Smitten more by drugs than bugs

Smitten more by drugs than bugs Afkar Abdullah / 13 August 2013 Come summer, bed bugs, cockroaches, ants, rodents and all sorts of unwanted guests decide to come calling, testing the nerves of people. While some residents ignore them and do not get bugged by them, the majority want to ‘finish them off’ instead of spending sleepless nights, but know not who will and how and when they can do it. For, master survivors as they are, it is not easy to ‘finish them off’ and they keep resurfacing a few months after each laborious pest control exercise. At times, one feels the whole world is conspiring to save these creatures as one could be prosecuted for manslaughter or negligence if the exercise goes horribly wrong as in the case of Iraqi girl Farah Ebrahim who died of pesticide poisoning in Sharjah on July 1 this year. Now, it has become a tussle between two types of fear: the fear of pests bugging us day in, day out and the fear of consequences like deaths of people, especially since the field of pest control has become a wilderness these days with illegal firms and individuals offering the service using chemicals which are hazardous and banned. Faced with pertinent questions about their role after a string of deaths and illnesses of people because of pest control over the years not only in the emirate but in other emirates as well, Sharjah authorities have intensified efforts to prevent pesticide poisoning and inform the public of their efforts. Speaking to Khaleej Times , Riyadh Al Alian, Deputy Director-General of the Sharjah Municipality, said 60 companies have been certified by the municipality to provide pest control services in the emirate. People must not hire the services of others. These companies, accredited and licensed by the municipality, are authorised to use only certain types of pesticides after ensuring that their employees are familiar with the methods of use and their dangers to human lives and environment. The municipality ensures these by enforcing certain regulations and standards on the pest control firms and by regular checks, he said. He added that all pesticides permitted for use are registered with the Ministry of Environment and Water. Restricted pesticides are used with permission and under certain conditions. However, unlicensed individuals use banned pesticides despite the best efforts to prevent their entry into the country, said Al Alian. These often lead to poisoning like the death of the Iraqi girl and the hospitalisation of her mother and brother after inhaling fumes of aluminium phosphide used in another flat in their building. What residents can do “I know all residents are worried because of the repetition of this type of accidents and many residents call the municipality and ask what is the municipality doing to prevent the entry of prohibited chemicals and exposing the people to harm. “The answer to this question is that there’s a list of companies licensed by the municipality to practise pest control. These companies are not using chemicals that are banned and restricted. The people must ask for the municipality licence before hiring a company to do pest control in their houses to avoid harm,” said Al Alian. People can also make sure that the company is using the permitted chemicals (See the table). If they find any banned chemicals, call the police who will seize the chemicals and prosecute the culprits, he added. And in case of suspected pesticide poisoning, immediately call the police and the paramedics. Dr Saqr Al Mualla, Executive Director of Al Qasimi Hospital, said, “Our team of professionals is frequently being updated on the cases and we are well prepared. We would like to stress that it is very important for those being affected by pesticides to immediately call the paramedics and police. The longer the patient waits, the higher the effects of these chemicals that can result in death.” Police efforts The police, meanwhile, said they are making all efforts, in coordination with the municipality and other authorities concerned and the public, to detect the places where prohibited chemicals which are used as pesticides are stored, a top officer said. Finding them and confirming the nature of the chemicals require a lot of research and inspections. The police also coordinate with the Customs authorities to prevent the entry of such chemicals into the country, though some still make an appearance. During recent inspections, the police found out that a lot of unlicensed and fake pest control companies were distributing business cards at flats in residential buildings offering the services. Their employees are  illegals and absconders. Following the recently issued decree by His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and the Ruler of Sharjah, prohibiting distribution of posters and advertisements in the public and private areas, the police have intensified surveillance in all areas to curb such practice. More than 70 illegals practising distributing flyers and business cards in residential and commercial buildings were rounded up, the officer said. Individuals and companies that run such businesses of hire their services will be fined by the municipality and the police are authorised to prosecute them, he warned.   Tough penalties The officer said the penalties for this type of violation are listed in the Federal Decree No. 41 for year 1992. This law lists the prohibited pesticides and provides that the trading, storing, possession, transportation and offering of these prohibited pesticides are forbidden. The breach of the law will attract a penalty of not more than six months’ imprisonment plus fines ranging from  Dh20,000 to Dh100,000 If the breach of the law caused the death of a human being or health injury, Articles 342 and 343 of the penal code shall apply as under “mistakenly causing the death of a human being”, the penalty for which shall be imprisonment for not less than a year to not more than seven years and/or fine which would be around Dh10,000. – afkarali@khaleejtimes.com   Norms 
 for firms Following the last two cases of pesticide poisoning, the Sharjah Municipality has recently tightened the licensing procedures for companies offering pest control services. Under these, the company must first get a preliminary licence from the Economic Department for a period of three months, after which a Municipal Review will be conducted by the Department of Solid Waste. For this, the company must have a pest control engineer who has any of the following qualifications: Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Health, Bachelor of Agricultural Engineering, Bachelor of Chemical Engineering or a certificate to prove an equivalent qualification. The engineer will be subjected to a test. If the person passes the test, the company is given permission by the municipality to practise “anti-insect activity”. In the absence of such an engineer with the company, the company is given a temporary permit for a period of four months with the payment of an insurance amount, till it appoints a qualified engineer. afkarali@khaleejtimes.com List of permitted pesticides   Pesticide Name   Use/effects   Icon   Thermal fogging to combat flying insects (Flies like mosquitoes and Alhamosh  sand flies) Vectron   Tetra cipzapi   Sprinkled to kill crawling insects and larvae and collect flying insects Proteocap   Aquahelfos   ABTE 500 EC   Anti-mosquito larvae   Mosquito dunks   Growth regulator   SOLFAC   UL   Sprayed to control flying insects   Detral Suber   GokiLath LF   Snake out   To expel snakes   Racumin Powder   Rodent control in the palm trees, sewage and other places NocuRat Wax Blocks   Siege PRO   Used against ants   SOLFAC10% w/w   passt   Quick Bayt   To fight flies   Atlast   Maxforce GEL   To fight German cockroaches     Taylor Scott International