Fate of pesticides is up for review

By: PIYAPORN WONGRUANG and KULTIDA SAMABUDDHI
Published: 18/02/2009 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: NewsAn urgent meeting is expected Wednesday to decide the fate of 13 herbal plants listed as hazardous substances.

The meeting was called by permanent secretary for industry Damri Sukhotanang after fierce protests by farmer advocates and health agencies opposing the listing of natural pesticides made from the herbal plants as hazardous.

The meeting of the hazardous substances committee today will also seek retroactive endorsement of its controversial Dec 24 resolution to remove sulphur from the control list.

Delisting of sulphur could favour giant importers facing criminal charges over the illegal import of the chemical last year.

A source close to the panel said Mr Damri had used his authority as the chairman to call the talks. They take place a day before the term of the current committee expires, the source said. .

The hastily-organised talks were confirmed by Wichar Thitiprasert, director of the Agricultural Regulations Office, who will represent the Department of Agriculture at the meeting.

Other members consist of representatives from state agencies including the Industrial Works, Pollution Control and Internal Trade departments, and the Food and Drug Administration under the Public Health Ministry.

Mr Wichar said the department would propose that the committee today remove all 13 plants from the list of hazardous substances.

"The names of 13 herbal plants will no longer appear on the list. The revised announcement will place controls only on 'active ingredients' of plants that are used as pesticides," Mr Wichar said.

The plants are neem, turmeric, ginger, galangal, chilli, celery, lemongrass, American marigold, stemona, ringworm bush, bitter bush, tea seed cake and glory lily.

"The department did not want to specify the plants' names from the beginning, but the [hazardous substances] committee asked us to name the plants that should be controlled," he said.

He believed the revision of the announcement to control the plants' active ingredients would end the public panic over the listing of herb products and ease farmers' concerns over restrictions on producing natural pesticides.

The matter came to light last week after farmers found the committee had listed plant-based pesticides on the hazardous substances list.

The Department of Agriculture, which proposed the listing, said the move was aimed at safeguarding farmers from substandard natural pesticides.

The announcement required producers of plant-based pesticides to inform the department and give details of their properties and the manufacturer on the label. Farmer and health advocates suspected a hidden agenda behind the listing. They said putting restrictions on plant-based pesticides went against the government's policy of promoting organic farming.

Moreover, the announcement could favour multinational chemicals makers. Many farmers have switched from chemicals to natural pesticides, which are non-toxic and cheap. This could hurt farm chemicals sales, they said.

The withdrawal of 23 highly toxic chemicals and radioactive substances from the list, including natural gas, copper sulphate, sulphur and cobalt-60, is contained in the same announcement on the listing of natural pesticides that took effect on Feb 3.

The removal of the chemicals came shortly after the Customs Department found 10 companies imported sulphur without permission. If found guilty in a court of law, the firms, including major tyre-making manufacturers, could be fined billions of baht.

If the announcement has a retroactive effect, the firms might not have to pay the fines since sulphur would no longer be a controlled substance.

The Department of Special Investigation has been investigating the case.

Industry Minister Charnchai Chairungruang, who signed the announcement, has denied any irregularities in the removal of the toxic chemicals.

By Bangkok Post On 18 Feb 2009

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