Greenpeace announced this morning that its efforts to contain a
stockpile of highly toxic obsolete pesticides in Nepal have been
successful and are nearing completion. The environmental
organisation called on the pesticide manufacturers to remove the
toxic waste from Nepal and to ensure it is disposed of safely. The
pesticides were exported to the country by multinationals such as
Bayer, Sumitomo, Sandoz, Shell, Rhone Poulenc, Du Pont, Union
Carbide (Dow) and Monsanto and abandoned there after they reached
their expiry date or were banned.
The most dangerous substances found at the Nepalese site,
located on the outskirts of Kathmandu, originate from the German
chemical company Bayer. These include highly toxic chlorinated
organomercury compounds, banned for use in the European Union since
1988. Despite requests to Bayer for help from the Royal Nepalese
Government, the company has refused any support.
"These stockpiles of obsolete pesticides are ecological time
bombs," said Greenpeace toxic waste expert Andreas Bernstorff. "For
these companies to abandon these toxic poisons with a total
disregard for the health of local people and the environment is
shameful. This would not be allowed to happen in the West, " he
added.
Greenpeace carried five kilogrammes of the mercury to the German
embassy in Nepal this morning and requested its political support
to ensure that a solution would finally be found for the safe
disposal of the toxic waste outside Nepal. The German ambassador
agreed to do all he can.
The obsolete pesticides have been inadequately stored in rusting
and rotting original packaging in a warehouse at the National
Agricultural Research Council (NARC). The toxic waste is
threatening the health of residents, workers and livestock in the
area as well as local water supplies, irrigation systems and
soil.
Wearing full protection gear and breathing masks, a dozen
activists from India, Germany and the UK, together with Nepalese
agricultural technicians, have spent the past two weeks making the
warehouse safe. The activists are containing the all the poisons,
including a thick layer that has built up on the warehouse floor,
in high density barrels and hundreds of small containers, sachets
and bags and are making them ready for sea transport back to their
countries of origin.
The deadly substances, which include banned pesticides such as
dieldrin, chlorinated organomercury compounds and DDT, were
manufactured and imported to Nepal by Western multinationals some
20 years ago. All the poisons were donated to Nepal or channeled
through international aid mechanisms in order to open markets.
An estimated 500,000 metric tonnes of obsolete pesticides have
been abandoned worldwide, mainly in developing countries. They are
usually stored in similarly poor conditions, often in residential
areas or even next to schools. Greenpeace is calling for a
comprehensive, global inventory of all obsolete pesticides and for
the manufacturers and suppliers of the pesticides to take full
logistic, technical and financial responsibility for all stockpiles
around the world. It is also calling on companies to ensure the
obsolete pesticides are disposed of safely, according to the
regulations of the Stockholm Convention. (1)
Notes: (1) The Stockholm Convention, adopted by world governments in May 2001, states that persistent organic pollutants (POPs) , such as dieldrin and DDT, should be disposed of using technologies that do not create more POPs, which indicates that incineration technologies should be avoided.