5:52 AM
Ajith
(October 07, 2009) New regulations on the use of pesticide will be gazetted this year to ensure the safe use of pesticides, said senior research officer of the Peradeniya Registrar of Pesticides, Sumith Jayakody.
Addressing a media awareness program organised by the Health Education Bureau together with CropLife and Toxicology Society, he said new regulations will be applied to pest control services, labelling information, training of pesticides applicators and penalty structure.
| After effects * Pesticide poisoning deaths: 1,242 * Admitted to hospital: 16,876 * Seventy percent use more than stipulated dosage of pesticides * Eight percent had intense toxicity following spraying |
He pointed out that the majority of pesticide users (70 percent) used more than the stipulated dosage and majority (82 percent) had symptoms of intense toxicity following spraying.
He emphasised that the users must take adequate protective measures while using them and this cannot be done simply by enacting laws.
Jayakody also noted that when using pesticides not only personal safety but also the impact on environment and beneficial insects should be of concern.
The users are also encouraged to use novel approaches in pesticide products such as “insecticide treated bed nets” for mosquitoes, in which chemicals are embedded in polymer capsules, and “Splash packs” for crops, which minimise the exposure by keeping the sprayers away, he said.
Rejecting the claim that any pesticide can be transported into the country easily, he said: “We are following Stockholm, Basel, Rotterdam and Montreal International Conventions related to the production, export and import of hazardous chemicals and therefore bringing in banned chemicals to the country is highly restricted.
Also as an island, by nature itself, trans-boundary movements are limited and it is a comparative advantage for us,” he said.
-Daily News
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