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Australia 'importing
banned pesticides'
Mr David Weir, American co-author of 'Circle of Poison', a book on the marketing of restricted pesticides, in Canberra yesterday. Help
Mr David Weir, American co-author of 'Circle of
Poison', a book on the marketing of restricted
pesticides, in Canberra yesterday.
Australia was importing
pcsticides totally banned or
restricted in the US, Mr
David Weir, co-author of the
book 'Circle of Poison' said
yesterday.
Mr Weir, who is also a staff
writer at the Centre for In
vestigative Reporting, Oakland,
California, said that Australia
produced only about two kinds of
pcsticidcs. The rest were im
ported.
His book documents the in
ternational marketing of restrict
ed pcsticides that "leave a globe
circling trail of sickness and
deaths".
Mr Weir said that because
Australian farmers were better
educated than those in Third
World countries the result of this
was not as disastrous in Australia
as clsehwcrc.
"In Third World countries, one
or two officials often carry re
sponsibility to that of the entire
US Enviromental Protection
Agency," he said.
Workers were seldom told how
the pesticidcs can hurt them and
most cannot read.
Mr Weir said that according to
the World Health Organisation,
someone in one of the under
developed countries is poisioned
by pesticides every minute.
He said that everybody was a
victim. Pesticide exports create a
circle of poison, "disabling work
ers in American chemical plants
and later returning to us in the
food we import."
Mr Weir was in Canberra dur
ing an Australian tour as guest of
World Food Day Committee.
World Food day is on Saturday.
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