The death of an Asian child in Sharjah last Friday caused by the inhalation of aluminum phosphide raises questions about the seriousness of pesticides and whether awareness campaigns are sufficient to limit the use of banned pesticides, which doctors say contain deadly compounds for humans and insects together. Exposure.

Municipalities in the country and specialists warned of the danger of the use of aluminum phosphide in insect control as a toxic compound causing death, describing it as a "bomb" for the release of toxic phosphine gas, pointing out the need for urgent medical assistance in case of exposure to these pesticides.

They stressed the danger of the indiscriminate use of pesticides, pointing out that some pesticides such as «Aluminum Phosphide» cause severe breathing, vision disorders, nerve poisoning, paralysis and may lead to cancer, calling for compliance with pesticides identified by the Ministry of Climate Change and the environment in Related to insect control.

The phosphide of aluminum is traded in the market by trade names, according to the manufacturer and the country of origin. Experts confirm that this pesticide is a severely used pesticide and should be used under the supervision of authorized persons and is restricted to open farms.

The pesticide is sold in packages of various forms, including tablets weighing about three grams, giving one gram of phosphine gas when analyzed, granules or balls weighing 0.6 grams each, giving 0.2 grams of phosphine gas, bags weighing 34 grams, When analyzed 3.11 grams of toxic gas.

In a recent incident, Dubai witnessed the death of an Asian resident and a young girl as a result of the leak of the boat from an apartment where the occupant had placed the phosphide cylinders. He closed the apartment in preparation for his vacation to his country, The result was a gas leak and inhaled by the man and the girl what caused their deaths.

The aluminum phosphide also claimed the lives of an Iraqi child in Sharjah, 11 of her family in 2013, and a twin in Ajman.

Dr. Ashraf Fayed, Consultant Thoracic Surgeon at Dubai's Al-Zahra Hospital, warned of exposure to insecticides used in domestic insects, especially those that enter the nervous system through breathing, stressing that they cause long-term cancerous tumors.

"This type of pesticide is more dangerous for infants and children because their nervous system is in the process of developing, which makes them susceptible to dangerous complications and may lead them to death," he told Emirates Today.

And advised to rely on other materials used to control insects such as putty or powder, away from materials that spray, and fly with the air, which may risk to neighboring populations, who may be suffering from chest diseases, and exposure to these pesticides lead to serious complications that threaten their lives .

He stressed the need to deal with companies licensed to fight insects, because the materials used by licensed and safe, and less harmful than sold without control, calling for the need to rush to the hospital when exposure to pesticides by inhalation, to receive the necessary assistance to prevent poisoning in the blood.

Dr. Abeer Qassem, a specialist in chest diseases at Abedullah Hospital in Ras Al Khaimah, warned of the danger of using pesticide workshops and inhalation because they contain toxic substances such as DDT and organic phosphates, which affect public health and lead to death.

She explained that the injury or death of any person as a result of inhalation or ingestion of pesticides, depends on the amount of toxic substances that are inhaled, as the toxic substances in pesticides cause serious health damage if inhaled, including suffocation and severe breathing and irritation in the lining tissue and obstruction of the airways , Severe vision disorders, resulting in respiratory failure, and may lead to death.

She added that some pesticides lead to poisoning of neurons and complete paralysis in the body, so wear protective tools when using insecticide workshops, such as putting the mask on the face and nose, and away from places where the insecticide, changing clothes and washing places exposed to pesticides Insecticide.

In the event that any person is short of breath due to inhalation of an insecticide, people close to the patient should use anti-respiratory drugs and medicines to help expand the airways, inhalation of oxygen and antibiotics suitable for the disease, and go to the nearest hospital to save the patient before deterioration His health.

For its part, warned the Municipality of Sharjah to deal with companies of illegal pesticides, which owners leave their ads on the doors of homes, announcing the provision of these services, and the use of pesticides that lead to poisoning or sometimes dangerous death, and called on members of the community to communicate with them always On the number 993, to inquire about licensed companies or by visiting their website, not to deal with companies that do not adopt the municipality or to buy pesticides from shops as dangerous to the health and safety of individuals.

The Director General of the Municipality of Sharjah City, Thabet Al-Tarifi, stressed that maintaining the health and safety of residents of the Emirate of the priorities of its work, stressing the concern for the safety of family members and not endanger their lives and the preservation of public health through tightening control on companies that practice pesticide spraying activity In order to reduce the risk of indiscriminate use, and to oblige all concerned companies to issue a certificate of practicing a profession issued by the municipality, and to obtain a commercial license from the Department of Economic Development, in order to avoid being exposed to violation or legal accountability.

He pointed out that in the case of monitoring companies that carry out this activity without a license, the necessary measures are taken against it, because it poses a danger to society and the safety of individuals. He pointed out that the public awareness and commitment to instructions and advice issued by the municipality, Positive results have resulted in such irregularities or even non-occurrence.

For his part, assistant director general of the agriculture and environment sector in Sharjah Municipality, Engineer Hassan Al-Tifaq, said that the municipality obliges companies to obtain the necessary license from the Department of Economic Development and Municipality. In case the company carries out activity on the license of the department without the license of the municipality, And the necessary action is taken against them, as these procedures and violations apply to anyone who does not obtain a commercial license in advance, in addition to not extracting a license to practice the activity.

He said that the Municipality is continuously communicating with the Ministry of Climate Change and the Environment to see the types of pesticides that are updated periodically and continuously by the concerned parties in the ministry to make sure that the prohibited ones are not used, which may negatively affect the health of the individual and follow up the use of licensed pesticides. In the municipality according to what is approved by the ministry.

He pointed out that the mechanism used to spray houses and various departments is in accordance with specific plans, where the houses are sprayed on the basis of requests and reports submitted through the hotline of the municipality, and comes within the outer perimeter of the house such as the outside arena and next to the sewer holes, Provide service to spray the departments not covered by the contract cleaning services prepared by the Central Department of Finance of the Government of Sharjah, and the service is provided on the basis of scheduling in advance and periodically, but does not prevent the performance of service in the event that those departments filed a complaint to the municipality.

Sharjah Municipality's Director of Environmental Services, Wassal Jassem, said that the Municipality is constantly working to spread awareness messages to the entire population by placing warning signs in three languages: Arabic, English and Urdu at all entrances to buildings in different parts of the Emirate. Random use of pesticides.

The Dubai Municipality has already warned of pesticides such as phosphide aluminum, saying it may cause symptoms similar to the symptoms of food poisoning, and may cause death, and advised the use of the visit to the doctor when the acute vomiting, noting that the substance called "bomb", because it emits Very poisonous gas, leading to poisoning and death immediately in the dwelling used in it and in neighboring houses, to spread gas.

This pesticide is a highly restricted herbicide and must be used under the supervision of specialized persons and authorized to do so. Its use is restricted to open farms, to control palm weevil, and to fumigate the stored grain to combat grain pests such as wheat, barley, maize, flour, And the licorice.

Methods of using pesticides

A guide issued by Dubai Municipality on the safety of pesticide use requires users to carefully read the insecticide card information, avoid inhalation, close all doors and windows before spraying, remove children, pets and food when using pesticides, Open flame or on hot surfaces.

The guide called for keeping insecticides out of the reach of children, animals, and sunlight, and disposing of empty and expired pesticides by placing them in the hazardous waste collection area or delivering them to the Department of Public Health Pest Control in Dubai Municipality. In the case of pesticide use.

He said that in the case of pesticide poison poisoning, the spilled pesticide should be washed immediately on the body and clothing, and the ambulance must be taken immediately to the hospital with the pesticide container brought to the doctor.

Aluminum Phosphide is sold in markets for farms, and its use is prohibited on homes.