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Man Vs chemical misuses and consequences
Dr. Inoka SuraweeraMBBS,MSc, MD (Community Medicine)
Consultant Community PhysicianEnvironmental and Occupational Health Directorate
Ministry of Health
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CHEMICALS ARE USED IN EVERYDAY LIFE
Benefits Promote hygiene Protect crops Control vectors
Risks Adverse health effects Unwanted pollutants in the environment Persistence
WHO
So Many Chemicals so Little Data
78.2% no data
21.4% some data
12 or 0.4% good data
2863 above 1 Million pounds
www.preventingharm.org
• Approximately 80,000 chemicals listed by EPA• Most of these chemicals have not been tested
for developmental toxicity• For example, High Production Volume (HPV)
Chemicals• Chemicals produced at >1 million lbs/year
• Approximately 3,000 chemicals identified internationally
• Few tested for both reproductive and developmental toxicity
Current Chemical Facts
399 BC Death of Socrates by HemlockSocrates was charged with religious heresy and corrupting the morals of local youth.
The active chemical used was the alkaloid coniine which, when ingested causes paralysis, convulsions and potentially death.
Ancient Awareness
From Romeo and Juliet - act 5Come bitter pilot, now at once run onThe dashing rocks thy seasick weary bark!Here’s to my love! O true apothecary!Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die.
Shakespeare (1564-1616)
Historical Awareness
“All substances are poisons; there is none which is not a
poison. The right dose differentiates a
poison from a remedy.”
Paracelsus (1493-1541)
Paracelsus
“As crude a weapon as a cave man’s club, the chemical barrage has been hurled against the fabric of life.”
Rachel Carson – Silent Spring (1962)
Silent Spring
Chemical Misuse
Improper transportation
Too little
Improper disposal
Improper storage
Too much
Improper handling
Chemical weapons
Improper manufacturing
practices
Who will be affected?
• Individuals
• Populations•Especially children
• Workers
Individuals
• Deliberate self harm with chemicals– A public health problem– Though the rate of suicide has declined to 16 per 100,000 in
2011, it remains among the worst globally. – Around 60% suicides are due to pesticide poisonings– Mostly due to ingestion of
• highly toxic pesticides• Paracetamol• Kaneru / niyagala• Washing powder
– Decline is due to many interventions and especially due to banning some of the highly toxic pesticides.
Workers and misuse of chemicals
Characteristics of Sri Lankan workforce (Sri Lanka LabourForce Survey Annual Report – 2013) Employed population in Sri Lanka 8,417,674 Males 5,498,815 (65.5%)Females 2,918,859 (34.5%)Formal sector 39.2%
Informal sector 60.8 %Agriculture 86.8 %Non agriculture 49.8 %
Selected occupational carcinogens and health outcomes
Occupational carcinogen Health out come
Benzene Leukaemia
Ethylene oxide Leukaemia
Silica Cancer of the trachea, bronchus, or lung
Asbestos Malignant mesothelioma, Lung cancers
Diesel exhaust Cancer of the trachea, bronchus, or lung
Available data on chemicals in occupationsWHO: Chemicals burden of disease | 20 May 2011
Chemicals/Chemical groups
Disease outcomes Attributable fraction
DeathsPer year
DALYsPer year
Chemicals in occupational exposures (longer term effects)
581,000 (sub-total)
6,763,000 (sub-total)
Asbestos Mesothelioma; lung cancer
107,000 1,523,000
Occupational lung carcinogens (8 selected carcinogens)
Lung cancer (8 6%) 111000 1 011 000
Occupational leukaemogens(benzene ethylene oxide ionizing rad )
Leukaemia (2.3%) 7400 113,000
Occupational particulates – causing COPD (dusts, fumes/gas)
COPD (13%) 375,000 3,804,000
Occupational particulates - other respiratory diseases than COPD (silica, asbestos and coal mine dust)
Asbestosis; silicosispneumoconiosis
29000 1,062,000
• More than 8% of all cancer deaths in men are due to occupational exposures, and for lung cancer, the most important occupational cancer, the estimate for men is above 20%Estimating the burden of occupational cancer as a strategic step to prevention Kurt Straif1,* British Journal of Cancer. 2012 Jun 19; 107(Suppl 1): S1–S2
• 2.0% of global deaths (1.7% of DALYs) are from industrial and agricultural chemicals, and accidental poisonings
Pesticide Definition - Simple
The function of a pesticide is to kill or
harm some form of life
Concerns about Pesticide-Use
Pest Resistance
Health Outcomes
Immediate• Flu-like symptoms• Skin Rash• Breathing problems
Long-Term• Asthma• Cancer• Damage to brain and nervous system• Immune system damage• Endocrine disruption
Vulnerable Populations
Environmental Damage
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www.toxicsoy.org/toxicsoy/news/Artikelen/2009/7/1_Girl_suffering_from_pesticide_poisoning.html
E A Guillette, M M Meza, M G Aquilar, A D Soto, and I E Garcia, (1998), An anthropological approach to the evaluation of preschool children exposed to pesticides in Mexico. Environ Health Perspect.,106(6)
Long-Term Exposure to Pesticides
Cancer
Develop-mental
Others?
Behavioral
Allergies Brain Damage
Infertility
Asthma
Birth Defects
Chronic Exposure:AsthmaCancerNeurological damageImmune system damagePermanent chemical sensitivityEndocrine disruption
Chemical accidents
Event
• Sudden leakage of a gas (??Ammonia)
• Around midnight • Only the security guard was available
at the time of the accident
Immediate effects
• Around 70 hospitalized to Piliyandala Divisional Hospital
• Some had been transferred to Kalubowila Teaching Hospital
• Majority had – difficulty in breathing– Severe eye irritation– Burning sensation of the skin
Other effects
• Mental health problems
• Public Health issues such as• Water safety• Food safety
• (Veterinary health issues)