More than 156 million kilograms of hazardous pesticides were exported from US ports between 1992 and 1994, according to a recently issued report by the Foundation for Advancements in Science and Education (FASE).
The report, based on analysis of US Customs shipping records, found that exports of hazardous pesticides increased 26% between 1992 and 1994, growing from 45 million kg in 1992 to 57 million kg in 1994.
These estimates must be viewed as extremely conservative, since 74% of all pesticides exported, nearly 500 million kg, left the US with product names omitted from shipping records. The majority of hazardous exports went to destinations in the developing world.
FASE defines hazardous pesticides as those that are banned, severely restricted or considered "restricted use" pesticides in the US; those that are known or suspected of causing cancer, genetic mutation or reproductive damage; or those that the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) classifies as Class I or "highly toxic".
The report also documents the export of more than 90 million kg of pesticides that, while legal for use in the US, pose particular dangers in developing countries. According to reports published in the British Journal of Industrial Medicine, developing countries account for 20% of agricultural chemical use but for more than 99% of all deaths from pesticide poisoning worldwide.
Developing countries that received the greatest quantities of pesticides between 1992 and 1994 included Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala and the Philippines.
Despite omissions in shipping records, FASE was able to identify exporters for approximately 60% of the pesticides exported between 1992 and 1994. The principle companies responsible for exporting unidentified pesticides in 1994 included Rhone Poulenc, FMC, Zeneca, American Cyanamid and Uniroyal.
The report points out that hazardous pesticide exports from the US have increased since FASE first began investigating this situation in 1990.
[From Pesticide Action Network North America Updates Service.]