Pharmacy Council wants ban on 3 farm chemicals this year

Activists rally near Government House, calling for an immediate ban on paraquat, glyphosate and chlorpyrifos, in June last year. (File photo)

The Pharmacy Council has asked the national committee on hazardous substances to ban two herbicides, paraquat and glyphosate, and the pesticide chlorpyrifos before year's end in the interests of public safety.

In a statement released on Wednesday, council president Assoc Prof Jiraporn Limpananont said a ban would be in line with the internationally recognised precautionary principle on the control of hazardous substances, to protect farmers and consumers, and the principle of ensuring sustainable agricultural resources.

She said the three chemicals were extremely poisonous. A few teaspoons of paraquat were lethal. Researchers had found paraquat contamination in the blood of pregnant women, umbilical cords, meconium (a newborn's faeces), water, plants and food.

Fifty-three countries had already banned its use, including the biggest producer of paraquat, China, she said.

Glyphosate was deemed a carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Researchers had found it in mothers and umbilical cords. Many countries had banned it and the chemical's producer in Germany lost a major legal dispute, with nearly 10,000 lawsuits related to the weedkiller, Assoc Prof Jiraporn said.

Chlorpyrifos retarded children's learning ability and had been found in the blood of pregnant women and umbilical cords. it was banned in many countries, including the United States, she said.

The government's ad hoc committee on hazardous substances was expected to make a decision on the matter on Thursday.



