Harmful yet no hurry

Almost a year after harmful heavy metals like cadmium, chromium and lead were found in dozens of pesticides, the government is yet to enforce mandatory tests to prevent imports of the adulterated chemicals, widely used in the country's vast agriculture sector.

Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA) mandated tests at two designated government laboratories before the release of imported pesticides from ports since February 1 this year. But this date was extended several times following requests from importers.

"They [importers] requested us to suspend the embargo considering the adverse effect on agricultural production," Md Abdul Quayium Sarkar, chairman of the BFSA, told The Daily Star recently.

He said the importers also urged further research to measure the harmful effects of heavy metals in pesticides, adding that the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) is the relevant authority in this regard.

The BFSA, on December 8 last year, first requested DAE to ensure every consignment of imported pesticides be released from the port customs based on tests at either the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Centre (BAEC) or the Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR), starting from February 1 this year.

Besides, the BFSA also requested the DAE to penalise companies which marketed contaminated pesticides.

"In tests, there was a high level of heavy metals in these pesticides. Heavy metals are severely polluting the food chain… Most of the pesticides used in the country are imported. There is an obligation to import pesticides free from heavy metals under the Pesticides Act," reads the BFSA letter to the DAE.

However, following concerns noted by the Bangladesh Crop Protection Association (BCPA) and importers, the BFSA extended the deadline for mandatory testing of imported pesticides to July 1 this year before a further extension of a year.

M Sayeduzzaman, chairman of BCPA, a body of business enterprises involved in import, formulation and marketing of plant protection chemicals, said while the association agrees there should be a standard permissible limit of pesticides, the state of pesticides in the country cannot be determined until there is one.

"We have asked the ministry to allow continuing imports until the adoption of a permissible limit for heavy metals in pesticides," he added.

Claiming the level of heavy metals found in pesticides to be "ignorable", he said, "We mainly import pesticides from other countries. Future policy must be adaptive to the international standards. Otherwise, we will not be able to import pesticides and this, in the long run, will affect our food production."

BFSA Chairman Quaiyum said, "We do not want something entering the country harming the environment -- the agriculture department does not want that too. But we also do not want agricultural production to be hampered. There must be a balance between both.

"We are yet to get any update from them [the DAE]," he added.

NOMINAL TESTING OF PESTICIDES

The DAE -- the apex pesticide regulatory body -- held its last meeting on the matter in February and formed an advisory committee to prepare a guideline on the permissible limit of heavy metals in pesticides.

But the committee is yet to submit its report, according to DAE officials, and since then, there has been no progress till date.

Responding to a query on whether the nine months were not enough to prepare the guideline, the BFSA chairman said, "This is an issue related to them, you better ask the agricultural ministry or the department [DAE]."

The maximum allowable limit for heavy metals in fertilisers used in the country is defined by the Fertiliser (Management) Regulation, 2007.

For heavy metals in pesticides, there is no maximum allowable limit -- either nationally or globally.

However, according to clause 15.2 of the Bangladesh Pesticides Act, 2018, if any pesticide is found to be adulterated or incorrectly or misleadingly tagged, the government may control and ban further import of that pesticide into the county.

But the import of pesticides currently takes place without having to undergo testing anywhere as long as the importers are registered with the DAE.

The country's annual usage of pesticides is nearly 38,000 tonnes -- the majority of which, around 90 percent, is imported from China -- according to the DAE. There are 5,500 registered pesticide products in the country.

Over 300 companies registered with the DAE usually import crop protection chemicals from China, the USA, Germany, Australia, India, Indonesia, and Singapore in bulk; they then repackage them in smaller units in their facilities before marketing them at the farmers' level.

The companies, however, need to have their formulations approved by the DAE before marketing the pesticides.

The DAE only conducts minimal testing such as the efficiency of the pesticide in killing pests and weeds and examining its toxicity on fish.

Asked if the presence of heavy metals in pesticides is adulteration, Dr Md Joynul Abedin, member-secretary of the DAE advisory committee, said, "If there was any set limit, we could say it is adulteration."

Aminur Islam, additional deputy director of pesticide quality at the DAE, however, disputed this.

"The chemical composition of pesticides is submitted at the time of application for registration. There is no chance of containing any pollutant beyond that. They [applicants] mention a hundred percent composition."

To reach a conclusion about the limit, he said, will need a controlled condition study.

Asked about the timeline for preparing a guideline on the permissible limit of heavy metals in pesticides, Joynul Abedin on Wednesday said, "The advisory committee is yet to hold a meeting. They will sit in January-February to discuss the guideline."  

TEST FINDINGS

The presence of heavy metals in the food chain has raised concern countrywide over the last few years.

In that context, the BFSA tested samples of 63 pesticides and 4 fertilisers available in the market at the BAEC laboratory between November 2019 and January this year. BAEC has been an internationally accredited lab since 2015.

At least 55 of these were also tested at a private lab. Both labs followed the standard F-AAS (Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry) testing method.

The test results, a copy of which The Daily Star obtained, showed 63 out of the 67 tested pesticides and fertilisers contained significant levels of cadmium, chromium or lead, or all three.

The level of heavy metals in some pesticide samples was alarming.

For instance, BAEC's investigators found the highest level of lead, 12.70mg per kg, in an anti-fungal pesticide powder.

Of the 47 samples in which lead was found, less than one third (14) contained lead below the detection limit of 0.02mg/kg while more than halfcontained lead ranging from 0.24-2mg/kg. Eight were found to contain more than 2mg lead per kg.

Chronic exposure to lead at relatively low levels can result in damage to the kidneys and liver, and to the reproductive, cardiovascular, immune, hematopoietic, nervous, and gastrointestinal systems, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

Furthermore, short-term exposure to high amounts of lead can cause gastrointestinal distress, anaemia, encephalopathy, and death.

Reduced cognitive and intellectual development in children is the most critical effect of low-level lead exposure.

FAO recommends farmers avoid using compounds that contain lead or may be contaminated with lead in agricultural areas.

BAEC's test also found that a commonly used liquid pesticide contained 15.74mg chromium per kg.

In another liquid pesticide, the BAEC test found around 7.19mg chromium, less than 0.06mg cadmium, and around 6.49mg lead per kg.

While the test results from the private lab varied from BAEC's ones, both labs suggested the majority of the pesticides contained these heavy metals.

BAEC also separately tested four commonly used fertilisers for only the level of cadmium.

Of these, a fertiliser known as TSP was found to contain 13.96mg cadmium per kg -- more than the maximum allowable limit of 10ppm (1ppm is equivalent to 1mg/kg) mentioned in the Fertiliser (Management) Regulation, 2007.

WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY

Experts said no heavy metals should be present in pesticides, adding that its contamination of the food chain through pesticides is a serious threat and long-term exposure may lead to public health risks.

Although there is no maximum allowable limit for heavy metals in pesticides, a number of experts The Daily Star talked with said the presence of heavy metals, even minimal amounts, in pesticides is harmful.

"Heavy metals are not elements of pesticides; therefore, these should not be in pesticides. If there is, the source of contamination should be checked," Prof Dr Quazi Forhad Quadir of Bangladesh Agricultural University, told The Daily Star.

"Pesticides themselves are harmful. Heavy metals -- even in small amounts -- have an accumulation effect," he added.

Imrul Hasan, country lead of USDA/USAID funded Food Safety Capacity Development for Bangladesh project, told The Daily Star, "If pesticides contain heavy metals, these will enter the food chain -- whether in small or big amounts."

Another expert said some companies might be using heavy metals as residue in substandard and cheap imported pesticides to earn more profits.

Abdul Kaium, assistant professor of agricultural chemistry at Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, said, "The quality of pesticides depends on the price of its active raw materials, or ready products are imported. In our laboratory analysis, we found many pesticides have 50 percent fewer active ingredients than the description on the packets. Instead, these contain more impurities like heavy metals.

"There are major loopholes in surveillance -- from importing to marketing. This, ultimately, is harming the food chain."