- Every year about 100-150 million pounds of pesticides
that cannot be used in the United States are exported for use in other
countries. These pesticides have been banned or not registered for use
in this country because they may cause adverse effects on human and animal
health or for their level of destructiveness to the environment.
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- These chemicals continue to be manufactured in pesticide
plants in the United States, where factory workers and residents of the
surrounding communities are exposed to them.
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- Then, the pesticides are shipped overseas where farmworkers
are exposed to them when they are applied to crops. Runoff from the fields
results in contaminated water supplies, drift from spraying pollutes the
air, and farmworkers bring home pesticides clinging to their clothes. Animals
eat the grain and grass that has been sprayed, then the people of the country
eat the livestock and the sprayed produce and grain.
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- Finally, food treated with these chemicals that are not
approved for use by the EPA is then imported back into the United States
to be sold at grocery stores nationwide.
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- This trail of dangerous pesticides is called the "Circle
of Poison."
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- Who is most at risk?
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- * Children, who are particularly susceptible to the ill
health effects of pesticides, are exposed to particularly dangerous chemicals
through this circle. Children are at greater risk for exposure to pesticides,
not only because they eat a lot more fruits and vegetables than adults
per pound of body weight, but also because of their biological sensitivity
-- all of their major organ systems are still developing. A child's developing
body is often highly susceptible to damage by the chemicals in pesticides.
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- Infants are exposed to pesticides in breast milk and
in the water that is mixed with infant formula at a time in their lives
when this is all that they consume and their bodies are changing rapidly.
The National Academy of Sciences found that children are at risk from even
the pesticides that the government considers "safe" and are legal
in this country. Exposure to "dangerous" (unregistered) pesticides
puts infants and children at an even higher risk.
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- * Manufacturing and transport workers and field applicators
are at serious risk from exposures to these pesticides that are unregistered
for use in the U.S. Whether making the initial product, transporting it
over thousands of miles from the manufacturing plant, or mixing the pesticides
into usable formulations (often by hand), workers can be exposed to high
levels of the toxic pesticides. Because of a loophole in the law regulating
pesticide exports which does not require "for export only" pesticides
to be fully tested before they are made and exported, workers often don't
know just how toxic the product they are handling may be. Once overseas,
the pesticides are applied by field workers, many of whom are illiterate
and thus cannot read the use and warning statements on container labels.
Others are not given proper training in the use and potential risks of
particular pesticides. Particularly in tropical climates, protective clothing
is rarely used because of the heat, not to mention the expense. As a result,
approximately 25 million agricultural workers are poisoned by pesticides
every year. These poisonings can result in such short-term effects as dizziness
and nausea or longer-term problems such as sterility, cancer, birth defects,
and even death. * As residues on imported beef, cheese, beans, carrots,
pineapples, and even pickles, the U.S.'s exported pesticides come right
back to haunt U.S. consumers. Sometimes these tainted foods are caught
by border inspectors. More often, foods get to supermarkets unchecked.
The Food and Drug Administration is in charge of testing imported fruits
and vegetables for illegal residues. However, they are only able to sample
1-2% of all shipments and then only test for less than 40% of pesticides
on the market. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is responsible for testing
meat, eggs, and poultry. They have a policy of not testing for residues
of unregistered pesticides on imported foods, even if these pesticides
are U.S. made and exported. According to 1990 FDA figures, 4.3% of imported
food had illegal residues versus 1.1% for domestic foods. Since so little
food is tested for so few pesticides, this is clearly only the tip of the
iceberg. * The environment is another casualty of the United States' pesticide
export policy. The air, rivers, and oceans are the dumping grounds for
both production waste and run-off. Wastes from "for export only"
production of pesticides are discharged into the air and waterways, which
serve as drinking water sources for millions of people as well as important
areas for fishing. Unregistered pesticides have made their way into the
food chain, poisoning wildlife and humans. Recently, Florida scientists
have detected chemicals in the coral reefs off the Florida coast that are
suspected to be from Africa and Latin America, borne to this country on
ocean and air currents.
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- What can be done to break the Circle of Poison?
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- Environmental, consumer, health, women's, civil rights,
and pesticide reform organizations across the country are committed to
breaking the Circle of Poison. Any solution must:
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- * Prohibit the export of pesticides that are not registered
for domestic use or do not have a food tolerance; are not registered for
food use and would be exported for use on food; or have had the majority
of registrations (by volume) cancelled. Temporary exemptions would be permitted
for emergencies such as famine or communicable disease. * Permit governments
of importing countries to refuse the import of particularly hazardous pesticides.
Import refusals must be based on health and environmental concerns, not
trade barriers. * Automatically revoke tolerances for pesticide residues
on food for pesticides no longer registered in the United States.
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- What can you do?
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- * Buy food grown in this country; * Ask your grocer to
sell organic produce and label the country of origin of all produce stocked;
* Urge policy-makers to support proposals to break the circle of poison;
* Join a local organization fighting to reform the way pesticides are regulated
in this country; * Call the National Campaign for Pesticide Policy Reform
(202-955-3810) for more information.
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- Fact sheet produced September 1994 by the National Campaign
for Pesticide Policy Reform, Washington DC, 202-955-3810. Information provided
by Greenpeace.
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