The deadly farm chemical Australia refuses to ban despite health risks
Australia will continue to use a hazard herbicide linked to Parkinson's disease despite the product being banned in 70 other countries.
The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) has been slammed over a decision announced on June 23 it will not ban the chemicals paraquat and diquat.
Instead they increased stronger safety controls such as increasing personal protective equipment (PPE) requirements and getting rid of backpack sprayers in favour of enclosed cabs.
Parkinson's Australia CEO Olivia Nassaris said the long term effects of APVMA's decision will potentially see more people fall ill, putting pressure on an already strained health and aged care system.
"We know that Parkinson's prevalence is set to triple by 2050 and that is an enormous strain on our economy and on our health system," Nassaris said.
"This is going to be an absolute epidemic and we have to be doing something now if we are to stop it."
Exposure for older Australians
The CEO said she "welcomed" stronger safety controls, but she said the measures didn't go far enough.
"The APVMA has failed not only farmers who use paraquat but all the other Australians exposed to it," she said.
She said that older Australians have borne the brunt of these health risks, with many reflecting on a time when they worked on family farms without any protective equipment.
This demographic has also faced concurrent exposure to other environmental hazards such as asbestos and tobacco smoke, meaning they understood the long-term consequences of delayed regulatory action, Nassaris said.
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Regulator's decision divides experts
The decision highlighted a divide in the medical, scientific and farming communities over public safety guidelines.
Macquarie University consultant neurologist Professor Simon Lewis said regulators should err on the side of caution when dealing with an incurable condition.
"Multiple epidemiological studies, supported by laboratory and animal research, have identified a consistent correlation between paraquat exposure and Parkinson's Disease," Lewis said.
"Whilst correlation does not equate to causation, this absence of definitive proof should not be mistaken for evidence of safety," he said.
"Public health and environmental regulation often require decisions to be made based on the best available evidence rather than absolute certainty."
Adelaide University pharmacology lecturer Dr Ian Musgrave said the regulatory conclusion was warranted, based on the available data.
"While agricultural workers have a higher risk of Parkinson's, tying this to any specific chemical exposure has been elusive," Musgrave said.
"This conclusion is certain to be controversial...but it is warranted," he said.
"Systematic reviews of epidemiologic studies have failed to find a definitive link. Regardless, the new exposure and application limits will improve human and environmental safety."
Beyond the latest regulations, Nassaris has raised concerns about real world compliance with the new safety limits on farms.
"We've spoken to a lot of farmers that have told us that they don't necessarily have time or abide by PPE," Nassaris said.
"We're concerned that if there's no control or policing of compliance, that this dangerous chemical could be misused."
