A union and other
organisations have sent Agricultural Minister John Steenhuisen a letter od
demand calling for the ban of lethal chemical, Terbufos, which has been
implicated to the deaths of six children.
With the foodborne illnesses killing children in various provinces Terbufos came amid a recent spate of foodborne illnesses which prompted investigations by authorities.
The organisations who
are calling on Steenhuisen are pleading for the minister to exercise his powers
in terms of section 7 bis of the Fertilizers; Farm Feeds Agricultural Remedies
and Stock Remedies Act and ban the acquisition, disposal, sale or use in any
form of the registered agricultural remedy an organophosphate pesticides.
They also calling on a
ban on other highly hazardous pesticides with six months for implementation.
In the Western Cape, a
wide range of highly hazardous pesticides have been detected in the environment
and in exposed persons, whose modes of uptake and level of toxicity are very different.
Farm workers live under extremely vulnerable work conditions, including being
forced to work with pesticides.
The organisations are awaiting
the Minister’s response.
Done by: Shaneca Cupido
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