Pesticides to list more ingredients in Canada

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Globe and Mail - " Pesticides to list more ingredients "

New law will put allergens, toxic chemicals on the label, but keep the

formulas secret

by SHAWN McCARTHY - With a report by Mittelstaedt - dated Wednesday,

June 13, 2001.

OTTAWA -- The Liberal government will bring in legislation to require

chemical companies to list all toxic or allergy-related ingredients in the

pest and weed killers they sell in Canada, Health Minister Allan Rock says.

Pesticide labels now list active ingredients, those that act to kill the

pest or weed. A government list of roughly 5,000 non-active ingredients in

pesticides includes compounds ranging from peanut butter to cancer-causing

agents. Most of those ingredients do not have to be disclosed.

Mr. Rock said he will introduce legislation to make manufacturers either

remove the toxic, non-active ingredients, or list them on the label. The

legislation, expected next fall, " will be intended to strengthen the

regulatory capacity of government to make sure Canadians know what products

are being used to control pests, " the Minister of Health said in the House

of Commons yesterday.

Lappe, spokeswoman for Mr. Rock, said yesterday the legislation

will require companies to list all toxic ingredients, plus those that may

cause allergies or other health problems. Advocates have urged the

government to require that all ingredients be listed. Ms. Lappe said,

however, companies do not wish to give away the formulas for their products.

On the weekend, The Globe and Mail reported on an 86-page list of bizarre

compounds in pesticide formulations.

Some contain such seemingly benign ingredients as bread crumbs, bran, apple

jelly or gum, as well as perfumes and dyes. Others are laced with nasty

compounds such as asbestos fibres, formaldehyde, lead, cadmium and methyl

chloride, that can cause cancer and birth defects, or may be harmful to

health.

These items, known as formulants, are used to make pesticides stick to

plants, to allow the active ingredient to penetrate target insects, to

resist rain or to attract vermin to poisons. Peanut butter or cookies, for

instance, can lure rodents to eat poisons.

Yesterday's announcement was welcomed by environmentalists.

" The disclosure of this information is the right step. I think citizens will

be shocked and appalled to see this list, " Petrie, a spokeswoman for

the Toronto Environmental Alliance, said.

Ms. Petrie said knowing what is in pesticides will convince many consumers

to stop using them all together.

The group wants severe restrictions on pesticide use, including bans on lawn

use in urban areas.

" We already know pesticides are toxic.

" This is just more ammunition that citizens and governments need to put

restrictions on pesticide use, " she said.

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