Cleaning up Pesticide Dumps

School children in Nepal.

In Nepal, leaking containers of pesticides were stored next to a schoolyard in Amlekhgunj, south of Kathmandu.  School children had to cross a field every day that was contaminated by the leaking containers. Many of these pesticides were banned in their country of origin because of harmful health impacts and were “donated” to Nepal long ago.

For years, parents, teachers, and students called for the removal of the pesticides. Students were suffering from skin rashes, vomiting, and fainting. The community knew that playing and studying next to the pesticide dump was bad for their children. But not much happened until ELAW partners at Pro Public – a public interest law firm in Kathmandu – took up the cause.

Prakash Mani Sharma directs Pro Public. He called on ELAW Staff Scientist Mark Chernaik to help make the case to clean up the pesticides. Prakash and Pro Public Staff Scientist Ram Sah took soil samples from the schoolyard and sent them to a lab for analysis. The lab report showed toxic levels of DDT and other chemicals in the soil where the children were playing.

In December 2006, Pro Public filed a lawsuit demanding that the 50 tons of obsolete pesticides be removed. In November 2009, Nepal’s Supreme Court ordered the government to clean up the mess and send the pesticides back to their countries of origin. The government of Nepal had procured the pesticides from France, Germany, and other European countries with financial support from the Asian Development Bank some three decades ago.

Ram Sah, Pro Public Staff Scientist, inspecting for pesticides.

In December, an online Nepal news service reported: “Amid rising fears of the possible catastrophic impact of a huge stockpile of pesticides stored at more than two dozen locations in Nepal, the German government has expressed readiness to take back the obsolete chemicals for disposal.” (Republica, December 9, 2009, http://myrepublica.com).

In Sianky, in western Ukraine, 134 tons of pesticides were abandoned more than 10 years ago. Mr. Vasylechko, head of the Sianky Village Council, had complained for years. ELAW partners at the Lviv-based Environment People Law worked with the government and the European Commission in 2008 and 2009 to identify the banned pesticides and have them shipped to Hamburg, Germany, for incineration.

EPL reported a similar victory in nearby Hnizdychiv, where 70 tons of pesticides were being stored in faulty containers. We reported last year that EPL helped the community challenge this abuse. The government has now promised to remove the pesticides this year. Meanwhile, EPL helped the community launch a new organization, to advocate for a clean environment.

In South Africa, ELAW is helping partners advocate for a ban on chlorpyrifos, a neurotoxic pesticide that can damage the nervous system. ELAW is also helping partners advance new standards in South Africa that restrict aerial application of pesticides and minimize pesticide drift.

These victories for a clean environment are shared around the world through the ELAW network, leveling the playing field for ELAW partners as they build a more just, sustainable planet.