Eternal Vigilance for Pesticide Safety in Production and Storage

Written procedures and regular rehearsals are musts for all pesticide manufacturing and storage units. Not even the best corporations are above accidents as the following link demonstrates:

http://www.wchstv.com/newsroom/eyewitness/0808/080829_3e5528ed.shtml

The probabilities of an adverse event are fortunately low, but stringent preventive and contingent measures are musts in all cases. Most large factories have detailed procedures to deal with emergencies, but warehouses are often not structured for management of disasters.

Emulsion concentrates with low flash points require special precautions. Local fire services should be equipped with MSDSs, and impervious containment arrangements are required to hold contaminated water and sludge.

I am trained in safe storage and transport of pesticides, and offer my services to anybody who would like to use my expertise to raise pesticide safety standards.

You can reach me on 919820188291 at any time.

Fight Discrimination in Pesticide Safety Now

The Pesticide Action Network North America has posted some views about Endosulfan. I reproduce below my response to this web page:

 

I wish to respond to the material I have accessed today at the following link:

https://www.panna.org/campaigns/endosulfan

I have worked with Endosulfan, and with several other pesticides, bio-rational products, and organic technologies, for more than three decades.

Pest management is not similar to the very North American habit of owning and driving automobiles. You should not denigrate a pesticide because it is not the latest model in showrooms. Similarly, regulatory actions against specific molecules in certain parts of the world may be influenced by the business interests of manufacturers domesticated in those countries. Please do not dilute the sovereign rights of all countries to regulate pesticides within their own jurisdictions.

Endosulfan does not harm non-target organisms or the environment when used as per label directions. The NOEL, ADI, and PHI systems are specifically designed to enable the safe and judicious use of pesticides.

Endosulfan has a unique place in Integrated Pest Management. It is the only molecule in the world with strains of beneficial insect tolerances. You are quick to report the EU ban on Endosulfan, but remain silent on CCD which afflicts the entire continent of Europe. It does not become you to act as a promotional agent for European neonicotinoids. 

I appeal to you to serve the larger public interest, free of abusive discrimination, by promoting the safe and judicious use of pesticides.

Dr. Satyabroto Banerji
B 3 Industrial Assurance Building
Churchgate
Mumbai
400 020
India
skype: srbanerji
Call: 919820188291

http://pesticidesafety.blogspot.com/

Please add your voice to mine. You can write to Panna at the following address:

panna@panna.org

 

Transactional Analysis for Pesticide Safety

This post is a protest against the punitive regulatory action reported at the following link:

http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2008/09/08/daily26.html

I disclaim that my views are based on my professional career with a legacy company of the one involved. I write in the greater interests of pesticide safety.

The world pesticide industry is an oligopoly, especially in terms of novel syntheses. We all depend on a handful of corporations for continuous investments in discovering new molecules. It is also their magnanimity that can quickly correct serious maladies that afflict agriculture, including the dreaded CCD of honeybees. 

Global corporations should be given opportunities to correct minor aberrations in their far-flung operations. It is not befitting to treat them like children, handing out petty fines. After all, these companies have their own internal audit systems as well. ISO 14001 philosophy promotes self-regulation, and the regulatory action in this instance goes against the grain of industry leadership for better pesticide safety. 

Thank you for posting your opinion below. 

Leadership for Pesticide Safety

Dr. Upasana Singh, pictured above, is the Project Coordinator of the Krishi Vigyan Kendra at Tepla in the Ambala district of Haryana. She is not as stern as she appears in the photograph. However, a camera cannot lie. I captured this rare image as one of her colleagues spoke about pesticide safety.

The Krishi Vigyan Kendras of India are effective agents of change for rural communities. All countries can adopt this system for their benefits. A Krishi Vigyan Kendra brings extension personnel, agricultural technologists, farmers, and agricultural laborers together on a single platform. Superlative management skills ensure rapid and faithful transfer of cutting-edge technologies from laboratories to lands.

No Indian can deny that Haryana is at the vanguard of our national progress. It is not just a verdant land by title, but in reality as well. The Krishi Vigyan Kendra at Tepla in Ambala district of Haryana is, in the words of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, one of my temples of modern India.

I commit myself to the cause of pesticide safety under the aegis of this magnificent institution. Please join me and help in this endeavor to ensure safe and judicious use of pesticides.

Small Steps Can Make Major Pesticide Safety Leaps

Spraying a post-emergence herbicide can be taxing. You have to use a hood, and normally this forces you to bend while spraying. Exhaustion is a great hurdle to pesticide safety, and hence simple lance extensions can make major differences to operator comfort and safety.

I witnessed testing of such a device recently in Bawana on the farm of Shri Jille Singh Rana. I have posted on this progressive cultivator before. The person testing was Shri Ram Mahato from the farm. Mahato is from Bihar, but has worked in Haryana for the last 25 years. He was very happy with the test. Here is a clip of the test:

The attachment is innocuous. However, appearances are certainly very deceptive as you can tell from the video. I should clarify that I have filmed a demonstration with plain water, which is why you do not see protective gear. Here is another view of the lance:

The device will be improved further to strengthen bonding with the lance. Post below or write to sochiye.pesticidesafety@gmail.com if you would like to access this device.

A Database is a Must for Pesticide Safety

All pesticide industry professionals treasure pictures of farmer meetings. I love the one above most especially because the statue in the background is of one of my lifetime heroes. I would like to follow in the footsteps of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar and devote my life to the cause of my under-privileged Indians.

That is why I am distraught about Naresh Kumar pictured below. 

You can read about him in my post of August 14, 2008 in this web log. I made my aloe-vera disinfectant gel with his swollen cheeks and burning back in mind. Though I have never sprayed a neonictinoid, I have plenty of first-hand experience of the hazards of synthetic pyrethroids. I am certain that my gel can help Naresh. Besides, I want him to have a protective-gear set offered on generous subsidy by Excel Crop Care Limited. 

Naresh was missing from our pesticide safety meeting in Bawana on the 04th of this month. We could not reach his mobile either. I have realized that a database of all farmers and spraymen is vital if our meetings are to be of any use.

I am grateful to my friends Sharma and Gaur, pictured below with two other spraymen. They will help me locate Naresh when they next visit Tanda, and will arrange for as many spraymen as we can find to participate in my pesticide safety initiatives on a regular basis. 

The Power of Consensus for Pesticide Safety

I realized today that intransigent stands by the pesticide industry ail the entire farming community.

The occasion was a pesticide safety meeting in Ambala, Haryana. The head of the local government hospital, the project coordinator of the Krishi Vigyan Kendra, State Government officials, scientists, farmers, and agricultural laborers all got together to decide on a common plan of action. 

We will meet again on October 21, 2008. This will be to distribute safety gear, a disinfectant gel, health insurance papers, and insecticide nozzles. I also hope to move to other parts of Haryana and to Punjab during the trip, and extend the pesticide safety program.

There are about 40 families of migrant labor in the neighboring district of Kurukshetra. They have come to Haryana all the way from Bihar. They spray pesticides all the time, and are weary of the effects of the new patented products. They welcomed the pesticide safety initiative most enthusiastically. I spent quality time with Shanker Mandal and Rajkishore Shah pictured below.  Mandal is originally from Bithouli in Thana Beheri of Darbhanga district. Shah is from Bagheli, which falls under Jadiya thana in Supole (pincode 852112). Listen to their words at the link below the photograph.

http://satyabroto.podbean.com/2008/09/06/operator-views-on-pesticide-safety-ambala/