{"id":115294,"date":"2018-07-30T12:00:47","date_gmt":"2018-07-30T11:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=115294"},"modified":"2018-08-06T12:49:38","modified_gmt":"2018-08-06T11:49:38","slug":"brazil-pesticide-poisonings-in-rural-areas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2018\/07\/brazil-pesticide-poisonings-in-rural-areas\/","title":{"rendered":"Brazil: Pesticide Poisonings in Rural Areas"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The Failing Response to Pesticide Drift in Brazil\u2019s Rural Communities – <\/em>Ordinary Brazilians Suffer Health Effects, Retaliation for Speaking Out <\/em><\/p>\n

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20 Jul 2018 <\/em>\u2013 Rural residents are being poisoned in Brazil<\/a> from pesticides sprayed near their homes, schools, and workplaces, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Many rural communities fear reprisals from wealthy and politically powerful farmers if they denounce such poisonings or advocate more protective laws and regulations.<\/p>\n

The 50-page report, \u201c\u2018You Don\u2019t Want to Breathe Poison Anymore\u2019: The Failing Response to Pesticide Drift in Brazil\u2019s Rural Communities<\/a>,\u201d documents cases of acute poisoning from pesticide drift in seven sites, located across Brazil, including farming communities, indigenous communities, quilombo<\/em> (Afro-Brazilian) communities, and rural schools. Exposure occurs when pesticide spray drifts off target during application, or when pesticides vaporize and drift to adjacent areas in the days after spraying.<\/p>\n

Of the 10 most widely used pesticides in Brazil in 2016, four are not authorized for use in Europe, indicating how hazardous other governments consider some of them.<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cPesticides sprayed on large plantations poison children in their classrooms and villagers in their backyards all across rural Brazil,\u201d said Richard Pearshouse<\/a>, associate environment and human rights director at Human Rights Watch and author of the report. \u201cThe Brazilian authorities need to stop this toxic exposure and ensure the safety of those who speak out against the harm the pesticides are causing to their families and communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Bernardo, a man in his 30s, was born in a quilombo (Afro-Brazilian) community of around 60, men, women, and children in Minas Gerais State, southeast Brazil. Bernardo told Human Rights Watch that he feels powerless against aerial spraying of pesticides. \u201cWe\u2019ve registered several complaints at the [local] civil police station and military police,\u201d he said. \u201cNo one solves it\u2014there is no justice.\u201d \u00a9 2018 Marizilda Crupp\u00e9 for Human Rights Watch<\/p><\/div>\n

Human Rights Watch found that people in many exposed communities fear reprisals from large landowners. Members of five of the seven rural communities Human Rights Watch visited said they had received threats or were afraid of retaliation if they reported pesticide drift that they believed poisoned them. In 2010, a farmer who was an anti-pesticide activist was shot and killed after pushing the local government to ban aerial spraying that year.<\/p>\n

Large plantation owners often ignore a national \u201cbuffer zone\u201d regulation that prohibits aerial spraying of pesticides near housing. There is no corresponding national \u201cbuffer zone\u201d for ground spraying. Official data on pesticide poisonings grossly understates the severity of this problem. The government\u2019s monitoring system for pesticide residues in drinking water and food is also weak.<\/p>\n

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July 20, 2018 Report<\/p><\/div>\n

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\u201cYou Don\u2019t Want to Breathe Poison Anymore\u201d<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Failing Response to Pesticide Drift in Brazil\u2019s Rural Communities<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n