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RTK-NET Entry Jan 25 12:30:14 1993
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PESTICIDE ACTION NETWORK NORTH AMERICA UPDATES
SERVICE
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PESTICIDE DUMPING IN EASTERN EUROPE
January 20, 1993
Around 12,000 tons of unwanted pesticides, buried in various
sites around Poland, are an "ecological bomb" waiting to explode,
according to a report recently submitted to the Polish Ministry of
Agriculture and Food by the Polish Plant Protection Institute. The
problem is so dangerous that it requires "rapid and fundamental
actions" and expert knowledge for it to be resolved.
When it became apparent in the early 1970s that the centrally
planned economy was overproducing certain pesticides, an attempt
was made to solve the problem by burying the surplus in "tombs"
(concrete-lined bunkers). There are now some 200 officially
registered tombs with a capacity of 6,000 tons. It is believed
that the real number of tombs is considerably higher - around
1,000 tombs containing 12,000 tons of pesticides. The Polish Plant
Protection Council recommends immediate assessment of water and
soil contamination in places of storage for unwanted pesticides,
and action to protect the environment if serious contamination is
found. The report also urges studies on suitable means of
destroying onsolete pesticides. used containers, and other
pesticide waste.
Meanwhile, fears of a major pesticide waste disposal problem
in the former East Germany are growing. Around 3,000 tons of
pesticides lost their registrations with German unification or
when the transition period expired at the end of 1992. The old
stocks are lying around on the premises of former agrochemical
depots, on farms themselves, and at three northern area
wholesalers. Experts have forecast that the cost of clearing the
stocks from one state alone will be at least DM750,000
(US$500,000), but there is still little idea of how it will
actually be carried out.
One German firm has tried to solve their waste disposal
problem by exporting outdated pesticides to Albania, calling the
shipments "humanitarian aid." Schmidt-Cretan of Hanover,
Germany claims that the products, banned for use in Germany because
they contain mercury, dioxins and lindane, are for active use and
are not waste. This claim has been rejected by the Albanian
Agriculture Ministry, as the chemicals had already passed their
expiration date, thus making them waste In addition, some of these
products, currently held in storage, are banned in Albania as well
as the European Community. A Greenpeace toxic waste expert
estimates that disposing of such waste in Germany costs
DM5,000-11,000 (US$6,600 to US$18,260) a ton. The company has
refused to take back more than 400 tons of the pesticides seized
so far.
Source: Agrow, November 6 and December 4, 1992.
For more information, contact Greenpeace Germany, Votsetzen 53, D-
2000 Hamburg 11, Germany,; telephone 49 40 3111860
This information is provided by the Pesticide Action Network North
America Updates Service (PANUPS), a pesticide-related news service
from the Pesticide Action Network (PAN) North American
Regional Center. Updates are posted weekly on EcoNet in
"en.pesticides," "en.agriculture" and other appropriate electronic
conferences, and distributed worldwide across the APC computer
network. PANUPS is also posted in the Public Conference on RTK
NET, on GeoNet in the PESTICIDES-BBS bulletin board, on FidoNet in
The Ecology Network, on the Sustainable Agriculture Network
(SANET) on BitNet, and on PENpages agriculture information service
at Penn State Univ. Hard-copy compilations of these updates are
also available. For more information about PAN activities and
publications, contact: PAN NA RC, 965 Mission Street #514, San
Francisco, CA 94103. Tel: (415) 541-9140. Fax: (415) 541-9253.
Telex: 156283472 PANNA. E-mail address on EcoNet:
[email protected]
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==
Topic: Recent Document Additions (within the last month)
Subject: Pesticide Dumping in Eastern Europe
Author: Admin
Entry #: 2899 Created: Jan 25 12:30:14 1993 Size: 4021
Printed: Sat Feb 13 15:38:39 1993
Read by: Admin : at Mon Jan 25 12:38:10 1993
puchalsk : at Mon Jan 25 14:37:03 1993
mcfarlan : at Mon Jan 25 20:02:46 1993
hestert : at Mon Jan 25 20:48:50 1993
chelenj : at Mon Jan 25 21:42:45 1993
gordont : at Mon Jan 25 21:46:09 1993
dunnv : at Tue Jan 26 00:32:08 1993
ferguson : at Tue Jan 26 11:58:19 1993
brookshe : at Tue Jan 26 13:10:28 1993
macleana : at Tue Jan 26 13:20:43 1993
barront : at Tue Jan 26 13:43:27 1993
bennettj : at Wed Jan 27 13:45:24 1993
pruittr : at Wed Jan 27 18:00:05 1993
burnsj : at Wed Jan 27 18:54:29 1993
grandfie : at Wed Jan 27 21:22:41 1993
public : at Thu Jan 28 16:15:57 1993
pastoree : at Sun Jan 31 08:07:16 1993
davisjo : at Mon Feb 1 20:43:57 1993
youngj : at Tue Feb 2 02:18:07 1993
wheelera : at Wed Feb 3 15:25:58 1993
davism : at Thu Feb 4 20:14:31 1993
mackoc : at Wed Feb 10 10:47:57 1993
malekd : at Fri Feb 12 17:38:29 1993
