Subject: Pesticide use in BC Forestry, and a request for a talk/podcast
Good day sir,
I am a citizen of Canada, a resident of British Columbia, a retired Marine Enigineer, a citizen journalist, blogger, podcaster and videographer. I have been concerned and engaged with sustainable agriculture issues, food security and environment protection. I often talk with to people around the world, scientists, policy analysts, activists, NGO, politicians etc, on record, to put up audio podcasts for public awareness on issues related to GMO, pesticides, and environmental degradation.
My blog site that covers it all is at : www.tonu.org
I write to you with specific questions with regard to use of pesticides in BC forests. Reference is made to the Government publication from Environment Canada, named “PRESENCE AND LEVELS OF PRIORITY PESTICIDES IN SELECTED CANADIAN AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS”, dated March 2011, which describes the pesticide load for British Columbia as:
QUOTE
In 2003, pesticide sales in British Columbia totalled 4,666,709 kg of active ingredients. The majority of pesticides were sold and used in the forestry sector, with anti-microbial products (e.g., wood preservatives) accounting for 71.7% of total sales. Of the remaining 28.3%, sales were distributed among insecticides (8.8%), fungicides (6.5%), herbicides (6.1%) and other pesticides (6.9%) (Brimble et al., 2005). Twenty of the 287 active ingredients registered for use in British Columbia accounted for 93% of sales. Ten pesticide active ingredients were used exclusively in the agriculture sector and accounted for 63% of total sales. They were insecticidal and herbicidal mineral oils; the herbicide glyphosate; the fungicides sulphur, mancozeb, chlorothalonil and captan; the insecticides diazinon and Bacillus thuringiensis, as well as the fumigants metam and methyl bromide (Brimble et al., 2005). Between 1991 and 2003, four active ingredients were consistently reported among the highest sales volumes: mineral oil (insecticidal or adjuvant), glyphosate (herbicide), sulphur (fungicide) and mancozeb (fungicide) (Brimble et al., 2005). In British Columbia, the Lower Fraser Valley and Okanagan Basin account for 46% and 44% respectively of the agricultural and domestic-use pesticides sold in British Columbia (ENKON Environmental Ltd., 2005).
UNQUOTE
We find the case for British Columbia, as described above, quite unique in Canada, as no other province seems to have wood preservative in forestry listed as the most used pesticide.
We are aware of citizen groups that are organizing right now to get their waters, as well as urine, blood and breast milks tested for presence of pesticides, following the trend started by the Mothers Across America group in the US. I have personally been also following this issue, and am involved with some talking tours across Canada, on what the science is telling, or not telling, and what a citizen of Canada could do to protect his/her health and that of their children, from accidental unwanted exposure to carcinogens.
We are also aware of the efforts of environment groups such as David Suzuki Foundation and Eco-Justice etc to challenge Health Canada to reconsider continued approval of dangerous chemicals as pesticides without independent testing, whereas the same chemicals may be banned elsewhere, where they did conduct such testing and found them to pose a health hazard.
In this regard, I request you to :
Provide information on the breakdown of this “wood preservative”. What does it consist of? How does it preserve wood from attack from insects or bacteria? Who has tested if this is harmful to humans of the environment? Does it accumulate in the soil, water, or animal tissue? etc etc. If your office can furnish these data, or point us to the party that can, then people can decide if and what they wish to test for, in case they intend to check if and how much this wood preservative might be a matter of concern. Further, some of us are invited to speak at medical and gastronomic conferences, where such item is likely to be on the agenda, and any information your govt can provide would help.
Provide, and find us the party that can, a year upon year breakdown of how much of which kind of biocide has been used in BC, in forestry, as well as in agriculture, public and residential properties.
Comment on why BC has such a high percentage use of wood preservative, unlike any other province, and what the BC Govt might be doing to test their ground water, streams, wells and waterways, to see if ingredients of this wood preservative is not accumulating in the environment. Has anybody been testing the effect of this item in the environment? If “yes” is the investigation team outside of financial or other control of the industry that benefits from its use, and outside of control of the Government, where a scientist can be silenced, or fired, should his findings do not match Govt views for whatever reason?
Is your Govt in touch with ENKON Environmental Limited (mentioned in the quoted text from Environment Canada), and can you help connect us with the right party there for more information on pesticide use in BC?
In order to keep the public aware and raise awareness, I might publish this letter, for all to see, either in my blog, or Facebook, or twitter etc.
I shall be obliged to receive your response. Should you, or anyone representing the Govt is willing to speak with me on record on this issue, I shall be happy to listen and, if agreeable, record the conversation for creation of another audio podcast. If I receive a written response, I may then put that up for people as well.
Should you want to meet me face to face, I shall be happy to pay you a visit.
Either way, I request your Govt to furnish the information thus asked, which I believe may be the right of a citizen to know and the obligation of a Government to provide.
