British companies are exporting large quantities of toxic pesticides banned for use in the UK and EU to developing countries, exploiting loopholes in international trade rules, according to documents obtained by Greenpeace UK and Swiss NGO Public Eye.
Syngenta planned to ship over 28,000 tonnes of paraquat in 2018, a pesticide banned in the UK since 2007 that is fatal in small doses and can cause long-term damage to lungs, eyes, kidneys and heart. Ineos subsidiary Inovyn notified exports of 4,000 tonnes of 1,3-dichloropropene, a suspected carcinogen banned in the EU due to risks to wildlife and groundwater. The UK accounted for about 40% of EU exports of these chemicals in 2018.
While legal, campaigners urge a ban on the practice due to harm in importing countries. UN special rapporteur Baskut Tuncak said: 'The UK must urgently end the export of paraquat and 1,3-dichloropropene. These pesticides are among the worst of the worst, unquestionably hazardous to human health.'
Destinations include Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, India, Indonesia, as well as wealthy nations like the US, Australia and Japan. France will ban such exports from 2022, but other countries have been reluctant to restrict their industries.
Doug Parr, chief scientist at Greenpeace UK, called the practice 'exploitative hypocrisy' and urged ministers to end it. 'These pesticides are so dangerous that we’ve made the very sensible decision to ban their use in our own country. What gives us the right to think it is morally defensible to continue producing and shipping them around the world?'
