Title: WWF claims dangerous pesticides still sold in Australia
[WWF 20 May, 2010] -- Despite the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) request for a mass recall of the toxic fungicide quintozene there are still too many out-dated and dangerous agricultural chemicals being used in Australia, WWF warned today. The APVMA yesterday called for a mass recall of quintozene, after discovering that it contained a contaminant that is a type of dioxin. "While it is good to see the APVMA take this sort of action for one particular pesticide, they need to be much tougher on the range of other dangerous pesticides still available for sale in Australia," said WWF's spokesperson Juliette King. "At least eight chemicals have been under review by the APVMA for 13 years or more for suspected human health and environmental impacts. That's far too long to ascertain a chemical's safety, especially when the chemical is still sitting on shelves," she said.
"It's the APVMA's job to protect us all from these dangerous chemicals but they've been an agency characterised by delay and inaction and they rarely appear to adopt a precautionary approach."
The toxic pesticide, atrazine, has been banned in Europe since 2007 but is still widely available in Australia. Atrazine is part of a cocktail of chemicals that has been detected up to 60 kilometres within the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.
US Geological Survey scientists yesterday said they'd discovered links between atrazine and tissue abnormalities in fish, as well as reduced reproduction and spawning. The study appeared in the journal Aquatic Toxicology.
The highly poisonous insecticide endosulfan has been banned in over 60 countries and is being considered by the Stockholm Convention's Review Committee for a global ban because of its toxicity to humans and wildlife and ability to bioaccumulate, yet it still remains available for use in Australia.
Another toxic pesticide diuron has been under review in Australia since 2002. Despite interim findings of unacceptable risks to seagrass and dugongs in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, it remains available for sale.
"The APVMA needs to catch up with the rest of the world and take a much more precautionary and proactive approach to regulating dangerous pesticides in Australia."