Killer chemical needs urgent reassessment

The lethal insecticide implicated in the recent Thailand tourist deaths was scheduled for “priority reassessment” in New Zealand before 2008, but is still in widespread use, said the Green Party today.

Chlorpyrifos was identified as a priority for reassessment in the Environmental and Risk Management Authority’s (ERMA) Briefing to the Incoming Minister in 2008, and the reassessment was initially triggered several years prior.

Green Party toxics spokesperson Catherine Delahunty said: “ERMA has had chlorpyrifos on the reassessment list for years, but so far nothing appears to have happened.

“Given its widespread use in New Zealand, even in stone fruits and wheat, they must undertake the urgent reassessment that should have already happened.

“It is a neurotoxin which can be damaging to children, who are exposed to it through bread in particular,” said Ms Delahunty.

The 2009 Total Diet Study in New Zealand found residues of chlorpyrifos in food, including biscuits, bread, muesli, bran flakes and kiwifruit.

“We want safe, healthy food for everyone. We don’t want to wait for someone to die before we stop using acutely toxic chemicals.

“Chlorpyrifos needs to be reassessed urgently, and New Zealand needs to lift its game and use the more robust assessment criteria used by the European Union.

“The Green Party is calling on the Government to adopt the reassessment standards and protocol applied in the European Union, known as REACH.

“Our livelihoods depend on our clean, green brand. We cannot afford to sacrifice our environment and our people for the sake of saving a few bucks by using an acutely toxic insecticide,” said Ms Delahunty.

Link to story about deaths in Thailand possibly caused by chlorpyrifos:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10724455

Link to ERMA 2008 Briefing to the Incoming Minister:
http://www.ermanz.govt.nz/Publications/Briefing-for-the-Incoming-Minister-Hon-Nick-Smith.pdf

Link to REACH:
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/chemicals/reach/reach_intro.htm

Link to 2009 Total Diet Study:
http://www.foodsafety.govt.nz/science/research-projects/total-diet-survey/2009.htm