Senegal - Severely hazardous pesticide formulation

Formulation: Dustable powder formulations containing a combination of benomyl at or above 7%, carbofuran at or above 10% and thiram at or above 15%

Date published: 12/12/2001

Common and recognized patterns of use of the formulation within the proposing Party:

• Treatment of peanut seeds to prevent damping-off; 100 g of powder by 100 kg of seeds to ensure protection until 50 days after sprouting.
• The formulation is registered in Senegal and its use is authorised for peanut seed treatment only.
• There are no specific restrictions on use.
• The production volume is 53000 kg/year.

Description of incidents related to the problem, including the adverse effects and the way in which the formulation was used:

The 10 incidents reported involved 10 males between 22 and 60 years old who used the product from the end of July to mid-September as a seed treatment for shelled peanuts in line with the recommendations on the label. The incidents involved 1 to 4 seed treatment applications in June and 1 to 2 applications in September for sowing.

The quantity of pesticide applied varied from 1 to 4 bags of 100g. The length of exposure ranged from 1 h for the seed treatment to 3-4 days for the sowing of the treated seeds. The product was applied by hand. No protective equipment was worn.

The adverse effects were observed within a few hours to 2-3 months after handling the formulation.
The adverse effects reported for seven of the 10 cases reported included dyspnea, oedema, chest pain, urine modification in both flow and aspect, dizziness, vomiting and tachycardiaThe three remaining incidents involved three fatalities.

Regulatory, administrative or other measure taken, or intended to be taken, by the proposing Party in response to such incidents:

The following administrative measures will be taken:

• organize sessions to "restitute" the results of the investigations to the Ministry of Health, to the Kolda Regional Development Committee,
• strengthen the poisoning surveillance system for pesticides in the regions involved including informing health personnel on the risks of poisoning related to pesticides, on the symptoms and andidotes to be used in case of poisoning and an evaluation of the record ing system for health care centers in the Kolda region
• inform agricultural workers on the proper use of fungicides and insecticides, on the risks associated with the improper use of pesticides and provide personnel protective equipment (mask and gloves) to those handling treated seed.

Burkina Faso - Severely hazardous pesticide formulation

Formulation: Emulsifiable concentrate formulations containing paraquat ion at or above 200g/L

Date published: 12/12/2010

Common and recognized patterns of use of the formulation within the proposing Party:

Used as a total herbicide. Provisional authorization of sale, valid for three years, granted by the Sahelian Pesticides Committee (Comité Sahélien des Pesticides) from May 2000 to June 2003 with recommended doses of 1.5 to 3 litres/hectare, and renewed in January 2004. Registration was cancelled in 2006 by the Sahelian Pesticides Committee.

Description of incidents related to the problem, including the adverse effects and the way in which the formulation was used:

Incidents were reported involving 53 males between 29 and 65 years old who had applied the product in the field. The incidents occurred from 1996-2010 in three provinces of Burkina Faso (Boucle du Mouhoun, Cascades and Hauts Bassins). The product was used for cotton, rice and maize. The treatment is done one time only at the beginning of the season with a dosage of 2 to 3 litres/hectare. The average duration of exposure was 3 hours/hectare on an average area of 2 hectares/farm, for a total of 7 hours of exposure during an average of 1 to 2 days of treatment.

The product was applied using backpack sprayers. In many cases little or no personal protective equipment (PPE) was worn due to various factors, such as lack of financial means to acquire it, inappropriateness of PPE for local climatic conditions and an underestimation of the dangers of pesticides.

The adverse effects appeared immediately to several hours after the application of the pesticide. Symptoms reported included headache, excessive sweating, itching, tingling, burning of the skin, skin rashes and sores, complete destruction of the contaminated area, fever, dizziness, bone pains, loss of consciousness, breathing difficulties, cough, vision troubles, eye pains, ringing in the ears, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and locked jaw. In 15 cases the treatment was unknown, whereas treatment was administered in 26 cases, and in an additional 11 cases hospitalization was required.

Regulatory, administrative or other measure taken, or intended to be taken, by the proposing Party in response to such incidents:

A detailed report of a survey undertaken in three regions of the country (Boucle du Mouhoun, Cascades and Hauts Bassins) on intoxications due to agricultural pesticides is available. The following actions have been undertaken to stop the use of this severely hazardous product:

• the distribution of the report of the survey to all relevant parties in the use and management of the pesticide, 
• a workshop to present and validate the results of the survey was organised to increase awareness among the key stakeholders, 
• the process to take a decision to prohibit the product will be launched by the Sahelian Pesticides Committee at its next meeting.