DEADLY SPILL HIGHLIGHTS NEED TO BAN TOXIC PESTICIDES

Wednesday, 13 February 2002 10:00

 TEC chemicals campaigner Ben Cole said "The fact that this extremely poisonous insecticide was near to local residents and a key water supply shows that regulations governing the use and transport of such toxins are failing badly."

"The only answer is to ban these chemicals from such areas or even better ban them all together," said Mr. Cole.

"This spill is yet another case of the government refusing to recognise that agricultural chemicals are highly toxic. The EPA should not just respond to disasters as they happen, they should control the situation through tough and unambiguous regulations," said Mr. Cole.

"The public are kept in the dark over how highly dangerous and toxic to both the environment and human health these agricultural pesticides are. This was highlighted when workers were exposed to danger and inappropriately instructed in how to deal with the cleanup."

Mr. Cole said that this pesticide, used by the cotton industry is only one of hundreds of potentially toxic chemicals and calls on the National Registration Authority to respond to community concern and commence a full overview of all highly toxic pesticides.
 
"TEC has long been calling for the ban of all agricultural chemicals that are acutely toxic, carcinogens, that cause reproductive and developmental damage in humans and irreversibly contaminate both land and water ecosystems," said Mr. Cole

"This spill is another example of toxic pesticides causing huge environmental damage such as last years Manly Dam disaster. These spills highlight the problems of using these highly toxic pesticides in any form," said Mr. Cole.

TEC is actively campaigning to have these chemicals banned. They are calling for highly toxic pesticides to be removed from the agricultural process and replaced with organic and integrated pest management techniques. These methods have been proven to be highly successful overseas.