Thailand’s government agreed [October 22] to ban the use of three farming chemicals widely regarded as dangerous to human health.
The government’s National Hazardous Substances Committee voted to put the herbicides paraquat and glyphosate and the insecticide chlorpyrifos in the category of banned chemicals, automatically barring their use under existing law.
The ban takes effect Dec. 1. Industry Ministry Deputy Permanent Panuwat Triyangkulsri said the Agriculture Ministry would establish what to do with remaining stocks of the chemicals, taking into consideration the effects on farmers and sellers.
The ban, proposed by the Agriculture Ministry, had met with strong opposition from some farmers groups and academics, who argued that the chemicals were not unacceptably dangerous and banning their use would drive up farmers’ costs significantly.
…
The herbicide brand Roundup, which has glyphosate as its active ingredient, has recently been in the news because of lawsuits from thousands of plaintiffs in the United States contending it causes cancer. Bayer, the German chemical company that owns the brand, says studies have established that the weed killer is safe, but several U.S. courts have ruled otherwise.
Read full, original article: Thailand bans use of paraquat and other toxic farm chemicals
