Tag: climate

Monocrotophos (The killer insecticide)

Monocrotophos is an organophospate insecticide mainly used on on citrus, olives, rice, maize, sorghum, sugar cane, sugar beet, peanuts, potatoes, soya beans, vegetables, ornamentals and tobacco and cotton. This highly toxic insecticide is prohibited in many countries.

English: A sign warning about pesticide exposure.
English: A sign warning about pesticide exposure. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Monocrotophos has oral, dermal and inhalation toxicity. This has resulted in death due to accidental exposure and suicides. Symptoms after oral exposure includes but not limited to excessive sweating, headache, weakness, giddiness, nausea, vomiting, hypersalivation, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, blurred vision and slurred speech. Inhalation and dermal routes may not show initial symptoms.

Severe poisoning will affect the central nervous system, producing inco-ordination, slurred speech, loss of reflexes, weakness, fatigue, involuntary muscle contractions, twitching, tremors of the tongue or eyelids and eventually paralysis of the body extremities and the respiratory muscles. In severe cases there may also be involuntary defecation or urination, psychosis, irregular heart beat, unconsciousness, convulsions and coma. Ingestion of 120 mg monocrotophos can be fatal.

Many incidents in developing countries have been linked to monocrotophos.  Monocrotophos has been pointed to as a cause, in the following:

Brazil, Parana State Monocrotophos caused 107 of 412 reported incidents analysed in 1990, and the toxicology centre and health clinics also noted 1,650 incidents involving monocrotophos between 1982 and 1991.

Paraguay In a region where monocrotophos is one of the most commonly used active ingredients there have been numerous cases of pesticide poisoning; monocrotophos was identified as the cause of paralysis in children in cotton-growing areas by the Ministry of Public Health and Welfare which found that 2–3 weeks of frequent exposure caused paralysis in children and acute poisoning in adults.

Egypt In a cotton growing region of Egypt the health of 14 farmers who spray was compared with a control group from the same region. Monocrotophos is widely used and 61% of those surveyed showed symptoms of chronic pesticide poisoning.

Philippines, Cordillera region Monocrotophos was one of the pesticides widely used by farmers in a survey that found all farmers suffered some adverse health effects.

Indonesia In observations of 906 spray operations of 214 farmers commonly using monocrotophos and other OPs, over a three-month period, researcher found a significant increase-from two to fiftyfold-in the symptoms of pesticide toxicity during the spraying period. Of these spray operations, 21% brought on three or more neurobehavioural and intestinal signs of poisoning.

India The 2013 incident where 23 schoolchildren in north-eastern India died from eating a contaminated school lunch is believed to have been caused by cooking oil stored in a container formerly used to store monocrotophos.

(Above quoted from Wikipedia)

English: Monsanto pesticide to be sprayed on f...
English: Monsanto pesticide to be sprayed on food crops. Français : Remplissage d’un épandeur (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Transport regulation classifies Monocrotophos pesticides under class 6.1, toxic substances, packing group II or III depending on the products’ toxicity level.

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Minamata Convention – New Legally Binding Mercury Rules –

Mercury is used by mankind since early history.  Traces of mercury are found in Mayan tomb and many other historical sites.  Mercury is released to the atmosphere through

Mercury
Mercury (Photo credit: Striving to a goal)

various ways including industrial process, mining, cement and metal production, combustion of fossil fuel etc.

how mercury can enter our environment
how mercury can enter our environment Image courtesy – Publication of UNEP “Mercury Time to Act”

Though essential in various industrial processes, mercury is harmful to health. Once released, mercury travels great distances and circulates in the atmosphere between air, water, sediments, soil and living organisms.  Through agricultural products and seafood mercury can enter human body. Swordfish and sharks carry more accumulated mercury than other seafood.

The infamous Minamata disease claimed many lives and maimed many.  According to Japanese Official government figure as of March 2001 total of 1,784 had died and over 10,000 effected people were compensated.  The disease was caused by the release of methylmercury in the industrial wastewater from the Chisso Corporation’s chemical factory.

Crippled hand of Minamata disease victim
Crippled hand of Minamata disease victim (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

459 people are known to have died in Iraq during early 70s due to mercury poisoning caused by consuming contaminated bread of which the grains were treated with fungicide containing mercury.

Mercury and Human Health Image courtesy :Publication of UNEP “Mercury Time to Act”
Mercury and Human Health Image courtesy – Publication of UNEP “Mercury Time to Act”

On 19th January 2013 United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) agreed by a treaty to regulate mercury to protect the world of health hazard.

The new binding rules signed by more than 140 countries at Geneva will primarily focus on

  • the supply of and trade in mercury;
  • the use of mercury in products and industrial processes;
  • the measures to be taken to reduce emissions from artisanal and small-scale gold mining;
  • the measures to be taken to reduce emissions from power plants and metals production facilities.

By 2020 many mercury containing products will be banned from production, import or export which includes

  • Batteries, except for button cell batteries used in implantable medical devices
  • Switches and relays
  • Certain type of compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs)
  • Mercury in cold cathode fluorescent lamps and external electrode fluorescent lamps
  • Soaps and Cosmetics
  • Non electric medical devices such as thermometers and blood pressure devices

Dental amalgam also will be phased out.

Exceptions are there for some vaccines where mercury is used as a preservative and have been excluded from the treaty as have products used in religious or traditional activities.

For more information visit http://unep.org/

Suggested readings : Mercury Time to Act

Global Mercury Assessment 2013: Sources, emissions, releases, and environmental transport

Khaidarkan Mercury – Addressing primary mercury mining in Kyrgyzstan

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Rio+20 & IMO

The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) took place at Rio from 20-22nd June 2012.  Two themes focused at Rio+20 were a green economy in the context of sustainable development poverty eradication; and the institutional framework for sustainable development. Sustainable development means to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs.

Maersk Line’s Tripple-E class vessels was recognized as an innovative solution to drive sustainable development by Sustainia100, 100 solutions identified includes solar power in Sudan, sustainable fashion in Switzerland; water-cooling in Canada, solar-cooling in Singapore, buses in Brazil, smart buildings in Sydney.

Quote from Sustania

Commercial shipping is a large contributor of air pollution accounting for 3-4% of man-made CO2 emissions worldwide. Larger ships, optimised for lower speeds and able to carry more cargo, can slash fuel.

THE SOLUTION

!In 2011, Maersk Line secured an order to build 20 container ships bigger than anything currently at sea. The company’s solution, the Triple-E (the “E” is for economy of scale, energy efficiency, and environmentally improved), established a new class of container ship. The capacity of each ship is to be 16% greater than the largest ship built thus far.

The ships are to be outfitted with currently available energy- saving and pollution-control technologies. For instance, the ships’ hulls are optimised for lower speeds. An energy-efficient engine will be supplemented by a waste-heat recovery system that contributes to the ship’s propulsion. The Triple E class will also be equipped with an energy efficient ballast water treatment system, and made ready for eventual installation of a SOx scrubber. A “Cradle to Cradle Passport” ensures that when a Triple E ship reaches retirement its components can be safely disassembled and recycled.

Click here to see Sustainia members, Sustainia concept papers and download A Guide to 100 sustainable solutions

Watch below video about IMO @ Rio+20

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World Oceans Day & MARPOL ANNEX III

June 08th is observed as World Oceans Day. 2011 & 2012 theme is Youth: the Next Wave for Change.

On this occasion let us look at Annex III of International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973/78.

Annex III of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, as modified by the Protocol of 1978 relating thereto (MARPOL 73/78), deals with the prevention of pollution by harmful substances carried by sea in packaged form.

Annex III of MARPOL has 8 regulations, below are the explanation of each.

For full details refer MARPOL or part 1.1.2.2. of IMDG Code 35-10

1.       Application

This regulation identifies harmful substances as those identified as marine pollutant by IMDG Code or any substance which meets the criteria laid down in appendix to annex III.

Packaged form means the forms of containment specified for harmful substances in the IMDG Code.

It further states carriage of substances is prohibited except in accordance with the provisions of this annex. And ask to treat the empty packages used for carriage of harmful substances themselves as harmful substances unless adequate precautions have been taken to ensure that they contain no residue that is harmful to the marine environment. Further states that the provisions of this annex do not apply to ship’s stores.

2.       Packing

Regulation 2 requires the packages to be adequate to minimize the hazard to the marine environment.

3.       Marking and labelling

Regulation 3 requires the packages to be marked with correct technical names and marked or labelled to identify the substance is a marine pollutant. Trade names alone shall not be used. The regulation requires the durability of marking to be such that it survives minimum three months immersion in sea.

4.       Documentation

Documentation of harmful substances shall contain correct technical names and the words “MARINE POLLUTANT”. Each ship carrying harmful substances shall carry a special list of manifest identifying the goods and its stowage locations thereof. This list must be revised at any port where loading and or discharging of harmful substances takes place.

5.       Stowage

Harmful substances are to be stowed on board vessels in such a way to minimize the hazard to the marine environment without jeopardizing safety of the persons on board or ship.

6.       Quantity limitations

Certain harmful substances may need to be prohibited for carriage or limited by quantity which may be carried aboard any one ship. In limiting the quantity  consideration shall be given to size, construction and equipment of the ship, as well as the packaging and the inherent nature of the substances.

7.       Exceptions

Jettisoning of harmful substances are prohibited except when it is needed to secure the safety of life on board vessels or for securing the safety of the vessel.

8.       Port State control on operational requirements