Germany Will Repatriate & Destroy 75 Tons Of Pesticides, Methyl Bromide From Remote Nepali Locations

[hatrack]

KATHMANDU, Dec 9: Amid rising fears of the possible catastrophic impact of a huge stockpile of pesticides stored at more than two dozen locations in Nepal, the German government has expressed readiness to take back the obsolete chemicals for disposal.

The country has a total of 74.23 tons of different chemicals including DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) and 43 cylinders of methyl bromide imported for agriculture proposes from Germany 25 years ago.

The pesticides have since been stockpiled at 25 different places including Amalekhgunj, Nepalgunj, Gulariya, Surkhet, Khumaltar, Lumle, Pokhara, Biratnagar, Hetauda, Birgunj, Janakpur, Pakhribas and Gaighat. Most of the pesticides have been kept at government offices located in the vicinity of human settlements and pose a threat to humans and the environment. Of the total stockpile, 50 tons has been stored at the godown of the Agricultural Inputs Company Ltd (AICL) in Amlekhgunj.

A high-level source at the Ministry of Environment (MoE) said the German government has shown its eagerness through the German Technical Co-operation (GTZ) to permanently dispose of the pesticides in Germany if the Nepal government accumulates the pesticides at one single point from the different storage sites.


EDIT

http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=12685

[Nihil]

1. Good for them!

It's about time that the habit of rich nations dumping on poor ones
is dropped.
:applause:

[hatrack]

2. I agree - most encouraging to see anything encouraging these days

nt