Thousands At Risk From Weed Killer
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Thousands At Risk From Weed Killer
Date:
Thu, 26 Sep
2002 12:17:23 -0400
From:
Stephen Tvedten <steve@getipm.com>
Organization: Get Set Inc. (www.getipm.com)
To: Paul Helliker <phelliker@cdpr.ca.gov>
Director, State of California, Department of Pesticide
Regulation
cc: Christine Whitman whitman.christine@epa.gov
Thousands
at risk from weedkiller: Chance
by Anne Buggins.
THOUSANDS of farmers and former government workers in the South-West and Wheatbelt may have been affected by their use of the controversial weedkiller 2,4,5-T.
Agriculture Minister Kim Chance, who used the chemical while farming, said he believed workers in cooler parts of WA were less at risk than those in the Kimberley because they were more likely to have worn protective clothing and equipment.
"Thousands of people have used the chemical," he said. "Many of those thousands will be sick. What we don't know is if it is related to the use of the chemical."
On Thursday, Mr Chance tabled in Parliament a report which found strong evidence that former Agriculture Protection Board workers who used the chemical in the Kimberley had suffered unexplained health problems and death because of their jobs between 1975 and 1985.
Mr Chance rejected the report's call for compensation, saying it was necessary to first set up a specialist medical team to try to establish a scientific link between use of the chemical and workers' ill health.
Yesterday, John Tucker, 49, a former APB district officer based in Williams, said he had gone out spraying road verges in just a singlet and shorts.
He said hundreds of APB workers, mainly casual seasonal staff, would have used the weedkiller in the South-West. "We were told we could drink the bloody stuff," he said.
Mr Tucker said he had battled chronic, unexplained ill health for five years.
"It's like I'm having a constant heart attack, I live on morphine to get through the day," he said. "I've thrown out my medication now hoping it will speed up the end.
"I want to volunteer as a human guinea pig so the doctors can establish a link."
An Agriculture Department official said about 1200 people had been involved in various types of chemical and non-chemical weed control but it was not known how many had used 2,4,5-T.
Department of Conservation and Land Management regional services director Alan Walker said hundreds of current and former forest workers, including himself, had used the weedkiller. Exposure of former Forests Department workers would have been limited because the chemical was used directly on stumps and suckers in pine plantations for fairly short periods.
The department had consulted a toxicologist on the issue and had been assured that the risks of exposure for workers were low.
Australian Plaintiff Lawyers Association WA president Chris Phillips said anyone concerned about exposure to the chemical should contact a lawyer. There were two legal avenues available. People who made workers compensation claims were not restricted by time limits but could claim only a set amount.
Those who took private legal action under common law had the capacity to claim for complete compensation but usually had to do so within six years of the date of injury.
The Government intends to set up a telephone hotline for inquiries.
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