Eolam
20-09-2005, 01:17
BOGOTA, Colombia, Sept 16 (Reuters) - The Colombian government plans to spray the country's national parks with herbicide to rid them of the raw material for cocaine despite protests from environmental groups.
Interior Minister Sabas Pretelt said on Friday spraying the parks would save them from destruction at the hands of drug smugglers, who the government says damage the environment with chemicals used to make cocaine, such as sulfuric acid.
"The government's duty is not to allow our nature reserves to be wiped out by these ecological criminals," Pretelt told reporters.
Environmentalists say spraying with the herbicide glyphosate, in a program funded by the United States, will damage pristine jungle environments and harm indigenous peoples.
No date for spraying to begin in parks has been established.
Two-thirds of Colombia's 200,000 acres (80,000 hectares) of coca leaf -- the raw material for cocaine -- was planted in 13 of the country's 51 nature reserves at the end of 2004, according to satellite data from the United Nations.
While spraying has roughly halved the area planted with coca since 2000, more is being planted in nature reserves, where the plants have been safe from crop dusters so far. Coca planting in nature reserves has risen 30 percent during the past year, Pretelt said.
Until now, the government has tried to placate environmental groups by limiting its eradication programs in nature reserves to manual uprooting of coca. But, while Pretelt said 42,000 acres (17,000 hectares) of coca has been manually removed this year, the government is impatient with progress and wants to spray.
One reason for this impatience could be that, while satellite data shows a big drop in coca area, another key indicator suggests the flow of cocaine to the United States has not been significantly interrupted. The price of cocaine on U.S. streets has hardly changed since the spraying program began in 2000.
Colombia is the world's largest producer of cocaine and has received more than $3 billion in mainly military aid since 2000 from the United States -- the largest consumer of the drug -- to fight the outlawed industry.
President Alvaro Uribe is currently in the United States, where he is meeting U.S. officials to lobby for continued aid. He planned to tell the officials spraying has been a success.
Coca crops are protected by far-right paramilitaries and Marxist rebels -- fierce foes in the country's four-decade-old guerrilla war, which claims thousands of lives a year. Both illegal armed groups rely on money from cocaine to buy weapons.
The government points to a study by the Organization of American States that concluded the chemicals used do not harm either humans or the environment. Glyphosate is commonly used by farmers around the world.
Still, the government will only give the final order to spray after studies showing that manual eradication is not practical in any one nature reserve, and after consultation with indigenous and other peoples in the area, Pretelt said.
Article in question (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N16149003.htm)
[...]
While glyphosate is commonly used by farmers around the world, previous studies, while flawed, have identified a wide range of potential health risks from the herbicide including chemical burns on the skin, depression, genetic damage, skeletal retardation and various cancers, he said.
("Ecuador concerned by Colombia's herbicide use" (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N18237920.htm))
Further Insight:
“Glyphosate is claimed to be the world's biggest selling herbicide by its manufacturer Monsanto(1). It is also said to be highly effective at killing weeds, safe to users and members of the public and harmless to the environment. Is it the perfect product that herbicide users want and that anti-pesticide campaigners can find no fault with?”
[…]
Chronic toxicity
Some literature suggests that glyphosate can cause some chronic health effects and birth defects in certain test animals when administered at high doses over prolonged periods(15). Chronic feeding studies have shown reduced weight gain, blood and pancreatic effects, but no evidence of carcinogenicity to humans. A US EPA report says: "Effects on pregnant mothers and foetuses included diarrhoea, decreased weight gain, nasal discharge and death of mothers and kidney and digestive disorders in rat pups"(16).
It is extremely unlikely that human users or members of the public would be exposed to doses as high as those used in the trials, but extrapolating toxicity data from rats, mice and rabbits on which trials are run, to humans can be inaccurate and misleading.
Glyphosate in the environment
Glyphosate is inactivated when it comes into contact with soil since it is adsorbed onto soil particles. This mechanism is not fully understood, but in part glyphosate binds to soil in the same way as inorganic phosphates(17). Un-bound glyphosate is rapidly degraded by microbial activity to carbon dioxide, and bound glyphosate is degraded more slowly, sometimes remaining un-degraded but inactive in soil for years(18). Glyphosate has been found to inhibit anaerobic nitrogen fixation in soil(19 ,20).
Because of its adsorption to soil, glyphosate is not easily leached and is unlikely to contaminate ground water. However, glyphosate is used in water for the control of aquatic weeds, and it can be carried with eroded soil into surface waters where natural breakdown processes are much slower. On rare occasions glyphosate has been detected in water, but generally it is not looked for because it is extremely difficult to isolate and is not considered to be of major concern as a water contaminant(21).
The Forestry Commission believes that glyphosate and other herbicides commonly affect hedgerow trees causing die-back. In the US it has been suggested that herbicides, including glyphosate reduce winter hardiness in trees and their resistance to fungal disease(22). It has been suggested that damage to maple trees increases during the second year following treatment with glyphosate, and that clover planted 120 days following treatment showed reduced nitrogen fixation and growth. This implies that glyphosate which is bound to soil particles can remain active and may be released from soil and taken up by plants(23). The US-EPA has also stated that many endangered plants may be at risk from glyphosate use(24).
There may also be cause for concern where glyphosate is used extensively in programmes to eradicate drug producing plants such as coca, opium poppies and marijuana. Glyphosate is sprayed indiscriminately over vast areas and will inevitably kill non-target vegetation some of which may be endangered.
The toxicity of glyphosate to mammals and birds is generally relatively low. However, its broad spectrum of herbicidal activity has led to the destruction of habitats and food sources for some birds and amphibians leading to population reductions(25). The Houston toad is an extreme case in that it is now an endangered species due to destruction of its habitat by glyphosate(26).
Fish and aquatic invertebrates are more sensitive to glyphosate and its formulations. Its toxicity is increased with higher water temperatures and pH. Some soil invertebrates including springtails, mites and isopods are also adversely affected by glyphosate. Of nine herbicides tested for their toxicity to soil microorganisms, glyphosate was found to be the second most toxic to a range of bacteria, fungi, actinomycetes and yeasts(27).
However, while glyphosate alone has low toxicity, the formulation of glyphosate with the surfactant polyoxyethylene amine (POEA), which is widely used, is significantly more toxic.
In Australia most formulations of glyphosate have been banned from use in or near water because of their toxic effects on tadpoles and to a lesser extent on adult frogs. There is also concern about non-lethal effects of the herbicide on frogs. New non-irritant formulations such as Roundup Biactive are excluded from the ban(28 ,29).
(http://www.pan-uk.org/pestnews/actives/glyphosa.htm/[url])
What are the Health Effects?
Short-term: EPA has found glyphosate to potentially cause the following health effects when people are exposed to it at levels above the MCL for relatively short periods of time: congestion of the lungs; increased breathing rate.
Long-term: Glyphosate has the potential to cause the following effects from a lifetime exposure at levels above the MCL: kidney damage, reproductive effects.
[…]
What happens to Glyphosate when it is released to the environment?
Glyphosate is strongly adsorbed to soil, with little potential for leaching to ground water. Microbes in the soil readily and completely degrade it even under low temperature conditions. It tends to adhere to sediments when released to water. Glyphosate does not tend to accumulate in aquatic life.
([url]http://www.epa.gov/safewater/contaminants/dw_contamfs/glyphosa.html)
Any thoughts?
Interior Minister Sabas Pretelt said on Friday spraying the parks would save them from destruction at the hands of drug smugglers, who the government says damage the environment with chemicals used to make cocaine, such as sulfuric acid.
"The government's duty is not to allow our nature reserves to be wiped out by these ecological criminals," Pretelt told reporters.
Environmentalists say spraying with the herbicide glyphosate, in a program funded by the United States, will damage pristine jungle environments and harm indigenous peoples.
No date for spraying to begin in parks has been established.
Two-thirds of Colombia's 200,000 acres (80,000 hectares) of coca leaf -- the raw material for cocaine -- was planted in 13 of the country's 51 nature reserves at the end of 2004, according to satellite data from the United Nations.
While spraying has roughly halved the area planted with coca since 2000, more is being planted in nature reserves, where the plants have been safe from crop dusters so far. Coca planting in nature reserves has risen 30 percent during the past year, Pretelt said.
Until now, the government has tried to placate environmental groups by limiting its eradication programs in nature reserves to manual uprooting of coca. But, while Pretelt said 42,000 acres (17,000 hectares) of coca has been manually removed this year, the government is impatient with progress and wants to spray.
One reason for this impatience could be that, while satellite data shows a big drop in coca area, another key indicator suggests the flow of cocaine to the United States has not been significantly interrupted. The price of cocaine on U.S. streets has hardly changed since the spraying program began in 2000.
Colombia is the world's largest producer of cocaine and has received more than $3 billion in mainly military aid since 2000 from the United States -- the largest consumer of the drug -- to fight the outlawed industry.
President Alvaro Uribe is currently in the United States, where he is meeting U.S. officials to lobby for continued aid. He planned to tell the officials spraying has been a success.
Coca crops are protected by far-right paramilitaries and Marxist rebels -- fierce foes in the country's four-decade-old guerrilla war, which claims thousands of lives a year. Both illegal armed groups rely on money from cocaine to buy weapons.
The government points to a study by the Organization of American States that concluded the chemicals used do not harm either humans or the environment. Glyphosate is commonly used by farmers around the world.
Still, the government will only give the final order to spray after studies showing that manual eradication is not practical in any one nature reserve, and after consultation with indigenous and other peoples in the area, Pretelt said.
Article in question (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N16149003.htm)
[...]
While glyphosate is commonly used by farmers around the world, previous studies, while flawed, have identified a wide range of potential health risks from the herbicide including chemical burns on the skin, depression, genetic damage, skeletal retardation and various cancers, he said.
("Ecuador concerned by Colombia's herbicide use" (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N18237920.htm))
Further Insight:
“Glyphosate is claimed to be the world's biggest selling herbicide by its manufacturer Monsanto(1). It is also said to be highly effective at killing weeds, safe to users and members of the public and harmless to the environment. Is it the perfect product that herbicide users want and that anti-pesticide campaigners can find no fault with?”
[…]
Chronic toxicity
Some literature suggests that glyphosate can cause some chronic health effects and birth defects in certain test animals when administered at high doses over prolonged periods(15). Chronic feeding studies have shown reduced weight gain, blood and pancreatic effects, but no evidence of carcinogenicity to humans. A US EPA report says: "Effects on pregnant mothers and foetuses included diarrhoea, decreased weight gain, nasal discharge and death of mothers and kidney and digestive disorders in rat pups"(16).
It is extremely unlikely that human users or members of the public would be exposed to doses as high as those used in the trials, but extrapolating toxicity data from rats, mice and rabbits on which trials are run, to humans can be inaccurate and misleading.
Glyphosate in the environment
Glyphosate is inactivated when it comes into contact with soil since it is adsorbed onto soil particles. This mechanism is not fully understood, but in part glyphosate binds to soil in the same way as inorganic phosphates(17). Un-bound glyphosate is rapidly degraded by microbial activity to carbon dioxide, and bound glyphosate is degraded more slowly, sometimes remaining un-degraded but inactive in soil for years(18). Glyphosate has been found to inhibit anaerobic nitrogen fixation in soil(19 ,20).
Because of its adsorption to soil, glyphosate is not easily leached and is unlikely to contaminate ground water. However, glyphosate is used in water for the control of aquatic weeds, and it can be carried with eroded soil into surface waters where natural breakdown processes are much slower. On rare occasions glyphosate has been detected in water, but generally it is not looked for because it is extremely difficult to isolate and is not considered to be of major concern as a water contaminant(21).
The Forestry Commission believes that glyphosate and other herbicides commonly affect hedgerow trees causing die-back. In the US it has been suggested that herbicides, including glyphosate reduce winter hardiness in trees and their resistance to fungal disease(22). It has been suggested that damage to maple trees increases during the second year following treatment with glyphosate, and that clover planted 120 days following treatment showed reduced nitrogen fixation and growth. This implies that glyphosate which is bound to soil particles can remain active and may be released from soil and taken up by plants(23). The US-EPA has also stated that many endangered plants may be at risk from glyphosate use(24).
There may also be cause for concern where glyphosate is used extensively in programmes to eradicate drug producing plants such as coca, opium poppies and marijuana. Glyphosate is sprayed indiscriminately over vast areas and will inevitably kill non-target vegetation some of which may be endangered.
The toxicity of glyphosate to mammals and birds is generally relatively low. However, its broad spectrum of herbicidal activity has led to the destruction of habitats and food sources for some birds and amphibians leading to population reductions(25). The Houston toad is an extreme case in that it is now an endangered species due to destruction of its habitat by glyphosate(26).
Fish and aquatic invertebrates are more sensitive to glyphosate and its formulations. Its toxicity is increased with higher water temperatures and pH. Some soil invertebrates including springtails, mites and isopods are also adversely affected by glyphosate. Of nine herbicides tested for their toxicity to soil microorganisms, glyphosate was found to be the second most toxic to a range of bacteria, fungi, actinomycetes and yeasts(27).
However, while glyphosate alone has low toxicity, the formulation of glyphosate with the surfactant polyoxyethylene amine (POEA), which is widely used, is significantly more toxic.
In Australia most formulations of glyphosate have been banned from use in or near water because of their toxic effects on tadpoles and to a lesser extent on adult frogs. There is also concern about non-lethal effects of the herbicide on frogs. New non-irritant formulations such as Roundup Biactive are excluded from the ban(28 ,29).
(http://www.pan-uk.org/pestnews/actives/glyphosa.htm/[url])
What are the Health Effects?
Short-term: EPA has found glyphosate to potentially cause the following health effects when people are exposed to it at levels above the MCL for relatively short periods of time: congestion of the lungs; increased breathing rate.
Long-term: Glyphosate has the potential to cause the following effects from a lifetime exposure at levels above the MCL: kidney damage, reproductive effects.
[…]
What happens to Glyphosate when it is released to the environment?
Glyphosate is strongly adsorbed to soil, with little potential for leaching to ground water. Microbes in the soil readily and completely degrade it even under low temperature conditions. It tends to adhere to sediments when released to water. Glyphosate does not tend to accumulate in aquatic life.
([url]http://www.epa.gov/safewater/contaminants/dw_contamfs/glyphosa.html)
Any thoughts?