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  The Straits Times 29 Jun 06
Illegal trade that kills pests and people
 by Nirmal Ghosh

BANGKOK - ON HOLIDAY in western India recently, Paris-based chemical engineer Rajendra Shende stayed at a friend's farm and visited his new greenhouse. He noticed some workers with burn-like sores from the methyl bromide used to fumigate the greenhouse.

Methyl bromide is a highly toxic gas, which is why it is used for certain crop fields and shipping containers. But what makes it more lethal than other fumigants and pesticides is that it destroys the earth's ozone layer, the thin membrane of gas which protects the planet from ultraviolet radiation.

India has banned the use of methyl bromide in agriculture. And it was ironic that Mr Shende runs the OzonAction Programme under the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). UNEP is one of the four agencies administering the Multilateral Fund, which gives financial aid to developing countries seeking to eliminate their use of ozone-depleting substances (ODS).

The Montreal Protocol commits 189 signatory nations to phasing out ODS. Chlorofluorocarbons or CFCs were phased out in developed countries by 1996; developing countries have until 2010. But 'essential' or 'critical use' exemptions have stretched deadlines.

In putting the brakes on ozone depletion, the protocol is considered one of the world's most successful environmental agreements.

But it has been unable to reverse depletion. The ozone hole that formed last year reached a maximum size of 25 million sq km - slightly smaller than the all-time record holes of 2003 and 2000. Estimates that the ozone layer will rebuild itself by 2050 now look unrealistic, though this is still a matter of debate.

One reason is the ongoing illegal trade in ozone-depleting substances. The other is methyl bromide.

As deadlines for total elimination near, the urgency to switch to safer substitutes is more acute - and so is the temptation to use cheaper underground substances.

Ozone-depleting substances are usually smuggled in mislabelled and misdeclared gas cylinders and cans. Since 2003, seizures have been up across a key battleground - Asia Pacific, which accounts for 80 per cent of global production and consumption of these substances.

Six months ago the London-based non-profit organisation, the Environmental Investigation Agency, named China as the world's major source of illegal ozone-depleting substances, with the bulk of illegal trade in CFCs being done through just two ports - Shanghai and Ningbo.

China responded quickly, pledging in January to restrict CFC exports only to manufacturers, cutting out a Zhejiang-based coterie of brokers and traders.

Singapore, as a trading hub, was under pressure two years ago for lax monitoring of transit consignments, but is now 'one of the most active countries in the region' in scrutinising and checking documentation, the UNEP's Ms Ludgarde Coppens told The Straits Times.

But the Bangkok-based expert, who trains Customs officials in detection, reckons that illegal trade is still rising. Seizures in India have gone up over the last five years, she told The Straits Times, as she watched a Thai Customs officer at Bangkok's Klong Toey port practise on a refrigerant identifier - a suitcase-sized kit which samples gas cylinders and identifies their contents.

Last year, 92 tons of ozone-depleting substances were seized in Thailand, up 20 tons from 2004, she said. Seizures in the Philippines and Indonesia have also gone up since 2003.

Methyl bromide is a separate issue, and one of particular urgency. It is a powerful chemical that does most of its damage in a short period. Because it is used in agriculture, phasing it out is not easy. It should have been phased out in developed countries by last year, while developing countries have until 2015. But 'critical-use exemptions' allow continued use under certain circumstances.

So although the volume used has fallen, it is still in use in some developed countries.

Canberra-based chemist and entomologist Jonathan Banks, who jets around the world on UNEP's behalf advising on alternatives, said: 'Politics is an issue, but it's not just politics, it's commercial realities.

' There are still people travelling the world promoting methyl bromide because of its proven effectiveness, he said. 'Methyl bromide is very profitable for some people. There's an infrastructure associated with it and, unfortunately, the people who have the methyl bromide don't have the alternatives.'

For example Food and Agricultural Organisation guidelines require the wooden material used to package exports to be fumigated. This has Bangladesh - the world's largest jute exporter - in a bind. Bangladesh has no choice but to use methyl bromide. Only one establishment in the country has an alternative - heat treatment - but it is more expensive.

Then there are sectors - like Californian strawberry growers - who have access to alternatives but resist their use because of cost and doubts over effectiveness. If a consumer buys a pack of strawberries grown in California, there is a 50-50 chance that the fruit has been grown using methyl bromide, says Dr Banks.

Mr Shende's Indian experience shines light on another aspect - undeclared use. India imports methyl bromide ostensibly for quarantine use, but clearly, some supplies leak into farms.

The use of the ozone-depleting gas hits children hardest, as they are the most vulnerable to elevated levels of ultraviolet radiation. In many parts of the southern hemisphere, parents already apply sunblock to their sensitive skins, and have them wear long-sleeved shirts, wide-brimmed hats and dark glasses outdoors. In New Zealand, one in four farmers already suffers from skin cancer despite taking protective measures.

But the problem is no more confined to New Zealand, Australia and distant Peruvian towns. The ozone layer has thinned in the northern hemisphere as well. The incidence of childhood skin cancer in the United States has more than doubled in the last two decades, while overall US skin cancer rates are increasing by 3 per cent a year.

Noted an expert who declined to be named: 'There are two reasons why methyl bromide is a threat - critical-use exemptions for developed countries, and fumigation requirements for developing countries which depend on exports. 'We need more public awareness on this. And developed countries need to show more leadership.'
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