Re: Paraquat
Ronald Nigh (danamex@mail.internet.com.mx)
Fri, 24 May 1996 21:57:32 -0600
At 09:36 AM 5/23/96 +1000, you wrote:
>In article <199605200419.WAA01628@mail.internet.com.mx> you wrote:
>: >From: Clyde Gorsuch <cgrsch@CLEMSON.EDU>
>: >paraquat/Gramaxone is NOT banned in the US. It is a restricted use
>: >herbicide, but is still a valuable tool to burn back vegetation. It does not
>: >kill most weeds, young seedlings occasionally.
>: Dear Clyde,
>: Thank you, I stand corrected. Paraquat is also "restricted" in Mexico and
>: other Latin American countries, which does little to halt its unrestricted
>: distribution and use. Paraquat is the single pesticide responsible for more
>: deaths in Latin American than any other--nearly 20,000 deaths a year were
>: attributed to paraquat in the last statistics I saw a couple of years ago.
>: Paraquat is a terrible poison that is absorbed through the skin, causing
>: fibrosis of the lungs and other problems, including death. Since no
>: protective clothing is used in Latin America (children are often given the
>: job of carrying the spayer) its true health effects are probably
>: devastating, though largely unknown due to unreporting. Paraquat should be
>: banned.
>: Ronald Nigh
>: Dana Association
>: Mexico
>: danamex@mail.internet.com.mx
>
>I'm doing some research on the subject. Could you give me the source of
>the statistics? I would like to be able to quote first-hand.
>Thanks
>Gerald
>
>
>
Dear Gerald,
I took those statistics from course notes from a WHO/PAHO course on
pesticide safety dated 1988 (course was actually later). We have a rather
large file on paraquat but most of the information comes from the Pesticide
Action Network of North America (PANNA) who post regularly on this list. I
would write directly to them for further and more recent information. Regards,
Ronald Nigh
Dana Association
Mexico
danamex@mail.internet.com.mx