, describes the website as “incredibly rich with film, music, an interactive Google map, information on the declaration and various ways you can take action and spread the word.” One very powerful feature is an interactive mosaic that explains each of the 30 Articles from the UDHR.
shareMORE – Visit the United Nations’ homepage for the UDHR|
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