PUBLIC URGED NOT TO PURCHASE ILLEGAL PESTICIDES

Thu 31 October 2024:

Stay away from illegal pesticides, or else you might pay with your life. That is the warning from a toxicologist amidst a wave of casualties occurring in parts of the country.

In an interview with Salaamedia on Tuesday, toxicologist Dr Gerhard Verdoorn warned the public against purchasing terbufos and aldicarb to get rid of pests. Both are often available over spaza shop counters, and both are deadly when ingested.

“They buy it from the street vendors, or from the spaza shops. They take it home and, unfortunately, many people make a mistake at home: they think it’s a condiment or a spice. They add it to their foodstuff or they put it on food to kill rats and the children eat it,” he said.

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On Monday, health minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi confirmed that terbufos was the culprit behind the recent deaths of six children in Naledi, Soweto.

“Organophosphate is not one substance, but a group of substances which are usually used in agriculture or as pesticides. The organophosphate identified in this instance is called terbufos. All the six children died of terbufos ingestion,” he said.

The chemicals, said Verdoorn, were easily available and sold on the streets of “virtually every town” in SA. This despite aldicarb being banned and terbufos meant to be used exclusively for agricultural purposes.

He stressed the importance of buying legal pesticides instead of purchasing small sachets from spaza shops. Skimping on the cost could be lethal, he warned.

“It’s so serious that for an adult man, eating half a teaspoon … if you don’t get immediate medical treatment – I’m talking about a maximum of 10 to 16 minutes – your chance of survival is virtually zero. Imagine for children that eat that foodstuff, they have no chance of survival.”

The proliferation of the poisons has resulted in a number of deaths among pupils in recent months. Particularly in the case of the Naledi incident, chaos broke out as community members accused foreign-born businessmen of killing their children.