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R/£ SA bans farm use of Lindane
November 08, 2008 Edition 1
Sheree Béga
The neurotoxin Lindane, the active ingredient in a controversial anti-lice shampoo, is to be banned in South Africa for agricultural use early next year.
Lindane is also known as Gamma Benzene Hexachloride.
Gerhard Verdoorn, spokes- man for the Association of Veterinary and Crop Associations of SA, said the Department of Agriculture had banned all pesticide formulations containing Lindane for agriculture, garden, home and public health use by March 2009, because it is a persistent organic pollutant and "doesn't fit into modern pesticide science any longer".
"The product will thus be banned from being manufactured, sold, disposed of and used by any individual or institution," he said.
"It scares me to think that the pesticide industry and the department have taken definitive action on a pesticide, and yet it's still an over-the-counter drug available to the public, in particular as a medicinal remedy for children.
"This product should be taken off the shelves immediately by the Department of Health."
Another lice shampoo sold locally, Quellada, also contains Lindane.
Mukesh Dheda, the national pharmaco-vigilance coordinator at the health department, said an investigation into the use of the product is currently being carried out, and the package insert is being reviewed.
"Priscilla Sehoole, spokes- person for the Agriculture Department, said: "South Africa is a member of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (a global treaty to protect human health and the environment from dangerous chemicals) and "therefore deems it fit to abide with this decision to ban it".
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