AN ARTICLE ON SOCIAL ISSUE

ENDOSULFAN

           Endosulfan is a DDT-era insecticide that persists in the environment and in our bodies. EPA data show that all of us are routinely exposed to small amounts of endosulfan in the food we eat, with young children receiving the largest doses. Studies of popluations exposed to endosulfan have been published suggesting that endosulfan can increase the risk of autism, delay puberty in boys, and cause birth defects of the male reproductive system.

Human Health Harms

        Endosulfan attacks the central nervous system, causing overstimulation and a range of health harms. Acute exposure to endosulfan causes headaches, nausea and vomiting, seizures, and in extreme cases, unconsciousness and death. The EPA classifies endosulfan in its most extreme toxicity category (highly acutely toxic) because relatively small doses prove lethal in laboratory studies.

            Endosulfan related deaths and debilitation are common is the developing world, where endosulfan is cheap but personal protective equipment is expensive or even impossible to obtain.  Examples include thirty-seven farmers dying in Benin, two boys dead in South Africa, flower workers poisoned in Colombia, and villagers in Philippines and India poisoned by the toxic pesticide.

               Levels of endosulfan in the environment can be lethal to certain organisms, especially fish and amphibians. Waterways near application sites are particularly threatened—for example, the EPA has estimated that after a typical endosulfan application to tomatoes, concentrations of endosulfan downstream can be up to 28 times higher than the level that is fatal to the average freshwater fish. Once released into the environment these residues take years to degrade, traveling many miles in the meanwhile.

Ending Endosulfan

          US EPA determined in 2010 that endosulfan could not be used safely, and announced that it was phasing out all uses of the chemical in the US by 2016. Brazil and several other countries followed suit, announcing phase out plans for the chemical.

On the international front, the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants agreed in April 2011 that endosulfan should be added to the list of chemicals banned globally under the treaty.

         In June of 2011, endosulfan was also added to another international treaty, the Rotterdam Convention, which requires government-to-government notification when dangerous pesticides and other chemicals cross international borders.