-- James Nations, Conservation International
Some pesticides highly toxic
Chiquita SECRETS Revealed
MIKE GALLAGHER & CAMERON McWHIRTER
Cincinnati Enquirer 3may1998
Chiquita uses products with low EPA toxicity classification for mammalian and aquatic life," the company stated to the Enquirer through its attorneys. However, the Enquirer found numerous examples on Chiquita's own list of approved pesticides of products that have been designated by U.S. government agencies as possibly cancerous to humans, or toxic to animals or fish.
Those pesticides, all used by Chiquita and its subsidiaries in aerial spraying in Latin America, include:
Propiconazole, sold as Tilt: Propiconazole has been classified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a "possible human carcinogen." According to published documents by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, the pesticide "can cause skin irritation and substantial, but temporary, eye irritation. The petroleum solvent in some formulations can cause a chemical pneumonitis (lung complications) if breathed into the lungs.
Prolonged inhalation of vapors may irritate throat and nasal passages and cause central nervous system effects, which can include headache, dizziness, confusion, and nausea. If swallowed, abdominal pain, nausea, gastritis, breathing difficulty, or diarrhea can occur."
The department recommends workers exposed to the chemical wash hands "before eating, drinking, chewing gum, using tobacco or using the toilet. Do not get in eyes, on skin, or on clothing. To avoid breathing vapor or spray mist, wear a NIOSH (National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health)-approved organic cartridge respirator"
Azoxystrobin, sold as Bankit: The EPA has ruled this new product is "highly toxic to freshwater fish and invertebrates, highly toxic to estuarine - marine fish, and very highly toxic to estuarine - marine invertebrates."
The product labels, observed in Chiquita storage facilities in southeastern Costa Rica, read clearly "MARINE POLLUTANT" and bear a symbol of a fish with an "X" through it. Benomyl, sold as Benlate: This pesticide, classified by the EPA as possibly cancer-causing for humans, has been in wide use in the United States and around the world for years. But the pesticide has come under increasing attack from people who claim it has harmed them.
In 1989 and 1991, manufacturer E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, known as DuPont, recalled a dry version of the pesticide, Benlate 50 DF, after American farmers reported severe crop damage after using the product. The company faced several lawsuits in Texas, Hawaii, Florida and other states. In 1996, a Florida jury awarded $4 million to John Castillo, a boy born with no eyes. His mother, while pregnant with him, was accidentally drenched in the pesticide on a
Florida farm. The jury found both DuPont and the farm negligent. That farm was not connected to Chiquita and did not grow bananas. Chiquita uses the wet, soluble version of the pesticide.
Thiophanate-Methyl, sold as Topsin: The U.S. Department of Agriculture found the pesticide to be moderately to highly toxic for various types of fish. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has found that the pesticide is hazardous to 10 endangered species in the United States.
The pesticide was listed as a possible carcinogen for humans, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It was also found to damage the thyroid gland. The department has ruled that people not wearing protective equipment cannot return to a field sprayed with thiophanate-methyl for at least 12 hours.
Tridemorph, sold as Calixin: Tridemorph is a hazard to fish, according to the EPA.
Mancozeb, sold as Dithane: Mancozeb is "moderately to highly toxic to fish and aquatic invertebrate animals," according to the Forest Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The department recommends "Do not apply when weather conditions favor drift (wind carrying pesticides away) from treated areas. Do not apply in a way that will contact workers or other persons, either directly or through drift. Drift and runoff may be hazardous to aquatic organisms in neighboring areas."
The department recommends that workers not enter treated areas for 24 hours after spraying.
(Copyright 1998)
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