{"id":2844,"date":"2017-12-14T21:48:31","date_gmt":"2017-12-14T21:48:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/danwatch.dk\/danske-bananer-kan-vaere-sproejtet-med-livsfarlige-pesticider\/"},"modified":"2024-07-23T12:00:56","modified_gmt":"2024-07-23T12:00:56","slug":"danske-bananer-kan-vaere-sproejtet-med-livsfarlige-pesticider","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/danwatch.dk\/en\/danske-bananer-kan-vaere-sproejtet-med-livsfarlige-pesticider\/","title":{"rendered":"Danish bananas may be sprayed with highly toxic pesticides"},"content":{"rendered":"
A Danwatch INVESTigation<\/h6>\n

\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Danish bananas may be sprayed with highly toxic pesticides<\/h1>\n

<\/a>
\n \"\" <\/p>\n

A Danwatch investigation<\/h6>\n

\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Danish bananas may be sprayed with highly toxic pesticides<\/h1>\n

<\/a>
\n Danwatch has documented that pesticides are being used on Ecuador\u2019s banana plantations that are illegal in Denmark and the EU in part because they are known to cause illness. In Ecuador\u2019s three banana-growing provinces, there is markedly higher incidence of cancer, higher mortality among pilots that spray pesticides on bananas from the air, and more children born with birth defects than anywhere else in the country. We spoke with banana workers who report becoming seriously ill after contact with these dangerous pesticides. Danish supermarkets cannot guarantee that the bananas being sold in their stores were not grown using these toxic chemicals.
\n
\n 14. december 2017 <\/a>
\n
\n Rebeca Calabria<\/p>\n

Journalist<\/p>\n<\/p>\n


\n Rebeca Calabria<\/p>\n

Journalist<\/p>\n

Editing: Amalie Linde \/ Photo: Esteban Barrera (Danwatch) & Jesper Nymark (Danwatch) \/ Translation: Aileen Bramhall Itani<\/p>\n

In cooperation with Dagbladet (Norway)
\n
\n
\n 14. december 2017 <\/a>
\n Danwatch has documented that pesticides are being used on Ecuador\u2019s banana plantations that are illegal in Denmark and the EU in part because they are known to cause illness. In Ecuador\u2019s three banana-growing provinces, there is markedly higher incidence of cancer, higher mortality among pilots that spray pesticides on bananas from the air, and more children born with birth defects than anywhere else in the country. We spoke with banana workers who report becoming seriously ill after contact with these dangerous pesticides. Danish supermarkets cannot guarantee that the bananas being sold in their stores were not grown using these toxic chemicals. <\/p>\n

In brief\u00a0<\/h2>\n

Danwatch interviewed 34 banana workers, pilots, and family members of those sickened or killed by pesticides, and presented our documentation to experts in pesticide use and doctors familiar with pesticide poisoning in Ecuador.<\/p>\n

Pesticides in Ecuadorean banana production<\/b><\/h2>\n

Danwatch acquired a list of the 26 most commonly-used pesticides in Ecuador\u2019s banana-growing regions. \u00a0<\/p>\n

The list is a compilation of data from the Ministry of Agriculture in Ecuador and a list of pesticides from the Pesticide Action Network. \u00a0<\/p>\n

See the list<\/p>\n

These data were then processed by environmental engineer Alexander Naranjo. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Experts confirm that these pesticides are in widespread use in Ecuadorean banana production. We asked Danish pesticide experts to evaluate the chemicals\u2019 toxicity.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tRead more<\/p>\n

The poison comes from the sky.<\/p>\n

This is what some of the workers on Ecuador\u2019s banana plantations told Danwatch.<\/p>\n

From small crop-dusting aircraft, pesticides and fungicides are sprayed over miles of banana plantations and anything that may lie between them: villages, schools full of children playing, and the banana workers themselves. \u00a0Everything is coated with a fine layer of sticky dust when, approximately once a week and without warning, the planes spray the bananas.<\/p>\n

And the poison that comes from the sky is<\/i> highly toxic. \u00a0According to a new report from Acci\u00f3n Ecol\u00f3gica, of the 26 chemicals that were most commonly sprayed on Ecuador\u2019s banana plantations in 2017, seven are illegal for use in the EU. \u00a0The Danish Ministry of Environment and Food, meanwhile, says that eighteen of the pesticides on the list are illegal in Denmark. \u00a0Experts tell Danwatch that, in many cases, this is because they are dangerous to the people who must work with them. <\/p>\n

Several scientific studies link a number of these spray pesticides with cancer, birth defects, and higher mortality rates \u2013 and in the banana-growing provinces of Ecuador, these conditions are markedly more prevalent than in the rest of the country.<\/p>\n

Ecuador\u2019s three banana provinces \u2013 Guayas, Los R\u00edos, and El Oro \u2013 share a toxic first-place distinction. \u00a0They are not only the hub of banana production in a country that exports more bananas than any other in the world, they are also at the top of Ecuador\u2019s rankings for children born with birth defects, according to national statistics from 2012.<\/p>\n

Toxic pesticides<\/h2>\n

Several studies document a health risk by living close to and working with pesticides in Ecuador’s banana production<\/p>\n

Increased risk of cancer<\/h2>\n

\t\t\t\t%<\/p>\n

So big is the cancer risk in the banana producing provinces against a 2.4 percent risk in general in Ecuador.<\/p>\n

Source:\u00a0Defensor\u00eda del Pueblo, 2007<\/a>\u00a0and environmental organization\u00a0Acci\u00f3n Ecol\u00f3gica, 2007<\/a><\/h5>\n

Children born with defects<\/h2>\n

\t\t\t\t%<\/p>\n

of children born in the banana-producing provinces are born with malformations. At a national level the figure is 0.22%<\/p>\n

Children born with mental handicaps<\/h2>\n

\t\t\t\t%<\/p>\n

of the children in the El Oro province are born with a mental disability due to genetic damage. The national level is 0.19%.<\/p>\n

Two pesticide experts, environmental engineer Alexander Naranjo and health geographer Patricia Polo Almeida, say that the 26 pesticides on the list are in widespread use in Ecuadorian banana production. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Unless the bananas are organic, some combination of these pesticides are sprayed on all Ecuadorean bananas sold in Danish supermarket chains. Coop, Meny, Spar, Aldi and Lidl all tell Danwatch that they import conventional bananas from Ecuador.<\/p>\n

Coop, Aldi and Lidl respond furthermore that all the conventional bananas they sell are certified by the Rainforest Alliance, an environmental sustainability organisation. \u00a0As we shall see later, however, this is no guarantee that the most dangerous pesticides are not used in their production. <\/p>\n

Crop-dusting over people is not acceptable<\/b><\/h4>\n

We asked Helle Raun Andersen, an associate professor in environmental medicine at the University of Southern Denmark, to examine the list of the twenty-six most common pesticides in Ecuador, as well as Danwatch\u2019s photos from the banana plantations.<\/p>\n

Raun Andersen notes that when a pesticide is not approved for use in the EU or Denmark, this may be because approval may not yet have been sought for the chemical. \u00a0But she emphasises that all pesticides are dangerous if they are not handled correctly, and that some indeed are prohibited in Denmark because they are too dangerous. \u00a0Of these, she points to three specific examples from the list: terbufos, cadusafos and chlorpyrifos. <\/p>\n

\u201cThese are insect sprays with relatively high acute toxicity, so there is concern about injury to those working with them. \u00a0The last of them were banned in Denmark around 2011. \u00a0They are neurotoxins \u2013 from a chemical point of view, they are related to gasses used in chemical weapons \u2013 and in the worst case, you can die from exposure to them via the skin, inhalation, or getting them into your body by other means.\u201d<\/p>\n

Erik J\u00f8rs, an associate professor in occupational medicine at the University of Southern Denmark, agrees. <\/p>\n

\u201cSome of these substances are acutely toxic and have been prohibited for that reason (cadusafos, terbufos and paraquat). Others are less acutely toxic, but are suspected of interfering with reproduction, causing harm to the developing foetus, or being carcinogenic, and are prohibited for that reason (benomyl, carbendazim, flusilazole, tridemorph),\u201d he writes.<\/p>\n

Raun Andersen also notes deficiencies in the safety equipment used by banana workers in photos taken by Danwatch at the plantations. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there is pesticide in that, then they should be wearing gloves and masks, which they are not. \u00a0Most of these compounds are absorbed by the skin, so the man holding that container could be breathing in small droplets, and will get it on his skin. \u00a0You can certainly be harmed by exposure to pesticides over time. \u00a0All pesticides are toxic, which is why there is so much regulation of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\tBanana workers carry a bunch of bananas. The banana glasses are protected by a plastic bag.
\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\tThe bananas are washed thoroughly before packing.
\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\tWhen working with chemicals, you should wear mask, gloves and apron, experts say.
\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\tBanana boxes on their way to their destination, the supermarkets. The EU is the largest customer of Ecuadorian bananas.
\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Children born with birth defects<\/b><\/h4>\n

Nearly twice as many children are born with birth defects in the banana-growing region of El Oro compared to the rest of the country, according to a national survey carried out in Ecuador in 2012. <\/p>\n

There are also significantly higher mortality and cancer rates in these regions, according to two 2007 reports, one from Defensor\u00eda del Pueblo, Ecuador\u2019s human rights ombudsman, and the other from Acci\u00f3n Ecol\u00f3gica, an environmental organisation.<\/p>\n

Pilots of crop-dusting aircraft experience 40% higher mortality than the rest of the population; among other banana workers, mortality is 25% higher. \u00a0The risk of cancer in the banana-growing provinces is 5.5 times higher than in Ecuador generally.<\/p>\n

Several experts link these outcomes with the pesticides that are sprayed from the air onto banana plantations \u2013 and onto everything else that is adjacent to them.<\/p>\n

One of these experts is epidemiologist Jaime Breilh, rector of Universidad Andina in the capital city of Quito. \u00a0He explains the relationship between mortality, cancer and pesticides. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a very large number of pilots with cancer and liver damage, and when we compare their mortality with similar population groups, theirs is significantly higher,\u201d says Breilh.<\/p>\n

According to Breilh, there is no doubt that the chemical sprays have a negative effect on banana workers\u2019 and local residents\u2019 health.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe chemical sprays affect the nervous system \u2013 not just of workers, but of their families, because of their contact with the pesticides. \u00a0In areas where spraying occurs, the pesticides fall not only on the bananas, but also on the workers. \u00a0It is sprayed over schools, children and water. \u00a0And it banana regions, those sprays are a mixture of toxic and carcinogenic compounds along with an extremely poor psychological work environment,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Spraying from the air over residences or people is never acceptable, says environmental medicine specialist Helle Raun Andersen. <\/p>\n

\u201cNo matter what, you cannot spray from the air on top of people, that much is clear. \u00a0It is against the law in Denmark, because it is very, very difficult to avoid hitting people. But in addition to that, it pollutes the environment and the surrounding areas.\u201d<\/p>\n

The coming catastrophe<\/h4>\n

Another expert is doctor and tropical disease specialist Adolfo Maldonado. \u00a0He is the author of several reports on the harms done by pesticide, including one written in 2007 dealing specifically with the banana industry in the region of Ramassalitre-Guayas.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is very difficult to be 100% certain that a specific illness or injury can be blamed on pesticides, but genetic problems are typical consequences of these chemicals. \u00a0And the significantly higher rates of illness are very striking in these regions,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

In addition, little is known about the effects of mixing these different chemical compounds together \u2013 what in the banana regions is known as the \u201cdeadly cocktail.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a quiet catastrophe, the scope of which we are only beginning to realise. \u00a0If you have poison in your nervous system, it will be apparent in three days. \u00a0But if you have carcinogenic chemicals in your system, you may not be able to tell for one year, or ten years, depending on the dangerousness of the product,\u201d says Jaime Breilh.<\/p>\n

He believes there is reason to be concerned. \u00a0\u201cIf you inhale these pesticides or get them on your skin, you can develop cancer, or your immune system can be compromised through your bone marrow. \u00a0If the chemical affects the bone marrow, the immune system cannot function properly. \u00a0If you have children, they can be born with birth defects. \u00a0And if children are exposed to pesticides, they can develop leukaemia. \u00a0It is a vicious cycle,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

In addition, little is known about the effects of mixing these different chemical compounds together \u2013 what in the banana regions is known as the \u201cdeadly cocktail.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a quiet catastrophe, the scope of which we are only beginning to realise. \u00a0If you have poison in your nervous system, it will be apparent in three days. \u00a0But if you have carcinogenic chemicals in your system, you may not be able to tell for one year, or ten years, depending on the dangerousness of the product,\u201d says Jaime Breilh.<\/p>\n

He believes there is reason to be concerned. \u00a0\u201cIf you inhale these pesticides or get them on your skin, you can develop cancer, or your immune system can be compromised through your bone marrow. \u00a0If the chemical affects the bone marrow, the immune system cannot function properly. \u00a0If you have children, they can be born with birth defects. \u00a0And if children are exposed to pesticides, they can develop leukaemia. \u00a0It is a vicious cycle,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Danish supermarkets have an obligation<\/b><\/h4>\n

According to the United Nations\u2019 Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, which apply to all businesses, Danish supermarkets have an obligation to know whether the products they sell harm people or the environment.<\/p>\n

Who sells conventional bananas from Ecuador
\u2013 and how many?<\/h2>\n

\t\t\"\"
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTon (2017)
\n\t\t\"\"
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTon (2017)
\n\t\t\"\"\t\t<\/p>\n

?<\/h2>\n

Confirms that they sell conventional bananas from Ecuador but will not disclose how many,\u00a0for business reasons.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\t\"\"\t\t<\/p>\n

?<\/h2>\n

Confirms that they sell conventional bananas from Ecuador but will not disclose how many,\u00a0for business reasons.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t“The results are frightening. We think this is an important problem to expose and discuss, and it has offered an opportunity to have internal discussions about they way we handle this area.”\t\t\t<\/p>\n