Expired and Prohibited Pesticides Problem in Ukraine

Abstract

Twenty thousand to 25,000 t of expired or prohibited pesticides are stored on 4,000 Ukrainian depots. This is a serious threat for people and environment. Arsenic compounds are highly toxic for cattle. Death comes within several hours. Even if an animal managed to survive 7–10 days, it still may die because of kidney failure. There is no effective antidote. Organochlorine insecticides including DDT, lindane, toxaphene and heptachlor may be found in water food chain and achieve critical levels in fish-eating birds. Moreover, they are collected in cattle’s fat. Poisoning by organochlorine insecticides affects nervous system and causes tremors, seizures and unusual behavior. After longlasting seizures or high temperature animal dies because of respiratory failure.

Organophosphates and Carbamates insecticides are used for grain and seed treatment, cattle and pets. Young or exhausted animals are prone to be affected. Organophosphates are very different from each other by levels of toxicity. They enter organism through skin, lungs, eyes and digestive tract, and irritate nerves. Organophosphates, which contain chlorine atoms, usually leave fat slowly and cause long-lasting poisoning symptoms with pets and adult bulls. Carbamates act like organophosphates, but recovery period is usually faster. Severity of symptoms depends on pesticides concentration. The main antidote for such type of poisoning is atropine injection. It is difficult to cure ruminant animals because they keep a big volume of toxin in their stomach. Recovery takes days or weeks.

Sodium chlorate causes hemoglobin oxidation which leads to red blood cells death and destruction of muscles. Urine becomes brown. Cattle usually have diarrhea due to bowels irritation. There is no specific antidote. Forage treated with paraquat may irritate horse’s mouth. If cats and dogs are exposed to that they may become fatally poisoned by licking their own feet. Majority of pesticide depots were not designed for long-term usage. Chemicals are stolen and illegally sold to people. Depots’ roofs collapsed over the time, pesticides’ wrapping gets of order, pesticides of different nature may become catalyst of spontaneous chemical reactions with unpredictable results. Spontaneous fire may spread toxins on a wide area. Utilization of expired and prohibited pesticides is Ukrainian national problem.