WELGEVONDEN ESTATE CAUGHT IN SPRAY DRIFT ???

On Friday 18 November 2011, we received an email from a resident of Welgevonden Estate  [a residential estate on the outskirts of Stellenbosch]  as follows  :-

"Hi, we live in Welgevonden Estate and for the last 2 nights have heard a farmer over the road spraying his vineyards at night. It has been quite windy and this morning we woke to find dead beetles on our front porch. Then checked the cars, full of some sticky substance. It can only be spray drift. Please can you urgently help us to fight this farmer (Blue Jay Farm). The drift falls onto the houses and not to mention the pizza restaurant 50m over the road from the farm. Let us know what we can do to take action against his indiscriminate pollution and poisoning.
Please can you post a link onto Facebook? I really belive we need wide support for this problem and having a facebook link will help create more awareness. Please let me know how I can help as I really want to help to bring the ban to Stellenbosch. We live in Welgevonden Estate and are surrounded by pesticide spraying farmers."

RESIDENT'S SURVEY RESULTS  & COMPLAINTS ARE AVAILABLE HERE :

https://www.surveymonkey.com/sr.aspx?sm=GMoIFOPsr9Ih262nFAUEdgERPxFEBdP0hTuN39WhLgs_3d. 

There are 38 comments to be found in the "additional comments" section at the end of question 3

Having been caught in spray drift, from the very same farm, as we drove past Welgevonden Estate on the R44, we knew from past experience that spray drift in this area was indeed a well documented problem.  We therefore contacted the latest complainant in order to get more information and in this regard received a copy of correspondence between the Welgevonden resident  and Sandra Jeffery of Timberlea Farming Trust.

Click here to read the email :    http://www.scribd.com/doc/74213464/Timberlea-21-Sept-2011

Sandra Jeffery had also attached a number of very impressive documents and certifications, indicating that Timberlea did indeed comply with various standards. A close inspection of the documents has revealed that they are more concerned with the "Maximum Residue Levels " [MRL's]  ie the levels of pesticide still found on the fruit itself, than the actual spraying methods used to control pests and diseases within the vineyards and orchards.

Whilst the MRL's may comply with the acceptable levels as per the various certifications, this does not mean that the products sprayed are safe, by exposure, when sprayed. Almost all fungicides and pesticides have a statutory "withholding period" which in some cases can be 120 days. This means that the crop must not be sprayed less than 120 days before being harvested as then the MRL's will be too high and thus harmful to humans. So what about the high levels during spraying, that get blown into peoples gardens and houses ? Ones gardens, lawns and other household surfaces can remain contaminated, and toxic, for some time, where children playing on the lawn for example, could come into contact with the toxic fall-out.

Most of the pesticides & fungicides used today are toxic. Many of them are known carcinogens, endocrine disruptors and developmental /reproductive toxins. Children are particularly at risk by exposure.

Your average 'gifsmous' will say that the pesticides and fungicides are as poisonous as the salt in the Marmite in your toast, and the farmer's tend to believe this. They believe that if they dont spray their crops, before they get sick, then they will suffer huge damages.

We at TATIB believe in the "Precautionary Principle " and that is to rather assume that a fungicide /pesticide is unsafe until such time as it has been proven to be safe, and not the other way around.  Professor London and other international experts all agree that more than often its the "cocktail" of  fungicides/pesticides that are more toxic than single product spraying. They are also of the opinion that the inactive or "inert" ingredients are often more toxic than the active ingredients.

Products that were sprayed years ago, and were considered to be so safe for use, have now been banned or withdrawn after further tests and studies have shown that they are highly toxic and cause cancer for example. Chlorpyrifos, a household name for use in gardens, that had previously been considered so safe, was banned in SA last year, as tests proved that it was not only highly toxic but also extremely dangerous to children.  Whilst it has been banned for residential use, its still used on  the vineyards and orchards of the Western Cape.

On behalf of the residents that had contacted us, we sent a letter to Timberlea Farming Trust on 21 November 2011, a copy of which can be found here :

http://www.scribd.com/doc/74217007/Tatib-to-Timberlea-21112011

The above letter was also copied to : Angela Andrews, Legal Resources Centre Cape Town, Leon Du Toit & Anton Nothnagel  Legislative Inspectors, Department of Agriculture Cape Town, Marius Engelbrecht , Air Quality Officer , Cape Winelands District Municipality Stellenbosch.



Leon Du Toit :              leondt@daff.gov.za   &   leondt@nda.agric.za
Anton Nothnagel:        AntonN@nda.agric.za
Marius Engelbrecht:   mariuse@capewinelands.gov.za


The TATIB Foundation did not receive the courtesy of a response, to our email of 21 November 2011, from Timberlea Farm.  Instead we received an email from their attorneys on 28 November 2011, a copy of which can be found here :

http://www.scribd.com/doc/74217875/281111-Tatib

Why have Timberlea chosen to not supply us with details as to what they have been spraying?  Looking at the number of reports made on the Welgevonden Estate FaceBook page, there was indeed spraying on the night of 18 November 2011.  Why was spraying done under cover of darkness ? Does Timberlea have something to hide ?  Why have Timberlea chosen to rather hand this matter over to their attorneys ?  What would Woolworths, Marks & Spencer and Waitrose think about all of this?

From our experience with the Riebeek-Kasteel farmer, once one is found to be in contravention of the various laws, with regards to one's spraying, one then may lose one's GlobalGap / EurepGap & Natures Choice Accreditation . 

The well documented problem of spray drift in Stellenbosch has received a lot of media attention of late.  In this regard The TATIB Foundation have held, and attended, a number of meetings in the area, with both Stellenbosch Municipality and Cape Winelands District Municipality.  

In November 2009, The Legal Resources Centre, Cape Town, sent a letter to both Municipalities as follows :

http://www.scribd.com/doc/47932608/2009-11-30-Letter-to-Cape-Winelands-Municipality

In January 2010 we hosted 2 large meetings at The Sustainability Institute , which were attended by a large number of irate residents and also Municipal and Provincial Officials.  Following these meetings, Stellenbosch Municipality held two internal meetings, the minutes of which are available here :


http://www.scribd.com/doc/54571525/Minutes-2010-05-25

http://www.scribd.com/doc/54571443/Minutes-2010-05-12

Despite the undertakings made by both Stellenbosch Municipality & Cape Winelands District Municipality , nothing seems to have been done to protect the residents from unlawful spray drift.

We have, after receiving notifications from farmers, compiled a list of what is sprayed on the average vineyard in the Western Cape :  

http://www.scribd.com/doc/47940155/List-of-Pesticides-Sprayed-on-Vineyards-in-Western-Cape

Experts at the LRC have prepared the following report on the above list :
http://www.scribd.com/doc/47932719/Synoptic-List1


PESTICIDE MANAGEMENT POLICY can be found here :
 http://www.scribd.com/doc/74220878/Pesticide-Management-Policy
 

http://www.scribd.com/doc/47934951/PCO-REG-18-12-09

FRENCH WINE FARMER DIES OF LEUKAEMIA  :  

http://blog.imva.info/medicine/face-poisoned-man

PROFESSOR LESLIE LONDON :   

http://www.scribd.com/doc/47940120/Prof-London-Cape-Times

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE FOUNDATION REPORTS :

http://www.scribd.com/doc/50489909/End-of-the-Road-for-Endosulfan

http://www.scribd.com/doc/74221087/Whats-Your-Poison-2

RACHEL CARSON

http://www.scribd.com/doc/74221954/Rachel-Carson-Memorial-Lecture

PESTICIDE ACTION NETWORK NORTH AMERICA:
 http://www.panna.org/science/drift


THE GREEN TIMES: 

http://www.thegreentimes.co.za/index.php?storytype=1&storyid=1337&id=6&storyaction=viewstory
 

http://www.thegreentimes.co.za/index.php/en/stories/vulnerable-people/item/570-world-war-neurotoxin-poisons-waterfront-diners

http://www.thegreentimes.co.za/index.php/en/stories/vulnerable-people/item/580-plumstead-family-displaced-from-poisoned-house

http://www.thegreentimes.co.za/index.php/en/stories/vulnerable-people/item/582-poison-saga-continues-nobody-takes-responsibility

 

SPRAY DRIFT

Very informative site on "spray drift "  


http://www.panna.org/science/drift

Monsanto, Bayer & Dow Face Trial !!

http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_analysis/1122020/monsanto_bayer_and_dow_face_trial_for_systematic_human_rights_abuses.html

Toxic Timbers Continued ......

 There has been an update to the toxic timber story by The Green Times.

Please click the link below :

 http://www.thegreentimes.co.za/index.php?id=0&storyid=1547&storyaction=viewstory&storytype=1

TOXIC ROUNDUP

And to think, that the farmer in Riebeek-Kasteel and his gifsmous-cum-purveyor of poison both stated that Roundup is as poisonous as the salt in the Marmite on one's toast, and that you could drink it!!

See more on Roundup by clicking the link below :

http://www.i-sis.org.uk/argentinasRoundupHumanTragedy.php#.TpL1q_wUNaE.facebook

CHARGES LAID AGAINST DRAKENSTEIN MUNICIPALITY, PAARL.

Over the years, The TATIB Foundation has received a large number of complaints from residents of Paarl, following their exposure to spray drift of toxic fungicides that Drakenstein Municipality has been spraying on the Oak trees that line the public streets.  If you look back through the older posts you will see how the story has developed.

We have sent many letters to Drakenstein over the years, but they have continued to spray without any regard for public safety. 

On 06 October 2010, we sent a letter to Cathy Bill of the Green Scorpions . See link below :

http://www.scribd.com/doc/68170080/Letter-to-Cathy-Bill-Re-Spraying-of-Oak-Trees

On 16 September 2011 at 05h25, a group of  8 cyclists who were training for a triathlon, were caught in spray drift on the corner of Market & Main Street in Paarl. There were immediate side effects of burning eyes, skin and  irritation to upper respiratory tracts, and then lung problems after 4 days.

The TATIB Foundation sent an urgent email to Drakenstein's Albert vd Merwe and also to Drakenstein's attorneys on record, in an attempt to establish exactly what was sprayed so that the victims could get the necessary medical attention as a matter of priority.  As expected, neither Drakenstein Municipality nor their attorneys responded.

TATIB investigated and it has been confirmed that Bumper/Tilt & Rubigan were sprayed.

The statutory Product Labels have the following warnings :-

 ( i )    Harmful when swallowed, inhaled or absorbed through the skin.

           ( ii )   May irritate the eyes and skin.

           (iii )   Toxic to fish and wildlife.

           (iv )   Store in a cool, well ventilated place.

           (v )   Store away from food and feed.

           (vi)    Keep out of reach of children, uninformed persons and animals

           (vii)    Handle with care.

           (viii)   Poisonous when swallowed or inhaled

           (ix)    Avoid spray drift onto other crops, grazing, rivers, dams and areas not under treatment.

           (x)     Use only as directed

TATIB can now confirm that Affidavits were deposed, and charges laid at the local SAPS on 08 October 2011 !!

Further information on Bumper & Tilt, their product labels, MSDS's and toxic breakdown products can be found here :

http://www.scribd.com/doc/68170658/Tilt-label

http://www.scribd.com/doc/68170742/Propiconazole-Toxicity-e

http://www.scribd.com/doc/68170735/Bumper-Sticker

http://www.scribd.com/doc/68170718/bumper250ec-msds

http://www.scribd.com/doc/68170697/bumper250ec

http://www.scribd.com/doc/68170689/Bumper

http://www.scribd.com/doc/68170678/Amitrole-Toxicity-Ecolog

http://www.scribd.com/doc/68170662/03-1007006032009

Further information on Rubigan its product label, MSDS and toxic breakdown products can be found here :

http://www.scribd.com/doc/47935818/Rubigan-Label

http://www.scribd.com/doc/68171733/Naphthalene-Toxicity-Eco

http://www.scribd.com/doc/68171698/Fenarimol-Toxicity-Ecolo

http://www.scribd.com/doc/68171673/Solvent-Naphtha-Coal-150

We urge anyone who has come into contact with spray drift, with regards to the spraying of the Oak trees in Paarl  [or Stellenbosch]  to please make contact with us on :  info@tatib.co.za

TOXIC TIMBERS - JUST HOW SAFE ARE THE TREATED TIMBERS IN YOUR HOME ??

 The full story can be found in The Green Times  : 

http://www.thegreentimes.co.za/index.php?id=0&storyid=1489&storyaction=viewstory&storytype=1


As a result of the V&A Poisonings, The TATIB Foundation received a large number of  emails from members of the public requesting help with similar cases of exposure to pesticides.

One of the complaints was from a couple who had purchased a house in Plumstead, Cape Town. They had discovered that the floorboards of their newly purchased house were riddled with borer beetle. In this regard they had contracted Pestokill to eradicate the infestation in December 2010.   A poison called  "Timberlife  CTX 108"  was sprayed and then poured onto the floorboards.  To date, almost 1 year after the product was applied, the complainants have been unable to move back into their house, due to the fact that there is still considerable "off gassing" of toxic, volatile solvents coming from the floorboards that were treated with Timberlife CTX 108. [air sampling done inside the house has proven this]

Noseweek has just run a story  "Useless Buggers"  which can be found by clicking the link below :

http://www.scribd.com/doc/68133987/Nose-Week

The victims have also written their account of the story here  :

http://www.scribd.com/doc/68134137/Fumigation-Leads-to-Our-Own-Fukushima

After falling ill, and then reading about the V&A Poisonings, the complainants contacted us for help. The first thing that we did was to access Timberlife's website so as to download the statutory Product Labels in an attempt to find out what CTX 108 was made of.

Timberlife's website  :    www.timberlife.co.za

On their "company" section Timberlife states :

" However, at the end of the day it is the customer that dictates what he wants and it is therefore necessary to satisfy his needs. Our philosophy has always been to listen to the customer and whenever, work with him rather than against him. We therefore believe that “feed-back is the food of kings”.

We were unable to find the statutory  Product Label nor the Material Safety Data sheets,

but only the CTX 108  Data Sheets . See link below :

http://www.scribd.com/doc/68135238/CTX-108-Data-Sheet

This is where things started to become interesting !! 
From past experience, with treated timber, our research had shown, that more than often [and this has been confirmed by international laboratory studies] the inactive ingredients are more toxic than the active ingredients.  We took note, on the CTX 108 Data Sheet, that  the active ingredients had been dissolved in "aromatic solvents".  It was interesting that neither the names of the active ingredients nor the names of the actual "aromatic solvents"  had been specified on the CTX 108 Data Sheets. Surely the end user, the "customer",   has the right to know the ingredients of the product he is using or about to use so that he/she can make an informed decision with regards to the safety of a product?

Believing that "feedback is the food of kings" and that "the customer is always right " and hoping that Timberlife would bend over backwards to give us the information that we needed,   we sent Timberlife a couple of emails, in which we requested that they send us the statutory Product Labels and Material Safety Data Sheets [ as required by law] . We also asked that they give us details of not only the active ingredients, but also the inactive ingredients of Timberlife CTX 108.

They did not respond directly and instead got their attorneys to send us the Material Safety Data Sheets together with a strongly worded letter in which they not only reserved their rights but also threatened to take legal action against us. 

Our intention was never to hold Timberlife liable for the damage to the health and property of the complainants [a High Court date has already been set with regards to the damages claim being made against Pestokill the company that applied the product] but to simply get more information from them, the suppliers of the product, as we felt that they had a "duty of care" to furnish us, and the victims, with details as to the side effects and toxicity of their product so that steps could be taken to prevent any further damage to the health of the complainants, especially now that they have a 5 month old baby girl.  It was never our intention to "harm" Timberlife's business, after all our requests were submitted to them and only them, and all we were asking for was statutory information, not trade secrets!! Timberlife did not apply the CTX 108 and so cannot be blamed for the unlawful application made by Pestokill.  But as the manufacturers of the product they really should, in our opinion, have been prepared to furnish us all with the information that we had requested.

Do you, the end user, have the right to know the ingredients of a product that you have purchased ? Do you as a consumer,  have the right to do your own research so as to establish the safety of a product that you will come into close contact with on a daily basis ?



We have managed to get a copy of the statutory Product Label from the National Department of Agriculture,  which can be found at the following link : 

http://www.scribd.com/doc/68139880/CTX108-Product-Label

Take note that the product contains  :

• Cypermethrin [synthetic pyrethroid]
• TCMTB : 2-[thiocyanomethylthio] benzothiazole [organosulphur compound]
• Aliphatic and aromatic petroleum solvents  [Fluidar 100 and others]

The Material Safety Data Sheets are available here : 

http://www.scribd.com/doc/68591705/Material-Data-Sheet-CTX-108

 It's now also come out, that CTX 108 contains Fluidar100, which in turn contains Benzene.  

Note the highlighted warnings on the attached Product Label for Fluidar 100 :
http://www.scribd.com/doc/68147341/Fluidar-100

More on Cypermethrin , a suspected carcinogen and possible endocrine disruptor can be found here :
http://www.scribd.com/doc/68144388/CYPERMETHRIN
&
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/airline-pays-out-euro50000-in-pestkiller-spray-case-2842846.html

More on TCMTB, a possible carcinogen,  can be found here  :
http://www.scribd.com/doc/68144849/TCMTB

More on Benzene, a known carcinogen & reproductive / developmental toxin, and aliphatic / aromatic solvents can be found here :

http://www.scribd.com/doc/68145294/Benzene
&
http://www.scribd.com/doc/68145497/Aliphatic-Aromatic-Solvents

Following further tests, on the soil in and around the house and below the timber floors, the risk manager for Wasteman Holdings, has we have been told,  indicated that the degree of contamination was very serious indeed and may entail wider environmental impacts. 

It has recently been confirmed that the National Department of Agriculture has laid charges.