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.

Chad - Severely hazardous pesticide formulation

Formulation: Fenthion

Date published: 12/12/2012

Name of the active ingredient or ingredients in the formulation: Fenthion

Relative amount of each active ingredient in the formulation: Fenthion 640 g/L

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

The formulation is registered. The permitted uses are for avian control. Use is only for the Direction of Plant Protection and Conditioning (DPVC).

Granivorous birds are migratory pests that constitute a major concern for grain farmers in Chad. This avian threat puts the population in a state of permanent food insecurity despite the government's efforts in its last intervention of seven teams in May 2009 and that obliged the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation through the DPVC to organize in 2011 and 2012 a mission composed of four (4) teams, three (3) of which were charged with survey and control and the fourth charged with supplies and monitoring.

The DPVC has used:

- In 2009: 112 liters to treat 45 nests for a total of 59 hectares in ten (10) days for one (1) hour per day and by 6 land teams at a dose of 1.8 liters/ha;

- In 2011: 105.5 liters to treat 16 nests for a total of 54.7 hectares in thirty (30) days for one (1) hour per day and by 3 land teams at a dose of 1.9 liters/ha;

- In 2012: 275 liters to treat 25 nests for a total of 53 hectares in thirty (30) days for one (1) hour per day and by 3 land teams at a dose of 3 liters/ha.

In 2011, the mission lasted forty-five (45) days for the teams in charge of survey and control; and fifteen (15) days for the team in charge of supply and monitoring, from 6 June to 21 July 2011.

It was in the course of that avian control mission that a technician, 60 years of age and who had had a long history of hypertension (the technician had hypertension but did not signal it to the DPVC when he departed on the control campaign) was intoxicated in a nest situated 200 km from N'Djaména (Boroko) on the date of 17 June 2011.

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

The technician took part both in filling and application. He was wearing protective clothing during the whole operation: he wore a protective kit comprising a hat, glasses, mask, a cotton overall, gloves and boots covered by trousers.

The effects were observed 1 hour after application. The intoxicated person presented the following symptoms: vomiting, abundant salivation and titubation one hour after application.

He was immediately brought to Bokoro hospital, then moved to the emergency department of N'Djaména hospital where he received further care. On the advice of the doctor, he was discharged the same day for home care. Unfortunately, despite the care at home, he relapsed on the fourth day and passed away.

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

The product will be used pending the development of other alternatives such as traditional trapping nets.