On the Edge Exporting Poison According to a 2001 study by the Foundation for Adv

Question

On the Edge Exporting Poison According to a 2001 study by the Foundation for Advance- ments in Science and Education in the International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health, U.S. companies export 45 tons of pesticides per hour, including highly toxic chemicals such as alachlor, chlordane, heptachlor, and metribuzin.163 The United States banned the use of chlordane and heptachlor as an insecticide on crops or around residences 10 to 20 years ago. Velsicol Chemical Corporation, however, reported in 1997 that it was still manufacturing chlordane and heptachlor for export. It exported these chemicals to Africa for use on roads, to Australia and Far Eastern countries to spray in residences, and to South America to use on crops. Between 1997 and 2000, U.S. companies exported about 65 million pounds of pesticides that are banned or severely restricted in the United States—including captafol, chlordane, isazofos, monocroto- phos, and mirex—and about 30 tons a day of pesticides the World Health Organization (WHO) classifies as “extremely haz- ardous.” Every hour, U.S. companies export about 16 tons of pesticides known or suspected to cause cancer. Sixty percent of these pesticides are shipped to developing nations for use in agriculture. Over 75 percent of working children in developing nations work in agriculture, including 80 million in Africa, 152 million in Asia, and 17 million in Latin America. They are exposed daily to U.S. pesticides in the fields, in their drinking water, and on their clothes. Farmers in developing nations pour pesticides labeled “poison” into small containers without labels, which many workers in developing nations cannot read anyway.

Does an American company like Velsicol have any obligation to refrain from selling pesticides that are banned in the United States to developing nations where they are not banned?

Does an American company like Velsicol have an obligation to refrain from exporting chemicals that are only suspected of causing cancer?

Whose responsibility is it to ensure citizens of developing nations are not harmed by exports of pesticides, and why?

Explanation / Answer

Obviously, the American company Velsicol should be refrained to sell pesticides which are banned by the US government as well as WHO. It is illegal to produce products which are hazardous to the people, society, and Earth. The pesticides are mostly used in agriculture, which is directly consumed by the human beings and the leftover crops are consumed by animals and when it mixes with soil, it will damage plants also. So, it is a threat to Fauna and Flora present on Earth. If the production stops, then distribution will automatically be stopped, so no more exports to developing countries.

With proper checks from WHO, the chemicals or pesticides producing companies should be allowed to export and if it is tested and verified that the chemicals contain cancer-causing agent, they should refrain with immediate effect. The effluents and secondary products from these companies would be releasing to the sea or ocean which again affects the aquatic plants and animals.

WHO(World Health Organization), FDA(Food and Drug Administration), Department of agriculture of the respective countries, Department of Excise and Customs, Social activists, Environmentalists, and the laws governing should be Human rights law, International environmental law, International code of conduct and non-binding practices and laws related to agriculture and food in the respective countries. The responsibility should be from all countries who are either exporting or importing the pesticides.

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