500 tonnes of DDT poisoning Ctg air

No pragmatic steps in 32 years to dispose of the hazardous powder

Disposal of 500 metric tons of DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane), which has been polluting Chittagong's air for the last 32 years, is being delayed as the government is yet to get the required amount from the United Nations (UN) Global Environmental Fund (GEF). Due to the hazardous chemical, thousands of city dwellers and bio-diversity within a kilometre of the Department of Health warehouses at Agrabad, where the DDT has been kept since 1984, are at high risk of possible cancer and damage to the reproductive system.
Although the authorities are scheduled to send the toxic to Germany for safe disposal by June 2016, there is uncertainty as the GEF is yet to sanction the money. Bangladesh applied to the GEF (as the country is a signatory to the Stockholm Convention on removal of Persistent Organic Pollutants, or POPs) for around Tk. 63 crore (USD 8 million). The money was supposed to have been sanctioned by December 2015, said sources in the departments of health and environment.
Dr Shafiual Alam Chowdhury, assistant director, Department of Health (Port Clearance), told The Independent: “The toxic chemical is a grave threat to humans and bio-diversity. The money is yet to be approved due to bureaucratic snags. After getting the funds, it will be sent to Germany for disposal.”
The Independent contacted two assistant representatives of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the UN in Bangladesh over the phone. They said, on condition of anonymity, that after getting the money from the GEF, the next procedure will be initiated.
“We decided to conduct a study on people and trees within a kilometre to detect the impact of the chemical on them,” said one of the FAO representatives. However, they were unable to say when the funds will be approved.
The designated countries that can dispose of the chemical are Germany, France and the Netherlands. After importing the DDT, the authorities found it to be of sub-standard quality during a test at the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) laboratory and at the Dhaka Testing Laboratory in 1985. The DDT was not put to use and was kept in the warehouses. The supplier firm, Messer’s Exchange International Limited, was asked to replace it.
The supplier filed a case at the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Bangladesh, refusing to replace the chemical. The verdict went against Bangladesh. In various procedures and procrastination, many years have passed. In the meantime, DDT has been banned worldwide as it was found to be harmful to public health and bio-diversity. Between 1991 and 1997, production and marketing of DDT was banned, as its acute toxicity is a threat to
wildlife. Exposure to the chemical damages the reproductive system and reduces reproductive success and is a possible cause of cancer. The DDT was kept at Nos. 4,11,12,13 central warehouses of the Department of Health. A lot of powder is strewn on the floor as packets have been ruptured.
The obnoxious fumes have got mixed with the air outside through broken doors, windows and air ventilators. This has been contaminating the environment of Chittagong for the last 32 years, and because of this thousands of people of the Agrabad area are under threat. The situation is such that the warehouses will have to be brought down. Many representatives of international organisations and national experts have visited the warehouses several times. They termed them as a threat to environment and public health. “As the poison is spreading to nearby areas and people are being affected, we have to test the blood of those affected. There is need to destroy the warehouses,” said Dr Sayed Nurul Alam, chief scientific officer of the   Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute. The government wanted to destroy the chemical on its own. However, it had to back out as a huge amount of money was involved. After long, Bangladesh got assurance of funds from the GEF for disposal of the highly-hazardous pesticides with the help of FAO. FAO’s Bangladesh representative, Mike Robson, and his team, along with Kazi Sarwar Imtiaz Hasmi, additional director of the Department of Environment, visited the warehouses on March 10 last year.

 

500 tonnes of DDT poisoning Ctg air

No pragmatic steps in 32 years to dispose of the hazardous powder

Disposal of 500 metric tons of DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane), which has been polluting Chittagongs air for the last 32 years, is being delayed as the government is yet to get the required amount from the United Nations (UN) Global Environmental Fund (GEF). Due to the hazardous chemical, thousands of city dwellers and bio-diversity within a kilometre of the Department of Health warehouses at Agrabad, where the DDT has been kept since 1984, are at high risk of possible cancer and damage to the reproductive system. Although the authorities are scheduled to send the toxic to Germany for safe disposal by June 2016, there is uncertainty as the GEF is yet to sanction the money. Bangladesh applied to the GEF (as the country is a signatory to the Stockholm Convention on removal of Persistent Organic Pollutants, or POPs) for around Tk. 63 crore (USD 8 million). The money was supposed to have been sanctioned by December 2015, said sources in the departments of health and environment. Dr Shafiual Alam Chowdhury, assistant director, Department of Health (Port Clearance), told The Independent: The toxic chemical is a grave threat to humans and bio-diversity. The money is yet to be approved due to bureaucratic snags. After getting the funds, it will be sent to Germany for disposal. The Independent contacted two assistant representatives of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the UN in Bangladesh over the phone. They said, on condition of anonymity, that after getting the money from the GEF, the next procedure will be initiated. We decided to conduct a study on people and trees within a kilometre to detect the impact of the chemical on them, said one of the FAO representatives. However, they were unable to say when the funds will be approved. The designated countries that can dispose of the chemical are Germany, France and the Netherlands. After importing the DDT, the authorities found it to be of sub-standard quality during a test at the World Health Organisations (WHO) laboratory and at the Dhaka Testing Laboratory in 1985. The DDT was not put to use and was kept in the warehouses. The supplier firm, Messers Exchange International Limited, was asked to replace it. The supplier filed a case at the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Bangladesh, refusing to replace the chemical. The verdict went against Bangladesh. In various procedures and procrastination, many years have passed. In the meantime, DDT has been banned worldwide as it was found to be harmful to public health and bio-diversity. Between 1991 and 1997, production and marketing of DDT was banned, as its acute toxicity is a threat to wildlife. Exposure to the chemical damages the reproductive system and reduces reproductive success and is a possible cause of cancer. The DDT was kept at Nos. 4,11,12,13 central warehouses of the Department of Health. A lot of powder is strewn on the floor as packets have been ruptured. The obnoxious fumes have got mixed with the air outside through broken doors, windows and air ventilators. This has been contaminating the environment of Chittagong for the last 32 years, and because of this thousands of people of the Agrabad area are under threat. The situation is such that the warehouses will have to be brought down. Many representatives of international organisations and national experts have visited the warehouses several times. They termed them as a threat to environment and public health. As the poison is spreading to nearby areas and people are being affected, we have to test the blood of those affected. There is need to destroy the warehouses, said Dr Sayed Nurul Alam, chief scientific officer of the Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute. The government wanted to destroy the chemical on its own. However, it had to back out as a huge amount of money was involved. After long, Bangladesh got assurance of funds from the GEF for disposal of the highly-hazardous pesticides with the help of FAO. FAOs Bangladesh representative, Mike Robson, and his team, along with Kazi Sarwar Imtiaz Hasmi, additional director of the Department of Environment, visited the warehouses on March 10 last year.