a) Pesticides:
Pesticides are considered priority pollutants in Palestine. There are about 400 officially registered pesticides in Israel, some of which are banned for use in industrialized countries due to their high toxicity, low biodegradability, and mutagenic or carcinogenic potential. In addition there are pesticides registered in Israel that have not been registered in countries of origin. A very serious situation exists with respect to pesticide use, due to the exceedingly large volumes used and the lack of information available, in Arabic, to farmers and others dealing with pesticides.
During the past few years, the CEOHS has documented the following in its various research and survey activities:
* Thirty seven percent of farm produce tested had pesticide residues about World Health Organization "acceptable"
* Pesticides are used at an average of 7kg/dunum (4 dunums = 1 acre) in open agriculture and 11kg/dunum in greenhouses. The total sales volume exceeds 1300 metric tons at a cost of over $15 million per-year in the West Bank alone, making this region one of the world's heaviest users of pesticides per area under cultivation.
* Exposure of farmers and their families to pesticides is serious and, for those using organophosphate insecticides we have documented that it is playing havoc with aceytlcholinesterase levels in their bodies.
* A survey of knowledge, attitudes and practices on the subject of pesticide use indicates that farmers are not receiving extension services form community or governmental agencies, know very little about pesticides, believe that they are immune to their negative health effects, do not wear protective clothing or wash or change their clothes after spraying, and have not the vaguest idea of actual or recommended doses.
As a result of this appalling situation, in 1989 CEOHS has embarked on a program on the "Safe Use of Pesticides" aimed at farmers and others handling them. The program is currently running in various parts of Palestine. To assure farmers that the problems that they are facing with pests are a result of pesticide resistance and not just adulteration of pesticides, cases of which have occurred, the Center is performing quality control studies on pesticides. (See the section below on the Occupational Health Unit for more details about this program).
CEOHS also is planning to establish an experimental demonstration farm that will seek to develop methods of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) appropriate to the area. We see the dissemination of methods of alternative agriculture as the surest way of reducing pesticide use to an absolute minimum and assuring not only a sustainable agriculture but a healthier people.
In 1985 CEOHS has introduced IPM as an integral part of its Safe Use of Pesticides program. Such training and educational programs include background information on pesticides and their mode of action, pests applicator training and dosing, first aid and IPM.