Beyond their 'use by' date: obsolete pesticides

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Authors
Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation
Date
1998
Language
en
Type
News Item
Accessibility
Open Access
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Citation
CTA. 1998. Beyond their 'use by' date: obsolete pesticides. Spore 77. CTA, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Permanent link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10568/48186
Internet URL: http://spore.cta.int/images/stories/pdf/old/spore77.pdf
Abstract/Description
The estimated 100,000 tons of obsolete pesticides lying unused in developing countries represents a tremendous potential hazard to human health and the environment. The size of the problem is such that it cannot be solved by the farmer alone....
Notes
The estimated 100,000 tons of obsolete pesticides lying unused in developing countries represents a tremendous potential hazard to human health and the environment. The size of the problem is such that it cannot be solved by the farmer alone. Nonetheless, the farmer would of course benefit from heeding the directives of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and of NGOs specialised in environmental protection such the UK-based Pesticides Trust. Guidelines have been written that cover how to prevent stockpiling, and how to destroy, pesticides which have exceeded their 'use by' date. The build-up of a stockpile can be avoided through simple steps such as calculating the amount of pesticides required; checking their use dates; proper storage; and incinerating used and empty pesticides packages. Time is money and can be hazardous. International organisations calculate that the cost of destroying 10 tonnes of obsolete pesticides can reach up to$US 80, 000. Cleaning up the polluted planet - and the store shed - obviously costs more than keeping it clean in the first place. Contact: Plant Protection Service Division for Crop and Plant Protection FAO Viale delle Terme di Caracalla 00100 Rome Italy. Fax:+ 39 06 522 25 63 47 The International Register for Potentially Toxic Chemicals is maintained by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Information is available from its Websites: http://www.irpct.unep.ch/irptc/ http://www.irpct.unep.ch/pops/ http://www.irpct.unep.ch/prtr/
Subjects
CROP PRODUCTION AND PROTECTION;
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