The tragedy of Tauccamarca: A human rights perspective on the pesticide poisoning deaths of 24 children in the Peruvian Andes

International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health

Volumn 9, Issue 1, 2003, Pages 53-58

  Rosenthal, Erika ^a  

^a Earthjustice   (United States)

Author keywords

Foreseeable misuse; Human rights; Pesticide poisoning

Indexed keywords

PESTICIDE;

CHILD; DEATH; DISASTER; ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING; ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION; HEALTH HAZARD; HUMAN; HUMAN RIGHTS; INTOXICATION; PRIORITY JOURNAL; REVIEW; SOCIOECONOMICS;

EID: 0037274147     PISSN: 10773525     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1179/oeh.2003.9.1.53     Document Type: Review

References (26)

1. Boyd S. Pesticide poisoning raises questions: the deaths of 24 children in a remote Andean village highlight the hazards of poor agrochemical controls. Latinamerica Press. 1999; 31, no. 42/Nov. 15.
2. Wesseling C, Boluarte A, Sánchez D. Efectos neuroconductuales y neuropsicológicos en niños intoxicados con el plaguicida organofosforado paratión. Tauccamarca, Cuzco, Perú: Informe Preliminar. 20 de octubre de 2001. [Unpublished].
3. Peruvian Congress, Agrarian Commission, Final Report. Investigative Subcommittee on the Sad Events in Tauccamarca-Cusco, Relating to the Deaths of 24 Children and 18 Poisoned Children Due to the Ingestion of Food Contaminated with Pesticides. May 2002, Lima, Peru.
4. The WHO Recommended Classification of Pesticides by Hazard, International Programme on Chemical Safety, Geneva, Switzerland, 1996.
5. Reglamento Sobre el Registro, Comercialización y Control de Plaguicidas Agrícolas y Sustancias Afines (Decreto Supremo No. 15-95-AG)
6. A 1997 law, Ley de Promoción del Manejo Integrado para el Control de Plagas, (Ley No. 26744, 18 January 1997) reaffirms that the use of methyl parathion should be severely restricted.
7. A civil lawsuit was filed on behalf of the parents of the deceased children on October 22, 2001. Less than 48 hours later (a land-speed record for the judicial system in Peru) the judge issued an order proclaiming the case inadmissible on various procedural grounds - lack of certain documents, such as marriage certificates, that the parents had lost - and also decide the underlying legal issue - of causation between Bayer's marketing of the pesticide in the region and the eventual poisoning of the children. Thejudge was not competent under the Peruvian Code of Civil Procedure to consider substantive issues at this stage of the proceedings. The families appealed the illegal decision and won, reinstating the case. As of November 2002, the court had yet to set the first hearing date.
8. Peruvian Congress report, p. 61.
9. Peruvian Congress report, p 51. "SENASA no cumpliö con fiscalizar el cumplimiento de estas condiciones lo cual puso en estado de riesgo a los agricultores que utilizaban estos productos y a la población en general al permitir la libre circulación de productos peligrosos de esta naturaleza sin mayor restricción."
10. Communiqué from Bayer, published in El Correo, 24 October 2001, Lima, Peru.
11. Jeyaratnam J. Acute pesticide poisoning: a major global health problem. World Health Statist Q. 1990; 43:139-44.
12. International Labour Organization. ILO warns on farm safety; agriculture mortality rates remain high; Pesticides pose major health risks to global workforce. Released simultaneously in Geneva, Switzerland, and Itasca, IL. 8usA. (ILO/97/23). October 22, 1997. 〈http://www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/inf/pr/1997/23.htm〉.
13. Based on preliminary results from a multicentric study, based on 32,245 questionnaires in six countries, that indicated 98% underreporting of pesticide poisonings and 7,000 reported poisonings in 2000. Murray D, Wesseling C. Pesticide Illness Surveillance in the Developing World: Putting the Data to Work, 2002. To be published. The same epidemiologic surveillance program has identified methyl parathion as one of the 12 pesticides that cause the most acute pesticide poisonings in Central America.
14. Bayer's ceased sales of ethyl parathoin in Germany at the same time.
15. Bayer. Responsible Care in the Crop Protection Business Group 2000. In: Dewa. Product Stewardship.
16. Kirshner A. Methyl parathion in Central America: Cheminova responds. Global Pesticide Campaigner. 1997; 7(3, September).
17. Specifically, the EPA required: a) the addition of an odorant or "stenching agent" in the powdered formulation to discourage indoor use; b) the use of tamper-resistant containers that require special equipment for removal of the product; c) the refillable containers are to be returned to the retailer when empty; and d) the placement of a unique ID number on each container so that the registrant (i.e., pesticide manufacturer) can track distribution down to the end user; retailers are to record the ID number at sale.
18. Werner Wenning, the Chairman of the Board of Management of German parent company, Bayer AG, spent five years working at Bayer's Peruvian subsidiary, Bayer Industrial S.A., 〈http://www.bayer.com/en/bayer/wenning.php〉.
19. In fact, Bayer's own guidelines for corporate responsibility and responsible care state that: "The purchaser of the product must be advised of any risks associated with its use, and every product must bear the necessary warning labels." Guidelines for Legal Compliance and Corporate Responsibility at Bayer. 〈http://www.bayer.com/en/unternehmen/unternehmenspolitik/grundsaetze/ verantwort.html#produkt〉. Their guidelines for product stewardship state that: "Distributors and customers must be given the necessary information and advice to enable them to transport, store, handle, use and dispose of our products safely." Guidelines for Responsible Care in Environmental Protection and Safety. 〈http://www.bayer.com/en/unternehmen/unternehmenspolitik/grundsaetze/ umwelt.html#produktverantwortung〉.
20. Art. 2.1, 2.22 and 7 of the Constitución Política del Perú de 1993, actualizada hasta reformas introducidas por la Ley 27365, del 02.11.2000.
21. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Dec. 10, 1948, art. 29, U.N. GAOR, U.N. Doc. A/810.
22. International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Dec. 16, 1966, U.N. Doc. A/6316 (1966).
23. The Protocol of San Salvador also declares that "Everyone shall have the right to health, understood to mean the enjoyment of the highest level of physical, mental and social well-being." Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights in the Area of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights "Protocol of San Salvador", Art. 10, Organization of American States, 1988. 〈http://Www.Cidh.Oas.Org/Basicos/Basic5.Htm〉.
24. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, supra, Articles 3 and 12
25. Case No. 41/1993/436/515, Judgment of Dec. 9, 1994. 〈http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/Hudoc1doc/HEJUD/sift/490.txt〉.
26. Principle 5. E/CN.4/sub.2/1994/9/Annex 1.