Government withdraws OP sheep dip
20 December 1999
Government withdraws OP sheep dip
By FWi staff
THE government has announced the withdrawal of all organophosphate sheep dips in response to fears that the chemicals pose a danger to human health.
All OP-based dips will be recalled until the introduction of new containers to minimise operator exposure to OPs, said junior farm minister Baroness Hayman.
The recall decision was taken on the advice of the Veterinary Products Committee in response to a report by the Institute of Occupational Medicine.
Symptoms of poor health in some sheep farmers and workers could be traced to exposure to OP chemicals, said the report which was published last summer.
The withdrawal of the dips, which applies to chemicals on farms and at distribution depots, will be seen as a victory for campaigners against OPs.
Hundreds of farmers are currently considering taking legal action after the Ministry of Agriculture forced sheep producers to use OP dips in the 1970s.
Years later, many of the farmers are suffering ill-health. They blame the dips for causing mood swings, memory loss, muscular malfunction and depression.
Baroness Hayman said on Monday (20 December), that the government would now introduce a plan to fight the health hazards posed by OP chemicals.
In addition to the withdrawal, the government has revoked its approval for 14 OP products, including 11 licenses revoked as part of a special review.
Licenses for the three remaining OP products were withdrawn because the manufacturers did not submit the relevant data packages to the government.
Furthermore, the government will now examine the claims of farmers and farmworkers who believe they have been poisoned by OP chemicals.
That decision comes one month after the governments committee on toxicology urged ministers to investigate the impact of dips on human health.
The Pesticide Trust, which has campaigned against the current practice of using OP to dip sheep, said it welcomed the withdrawal of the products.
It is thought that only one manufacturer has designed a container which would allow it to resume sales of OP dip in time for dipping next September.