Dear friends and colleagues
The People’s Pesticide Tribunal has called for urgent action on the current epidemic of poisonings related to pesticides – causing child deaths through eating contaminated foods, and impacting the health of farm workers exposed to hazardous pesticides.
In particular, Terbufos, an organophosphate pesticide that is in the most hazardous category possible, and which is banned in Europe, continues to remain in use in South Africa, despite repeated efforts of scientists to bring to government’s attention that it must be phased out because of its toxicity and the inability of current regulation to manage it safely. Terbufos was the agent responsible for the death of 6 children in Naledi, Soweto, in October.
Industry has sought to deflect its responsibilities, mandated under the National Environmental Management Act, for cradle-to-grave accountability for their products by turning this tragedy into a spaza shop problem.
See the call for an appeal to the President here, which you are invited to sign on to.
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