Safe insecticides?

Congratulations on your maiden issue of the Sunday edition of The Jakarta Post, which I found at once entertaining and informative. On behalf of our company, S.C. Johnson & Son, I would also like to thank you for publishing excerpts from a recent interview by Ms. Lenah Susianty on our newest aerosol insecticide Raid Non-Kerosene in the feature article entitled Are There Really Any Safe Insecticides? For the article to be published on your inaugural edition is, indeed, a privilege.

However, I believe a number of corrections are in order for the benefit of your readers:

1. The statement of YLKI researcher Cacik Awananto that "... it is non-kerosene because it is an aerosol, meaning it does not need kerosene" is illogical and erroneous. In fact, most aerosol insecticides in the market today use kerosene as a solvent. It is precisely this pungent kerosene odor that many consumers complain about, and which Raid Non-Kerosene has successfully addressed. To verify this herself, all that Cacik A. needs to do is to compare the smell of different aerosol insecticide brands with Raid Non- Kerosene. It is regrettable that such a glaring error has been committed by a supposedly knowledgeable authority from a reputable consumer association. Implicitly, she suggests that all aerosol insecticides do not contain kerosene -- a grossly and potentially dangerous statement given the health hazards associated with kerosene, as expounded on in the article.

2. Her statement that the chemical (Propoxur) does not necessarily make Raid Non-Kerosene safer than other insecticides is irrelevant and unfair. The article dealt mainly with the health hazards associated with kerosene, which were acknowledged in the opening anecdote about the afflicted lecturer at UI, and documented in Dreisbach's Handbook of Poisoning. Therefore, in so far as Raid being kerosene-free is concerned, it IS safer than ordinary kerosene-based insecticides.

3. As regards the use of Propoxur, we would like to point out that, as a responsible corporate citizen, S.C. Johnson & Son conducts extensive internal and external testing of its formulae and active ingredients to ensure that its insecticide products are suitable and safe for household use. The company seeks official approval from the Indonesian Department of Health and the Pesticides Committee which subject our products to standard efficacy and toxicity testing before granting the license to manufacture and market. Raid Non-Kerosene was approved according to this procedure.

4. Strictly speaking, no available insecticide is totally safe, because by definition, insecticides contain active ingredients to kill household insects. We do not try to promote Raid Non-Kerosene as a safe insecticide. Rather, it is deadly on insects, yet pleasant to use in homes because it does not leave any pungent kerosene odor. What we should stress is the proper use of insecticides. This is why we print on Raid Non-Kerosene's package the precautions and directions for use to prevent misuse.

5. Finally, I thank The Jakarta Post for the unintended privilege of "granting" me Indonesian citizenship, but, while I maintain a deep sense of gratitude to my host country, my sense of patriotism to my motherland requires me to clarify that I am a Filipino expatriate, not Indonesian.

In the true spirit of responsible journalism, I trust that The Jakarta Post will rectify the errors contained in the above article, and exercise more care in the future by, e.g., verifying statements before printing.

WILFREDO E. ARCILLA

Marketing Manager

S.C. Johnson & Son (Indonesia)

Jakarta