PARAGUAY: Agrochemicals Go Up in Smoke in New Corruption Case

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Alejandro Sciscioli

ASUNCION, Oct 23 2003 (IPS) - The investigation of what could have become an environmental tragedy of enormous dimensions in the Paraguayan capital will be referred to anti-corruption authorities.

A fire that destroyed a warehouse supposedly full of pesticides in July, triggering alarm due to fears of severe damages to human health in a densely populated part of the city, will be forwarded to authorities in charge of combating economic crimes.

The probe, initially launched by environmental authorities in the office of the public prosecutor, ran into compelling evidence that the blaze may have been purposely set to conceal irregularities in the handling of the pesticides, which had been donated by the Japanese government to be used by small farmers.

”The environmental investigation will continue, but what we are seeing is a clear breach of trust,” the environmental prosecutor in the office of the public prosecutor, Isacio Cuevas, told IPS.

Although fire fighters worked hard for three hours, they were unable to prevent the near total destruction of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock warehouse where the pesticides were presumably being stored, which was located in a residential area of Asuncion.

Cuevas, a lawyer and agronomist, said elements had emerged that pointed to irresponsible supervision of the storage of toxic agrochemicals, large quantities of which may have been misappropriated and removed before the warehouse burnt down on Jul. 7.

He reported that seven people – night watchmen and departmental heads in charge of the warehouse – have been prosecuted in connection with the case.

”According to a Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock resolution, the employees in charge were under the obligation to keep detailed written records regarding the transport of chemicals. But we found that several of them are virtually illiterate, and one has diminished mental faculties,” said Cuevas.

Representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock had reported that the warehouse held 24,610 litres and 6,803 kgs of toxic agrochemicals, including the fungicides Propiconazole, Topsin and Folicur, the herbicide Metribuzin, and the insecticide Trebon, donated by the government of Japan.

But the case file shows that the fire fighters combating the blaze admitted off-the-record that they found no signs of those products among the charred remains of the warehouse.

Several of the fire fighters, who agreed to talk to IPS on condition of anonymity, confirmed the statements contained in the case file, and added that they had also failed to find the fungicide Tebuconazole.

A diplomatic source, who also preferred not to be identified, said that through the Japanese aid programme, known as 2KR, more than 57 million dollars worth of pesticides and other material were donated to Paraguay between 1978 and 1999.

When the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock presented the official list of the agrochemicals that it said were stored in the warehouse, the local environmental groups Alter Vida and Institute of Environmental Law and Economy warned of a possible ”ecological catastrophe,” and demanded swift action from the government.

The international Action Network for Pesticides and their Alternatives in Latin America, and the Foundation for the Defence of the Environment, an Argentine group, also warned that an environmental disaster could occur.

In addition, the Health Ministry took measures to prepare for a possible catastrophe, the chair of the special parliamentary commission set up to investigate the incident, Deputy Olga Ferreira de López, told IPS.

”When the Ministry of Agriculture initially confirmed the list of agrotoxics that it said were being stored in the warehouse, a disaster of major proportions was expected,” said Ferreira de López, with the centre-right Beloved Fatherland Movement.

But studies carried out from Jul. 11-18 in soil and groundwater in Asuncion by Brazilian consultants commissioned by the Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO) found low levels of pollution, and no deaths of domestic animals or birds, which would have been the first clear alarm signal.

Further, none of the more than 1,100 local residents living near the warehouse who were treated for effects of the fire in public hospitals between Jul. 7 and late September showed severe symptoms of pesticide intoxication, according to the reports that the Ministry of Health provided the legislature.

The director of the National Centre of Toxicology, Evelio Cardozo, said in an interview with IPS that if the chemicals listed by the Ministry of Agriculture had indeed been in the warehouse, the impact ”would have been much greater, and many directly affected people living nearby would have died.”

Nevertheless, Ferreira said that ”Beyond the fact that it is clear that not all of what was said to be in the warehouse was burnt, there has been an impact on the environment, and the government has the responsibility to provide medical care to those affected.”

She argued that despite the evidence that the pesticides may have been stolen, the effects on the environment and the health of local residents must be monitored, as there was an impact, albeit milder than expected.

The lawmaker said that in the three affected neighbourhoods, 120 pregnant women and more than 2,000 families were identified who ”have been abandoned to their fate, and have no medical coverage.”

”The local residents do not believe that nothing is going to happen to them, as they have been told. They think that they should move out of their homes, many of which are rickety shacks, and if they do not receive assistance from the state, they are threatening to occupy public property that is not being used,” said Ferreira.