Bananas that Poison

For a long time, the national and transnational developmental undertakings for the large scale production and exportation of bananas have generated serious problems economically, socially, and environmentally. This holds especially true in the Atlantic zone of the country.

In the rural environment, among other serious challenges facing the natural and human ecosystems, the intensive and indiscriminate use of toxic chemicals stands out, primarily pesticides.

In general, the requirements of the market and the high levels of utility demanded by their producers, the banana production requires the application of large quantities of agro chemicals. These chemicals are highly toxic and remain in the environment for long periods of time. In addition to the environmental impacts, banana production has affects on human health. Some major ways humans are affected are through the contamination of the ground, atomosphere, water supplies (both above and below ground). Consequently, there are severe as well as cronic effects in the health of the workers.

In Costa Rica, between all the agricultural activities, conventional banana production uses the most amount of chemicals. On avergage, 44kg of chemicals are applied to the crops per hectar each year. In 1987, the cultivation of bananas accounted for 35% of the total import of pesticides. The cost ot combat such a plague is about 35% of the total cost of banana production iteself. (von Duscein, 1998: Thrupp, 1988). 1988).

Types of chemicals used in Banana Production

The majority of chemicals used on banana plantations are considered highly toxic according to the OMC.

Among the pesticides used on the platations, the following nemocides are among them: terbufos, etoprofos, fenamifos, oxamil, carbofuran, and aldicarb. These nemacides are organofoforados and carbamatos, both of which are highly poisonous. The majority of these nemacides are restricted in develeoped countries because of their high toxic level. These chemicals also have detrimental affects of sealife, parrots, reptiles, bess, livestock etc, all of which are at risk for exposure.

Another chemical used is the herbicide paraquat (gramoxone). Paraquat is considered to be moderatly toxic according to the OMC, and evidence exists that suggues paraquat is indeed extremly dangerous to ones health. It is so dangerous that it was included in the List of Previous Consent in the Code of Conduct of the FAO.

This chemical can cause poisoning, burns, dermititus, and possbily lessions on the lungs of those exposed to it. Again this chemical stays in the soil for long periods of time.

The Management of Pesticides on Plantations

The companies choose the fungicides based on regulations in the countries they will be selling to. They do not consider the affects on the environment or on humans. Thus paraquat, aldicarb, and others of less use, for example carbofurán, metomil and metil partión, are included in the PIC list, as well as the Dirty Dozen named by the Red De Acción en Plaguicidas.

In general banana plantations do not take adequate control of the transport, storage, preparation, as well as the application of pesticides. These chemicals are applied by terrestrial application (in the case of nemacides and herbicides), aerial application (in the case of fungicides), into plastic bags which cover the bananas (in the case of insecticides), and in the packing house (in the the case of fungicides and desinfectants.

The application of pesticides is often without a control team, and during the aeriel spraying of chemicals, workers in the fields, nearby houses, as well as nearby bodies of water are often times sprayed as well.

The effects of pesticides on human health and the environment

The toxicity of the pesticides used in the banana plantation activities has received notoriety by their effects on the health of workers. Reports of burns and other skin and eye lesions caused by the application of the herbicide Paraquat have been common. Likewise, reports of the killing off of aquatic organisms after fumigation and after heavy rains, caused by the runoff of pesticides, have also been common.

For these reasons, aerial fumigation is considered one of the most serious causes of environmental and human health problems generated in the banana activities.

In the packing plants, men and women workers suffer lesions on the skin, which are difficult to cure. These are caused by the continual contact with the toxic substances in the water, such as aluminum sulfate and potash, as well as the fungicide Thyabendazol (Mertect).

According to the Department of Toxic Substances of the Ministry of Health, 58 percent of the systems of application on the plantations show deficiencies regarding security for workers and for the environment.

In the Valley of La Estrella, Abarca and Ruepert (1992) detected residues of Chlorpyriphos (used in the plastic bags to protect the banana bunches), and Cholrthalonyl (used to combat Black Sigatoka) in superficial waters. The latter was found in concentrations up to 8 micrograms per liter, where concentrations of 3 to 6.5 micrograms per liter are considered chronic for fish. In the same zone, in seven out of nine samples of subterranean water, Cholrthalonyl was detected in concentrations up to 0.98 micrograms. In seven out of eight samples of sediments, Cholrthalonyl, Chlorpyriphos, Terbuphos and Ethoprop were detected. These levels drastically surpass the permissible levels established by the European Union for potable water, which are 0.1 microgram per liter for individual pesticides and 0.5 microgram per liter for total pesticides.

According to the diagnosis carried out by the Ministry of Health in 1992, at that time 82 percent of the banana plantations did not have systems to treat the liquid residues contaminated with agrochemical products.

Bananas: toxicity record in Costa Rica

The incidence of worker intoxications with pesticides in the Province of Limon (the principal producer of bananas for export), is 77 percent of the entire country. The incidence of work related intoxications in banana plantations, relative to other agricultural crops in Costa Rica, was of 59.5 percent and 63.9 percent in 1995 and 1996, respectively.

The areas of greatest banana production, which include the Atlantic Region and the county of Sarapiqui in the Northern Huetar Region, present the greatest incidence of intoxications by pesticides in Costa Rica: 63 of every 1000 banana workers present problems.

Nationally, in 1990, 75 percent of the intoxicated field workers were from Limon and 78 percent from Guapiles (in the Atlantic Region). Of these, 25 percent and 20 percent respectively, were from the packing plants. Moreover, 17 percent of the denunciations corresponded to women, including pregnant women.

Due to the high incidence of intoxications, it has been determined that women have greater problems in packing plants (79%), while the men present greater accidents during the application of pesticides (62%) (Vergara, 1991).

The calculated rate of work related pesticide intoxications in the banana plantations is of 6.4 percent per year. This is more than a 100 percent difference with the rate of 3 percent of intoxications presented by agricultural workers in developed countries (WHO/UNEP, 1990).

With respect to chronic intoxications and long term effects, the most notorious case has been that of the sterilization of more than 2000 workers in the banana zones of Costa Rica, who were exposed to DBCP during the 1970s (Ramirez y Ramirez, 1980; Thrupp, 1991).

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