THE MERCURY
Domestic chemical banned
AN INGREDIENT in home and garden pesticides, chlorpyrifos, has been banned from domestic use in South Africa because of its link to childhood autism and attention deficit disorder.
An order published by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries on May 14 banned the use of products containing chlorpyrifos as an active ingredient in "household, home, garden and domestic" settings.
An organophosphate, chlorpyrifos is classed as a moderately toxic insecticide by the World Health Organisation.
According to Professor Leslie London, director of the School of Public Health and Family Medicine at the University of Cape Town, the chemical is toxic to the nervous system, blocking important enzymes.
"Simply, the neurotransmitter transmits impulses, and a particular enzyme keeps this neurotransmitter in balance. But the organophosphate decreases the ability of the enzyme to deactivate the neurotransmitter and it goes into overdrive," he said.
Symptoms
As a result, the target of the transmitter - whether muscles, the heart, brain cells, sweat glands or the digestive system - is over-activated.
The symptoms of poisoning can range from the mild and flu-like - headaches, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and wheezing, for example - to the extremely serious, such as severe muscle spasms and even respiratory failure.
According to London, most household pesticides you might find in stores phased out chlorpyrifos years ago, but it is still in a lot of garden products and pet sprays.
Chlorpyrifos is banned in Europe, Canada and the US, where studies have linked exposure to the chemical to autism and attention deficit disorder.
A study published in the American Journal of Health in March this year showed that chlorpyrifos caused developmental delays in children.
"There is a clear-cut association between this chemical and delayed mental and motor skill development in children," said Columbia University's Dr Gina Lovasi, lead author of the study.
