SVG to be cleared of dangerous chemicals

Plans are now being made for the removal and destruction of all potentially dangerous chemicals from St.Vincent and the Grenadines by the year 2011.{{more}}

To this end, a number of officers from the departments of Agriculture, Customs and Excise, Sports, Health and the Environment, along with local traders of these products and representatives of community groups, met on Tuesday, August 10, at the Ministry of Agriculture Conference Room, Richmond Hill, to commence discussions regarding the development of an inventory of obsolete pesticides, present in St.vincent and the Grenadines with the potential to do harm to the human and the environment.

Tyrone John, Plant Protection Officer, disclosed that this initiative was formulated with support from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), to collect and transport all obsolete pesticides from within the region to a site in Europe where they will be destroyed.

John stated that to facilitate this, an inventory has to be established by November of this year, and very soon, a survey will be conducted to identify and verify the presence of all pesticides used locally. These pesticides, he stated, by April 2011, will be stockpiled in a central location, secured and guarded by a team of experts from abroad with the intent that arrangements will be made for their removal no later than December, 2011.

Pesticides which fall under this category include those which: Have been absolutely restricted or banned from being imported and used in SVG; pesticides that have been physically and chemically degraded or lost their usefulness; and pesticides that are over 2 years old.

The Ministry of Agriculture is making an appeal for persons in possession of pesticides that fall within the description provided, to contact the Plant Protection Unit at 457 1283, so that they can be safely removed.