[Ngo-sanrm] Fwd: FW: PHM-Exch> Invitation for individuals to sign on to this petition on the ban of highly hazardous pesticides by health care professionals and toxicologists.

Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resources Management Working Group ngo-sanrm at ngocentre.org.vn
Tue Sep 15 08:37:06 ICT 2015


Please forward this and circulate it to health care and other professionals
in Vietnam who might be interested, and who may wish to sign.  CS

*=========================================*
*CHUCK SEARCY*
*71 Trần Quốc Toản, Hà Nội, Việt Nam*
*VN    +8 490 342 0769*
*Sk     chucksearcy*
*E       chuckusvn at gmail.com <chuckusvn at gmail.com>*
*=========================================*

------------------------------
*From:* PHM-Exchange [phm-exchange-bounces at phm.phmovement.org] on behalf of
Claudio Schuftan [cschuftan at phmovement.org]
*Sent:* Sunday, September 13, 2015 11:22 AM
*To:* phm-exchange
*Subject:* PHM-Exch> Invitation for individuals to sign on to this petition
on the ban of highly hazardous pesticides by health care professionals and
toxicologists.

From: Sarojeni <sarojeni.rengam at panap.net>




Kindly circulate this petition on highly hazardous pesticides for
signatures by health care professionals and toxicologists.  This is part of
our campaign to call for the ban of the highly hazardous pesticides.  It
would be great if you could sign on and get others in your network to sign
on as well.



The call is for swift and decisive global action on highly hazardous
pesticides. As you know many pesticides are linked to severe health harms
for people, including cancer, reproductive harm, asthma, autism and other
developmental delays. This is in addition to the impacts of acute pesticide
exposure.  We have been working on a global campaign to get swift action
taken on these highly hazardous pesticides
<http://pan-international.org/wp-content/uploads/PAN_HHP_List.pdf> through
international policy fora such as the Strategic Approach to Integrated
Chemicals Management (SAICM), and globally important actors such as the
Food And Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations Environment
Program (UNEP) and WHO.

Voices and opinions of health professionals and toxicologists holds
particular significance for these global actors. I would really appreciate
it if you would consider signing the attached letter which PAN
International representatives will present at the upcoming SAICM meeting in
Geneva being held at the end of September.



Please do not hesitate to contact me with questions or comments. If you
agree to sign the letter it would be good to get the following information:

   - Your full name
   - Your professional title
   - Your affiliation with a professional organization (if you are willing
   to share this),
   - Your contact info and
   - Your country of residence.



Thank you for your help.



With best wishes

Saro



Sarojeni V. Rengam

PAN Asia and the Pacific, P.O. Box 1170, 10850 Penang, Malaysia
E-mail (direct): sarojeni.rengam at panap.net

Home Page: www.panap.net

Follow us on Twitter @PANAsiaPacific and our campaign on Twitter
#Pesticidesfreeworld

Like us on facebook: PAN Asia Pacific



xxxxx



We, Toxicologists and Health Professionals,
call for a global elimination of Highly Hazardous Pesticides







Many pesticides pose a threat to human health and the environment and
result in heavy costs to societies. Due to their extensive use over a long
period of time, highly hazardous pesticides (HHPs)[1]
<#14fcd1767d2b98d7__ftn1> are now widely dispersed throughout ecosystems
globally. Pesticides are found in human bodies and other living organisms,
food and water, soil, and in the air.

Early statistics from the World Health Organisation (WHO) indicated that
about 200,000 people were being killed worldwide and as many as 25 million
agricultural workers in the developing world were suffering from
occupational pesticide poisoning, every year.[2] <#14fcd1767d2b98d7__ftn2>
In the decades since that estimate, surveys have indicated that
occupational poisoning is increasing.[3] <#14fcd1767d2b98d7__ftn3> Official
studies grossly underestimate these numbers. It is known that many children
are poisoned by pesticides but there is no estimate of numbers.[4]
<#14fcd1767d2b98d7__ftn4> UNEP’s Global Chemical Outlook report points out
that “Acute chemical poisoning data are highly variable and depend on the
surveillance infrastructure in place in individual countries or regions”.[5]
<#14fcd1767d2b98d7__ftn5>  WHO acknowledges that there are no reliable
estimates of pesticide poisonings and that existing estimates likely
significantly underestimate the global burden.[6] <#14fcd1767d2b98d7__ftn6>
[7] <#14fcd1767d2b98d7__ftn7>

A recent meta-analysis of worldwide literature on pesticide self-poisoning
resulted in a conservative estimate of suicides by pesticides accounting
for approximately 33% of suicides globally.[8] <#14fcd1767d2b98d7__ftn8>
According to this WHO study restricting access to the means of suicide such
as pesticides is a key element of suicide prevention efforts as pesticides
are among the most common methods of suicide globally.

Further, Maximum Residue Limits, Acceptable Daily Intakes and Maximum
Allowable Concentrations support a belief in “safe” levels of exposure that
do not exist. Because of their inherent toxicity to humans and/or
biological systems, the risks associated with HHPs cannot be managed
safely, and thus ‘risk management’ approaches do not effectively prevent
their disastrous effects on the health of humans and the environment,
including the widespread disappearance of honeybees.[9]
<#14fcd1767d2b98d7__ftn9>

Current risk assessment is largely based on the idea that “the dose makes
the poison.” However, recent advances in science have demonstrated that
chronic exposure to low, so-called “non-toxic” doses and to mixtures means
there is unacceptable uncertainty in identifying safe levels to exposure to
carcinogens, reproductive toxins, neurodevelopmental toxins and endocrine
disruptors.

Existing regulatory guidelines are insufficient for hazardous effects such
as immunotoxicity, endocrine disruption and postnatal reproductive toxicity
effects.

There is growing evidence that the health of future generations may be
severely jeopardized by HHPs. The foetus and the newborn child are
sensitive to the harmful effects of many pesticides and other environmental
contaminants, which may irreversibly influence their developmental
processes.

Our understanding of the many ways in which chemicals can affect humans and
the environment is still unfolding. For instance, our understanding of the
fact that environmental chemicals can interfere with hormone action has
developed slowly over the past half-century,[10] <#14fcd1767d2b98d7__ftn10>
but is still insufficiently defined for regulatory systems to take
appropriate action on them.

*For the above reasons, it is ethically important for us, as concerned
toxicologists and health professionals, to call for the immediate global
elimination of HHPs. Their production, distribution and use must be stopped
to protect our children and the succeeding generations from an impending
toxic tragedy.*

------------------------------

[1] <#14fcd1767d2b98d7__ftnref1> For more on the definition and history of
HHPs, please refer to the PAN International List of HHPs, available at
http://pan-international.org/.The FAO/WHO Joing Meeting on Pesticide
Management first used the term “HHPs”, and identified criteria for HHPs,
which PAN since expanded to include important criteria missing from the
JMPM definition, such as endocrine disrupting properties and inhalation
toxicity.

[2] <#14fcd1767d2b98d7__ftnref2> Jeyaratnam, J. (1990): Acute Pesticide
Poisoning: A Major Global Health Problem. *World Health Statistics
Quarterly* 43, no. 3 (1990): 139–44.

[3] <#14fcd1767d2b98d7__ftnref3> The figure of 25 million was based on an
average of 3 percent of agricultural workers in low-income countries
suffering one episode of pesticide poisoning per year. However recent
surveys show that figure may be very much higher now, with, for example,
acute occupational pesticide poisoning amongst young male Korean farmers
reported to be 24.7%. [Lee WJ, Cha ES, Park J, Ko Y, Kim HJ, Kim J. (2012):
Incidence of acute occupational pesticide poisoning among male farmers in
South Korea. *Am J Ind Med* 55(9):799-807.]

[4] <#14fcd1767d2b98d7__ftnref4> Watts M. (2013): Poisoning Our Furure:
Children and Pesticides. Pesticide Action Network Asia and the Pacific,
Penang.

[5] <#14fcd1767d2b98d7__ftnref5> Prüss-Ustün et al. (2011): Knowns and
unknowns on burden of disease due to chemicals: a systematic review.
Environmental Health 2011, 10:9. See also: United Nations Environment
Programme (2015): *Global Chemicals Outlook Towards Sound Management of
Chemicals*, p. 57*.* United Nations Pubns, 2015.

[6] <#14fcd1767d2b98d7__ftnref6> Thundiyil, J.G., Stober, J., Besbelli, N.,
Pronczuk, J. (2008). Acute Pesticide Poisoning: A Proposed Classification
Tool*. Bulletin of the World Health Organization. *Available from
http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/86/3/07-041814/en/.

[7] <#14fcd1767d2b98d7__ftnref7> Goldman. L. (2004). *Childhood Pesticide
Poisoning: Information for Advocacy and Action*. United Nations Environment
Programme and the World Health Organization. Available from
http://www.who.int/ceh/publications/pestpoisoning.pdf

[8] <#14fcd1767d2b98d7__ftnref8> WHO (2014): Preventing Suicide: A Global
Imperative. World Health Organization, Geneva.

[9] <#14fcd1767d2b98d7__ftnref9> Some of the target sites of pesticides
(proteins and enzymes) have been conserved throughout the evolution of
species and can be found in very different organisms, for example humans,
fruit flies, yeast and bacteria. Thus it is not surprising that some
pesticides are toxic for non-target species.

[10] <#14fcd1767d2b98d7__ftnref10> Endocrine Society (2015): Position
Statement: Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals in the European Union.
http://www.endocrine.org/~/media/endosociety/Files/Advocacy%20and%20Outreach/Position%20Statements/2015/Position_Statement_EDC_EU.pdf
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://ngocentre.org.vn/pipermail/ngo-sanrm/attachments/20150915/8b7cc1e3/attachment-0006.html 
-------------- next part --------------
_______________________________________________
PHM-Exchange People's Health Movement
- To post, write to: PHM-Exchange at phm.phmovement.org
- To view the archive, receive one weekly posting with all the week's postings, edit your subscription's options or unsubscribe, please go to the PHM-Exchange webpage: http://phm.phmovement.org/listinfo.cgi/phm-exchange-phmovement.org


More information about the Ngo-sanrm mailing list