Safety And Stewardship Measures Step Up

Avatar for Matt Hopkins By Scott C. Lucas|10 December 2008

One of the most positive developments of the past 20 years has been the increased attention to stewardship, safety, and environmental issues, and how the industry has taken a strongly proactive role in improving the lives of everyone in agriculture. From CropLife International’s many efforts to train and promote container recycling, proper storage, and the removal of obsolete chemical stocks to the numerous activities of such groups as the IFDC and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UN-FAO), the industry has come a long way towards keeping the people and the planet safe.

Unfortunately, one of the reasons the industry decided to increase its activities in safety and stewardship was the tragic event of December 1984 at Bhopal, India. In one of the biggest industrial disasters on record, Bhopal suffered the accidental release of 40 tonnes of methyl isocyanate (MIC), an intermediate used in carbaryl manufacture, from a Union Carbide India, Ltd. plant. The gas killed thousands and injured between 150,000 and 600,000 people, at least 15,000 of whom later died. From that day, the ag-chem industry made every effort to ensure that such an incident would never occur again.
The first major step was the adoption of the FAO Code of Conduct, a detailed set of guidelines for handling agricultural chemicals throughout their lifetimes to ensure that safety standards are followed from manufacture to transportation to storage to use. The Code of Conduct has become a guidepost for any business dealing in crop protection; in fact, its principles are the main standards used to judge the Environmental Respect Awards’ World of Respect program, presented by FCI and DuPont Crop Protection for excellence in environmental responsibility and safety.

On top of the Code, efforts such as the re-registration activities mentioned earlier and the phase-out and ban of methyl bromide stand as examples of a commitment to keeping the world and its people safe through professional, responsible agriculture.