Britain exports banned deadly weed killer to developing countries

‘Thousands of tonnes of highly-toxic weed killer not authorized for use in the EU is being produced in Britain and exported to the developing world, it has been revealed.
Paraquat, a pesticide that can be lethal with a single sip, has caused thousands of accidental deaths and suicides globally, and was outlawed by EU states in 2007. It can be absorbed through the skin and has been linked to Parkinson’s disease.
The Guardian has revealed Swiss pesticide manufacturer Syngenta is exporting thousands of tonnes of the substance to other parts of the world from an industrial plant in Huddersfield, northern England.
Baskut Tuncak, the UN special rapporteur on toxic wastes, said it was deeply disquieting that the human rights implications of producing a substance for export that is not authorized in the EU were being ignored.
“The fact that the EU has decided to ban the pesticide for health and environmental reasons, but they still export it to countries with far weaker regulation and far weaker controls, is shocking to me,” he said.’
Read more: Britain exports banned deadly weed killer to developing countries