By Rich Bowden:

The release of a list containing more than 80 of Australia’s most dangerous pesticides, many of which are banned overseas, has raised questions of the effectiveness of Australia’s regulatory system.

The list, released by WWF and the National Toxics Network on July 18, includes 17 chemicals that are either known or probable carcinogens, 48 hormone-interfering chemicals and 20 which have been classified as either extremely or highly hazardous by the World Health Organisation, according to a WWF media release.

WWF spokesperson Nick Heath said the lack of pesticide regulation from Australian authorities meant Australians farm workers did not receive the same protection as their overseas counterparts.

“Australians are at risk of being exposed to a dangerous cocktail of poisonous chemicals, many of which have been prohibited in other countries due to their risks to health and the environment,” he said. ”Surely Australian farm workers, wildlife and ecosystems deserve the same level of protection as those in Europe or the United States.”

The National Toxics Network’s Jo Immig agreed saying Australian regulation of pesticides was not doing its job of protecting Australians.

“European pesticides regulation is founded on a precautionary principle designed to give human health and the environment the benefit of the doubt,” Ms Immig said. ”Here in Australia we have the opposite, where chemicals that are suspected of causing cancer and other health problems remain on the market for years.”

“The pesticides regulator must recognise that while Australia may have unique wildlife and different farming conditions, the chemistry of these dangerous pesticides is the still the same,” said Mr Heath in the WWF statement. “If smoking causes cancer in the US, it will also cause cancer in Australia – it’s the carcinogens that matter not the
country,” he added.

“The list demonstrates just how far we are lagging behind the rest of the world. It’s time for us to catch up and give Australian farmers safer and better choices.”

Read the report at the WWF website here.

Tags: australia pesticides, national toxic network, toxic chemicals australia, wwf pesticide