Pesticide commission bans 28 hazardous active chemicals

JAKARTA (JP): The National Pesticide Commission has decided to ban pesticides containing one or more of the 28 active chemicals identified as being hazardous to people's health and harmful to the environment.

The commission's secretary, Daryanto, said the ban would be applied by stopping the registration of new brands containing such chemicals and by rejecting the extension of expired licenses of brands already on the market.

The extension of licenses for the production of pesticides is carried out once every five years.

Daryanto said the decision was stipulated in a decree issued by the minister of Agriculture on June 17, 1996.

According to Antara, 54 brands of pesticides currently contain one or more of these chemicals.

Daryanto explained that previously, a presidential instruction issued in 1986 stipulated that the chemicals were only banned from being used for rice crops, but were allowed for other kinds of vegetation.

"But now they are not allowed for any plants at all, including those grown on plantations," Daryanto said.

He said, however, that the pesticides could be used for other purposes, such as in fish ponds, wood-preservation companies and insect repellents.

The government's decision to ban the chemicals, he said, was taken because pesticide producers have now discovered safer and more effective chemicals to replace the hazardous substances.

Daryanto said that brands whose licenses had expired before the decree was issued should finish their stocks within one year.

Meanwhile, brands whose licenses were still valid at the time of the decree's issuance were ordered to finish their stocks a year after their licenses expire.

Daryanto said that following these measures, any remaining stocks should be removed from Indonesia or destroyed by the owner, according to the rules on pesticides.

He contended that Indonesia's policies on pesticides were reached after intensive research and after considering recommendations from international agencies, taking into account the experience of other countries. (pwn)