Common pesticide may be banned

Ireland will support any move to ban the widely-used pesticide, lindane, in the light of renewed concerns about its link with cancer, it has emerged.

The Department of Agriculture and Food, which runs the Republic's Pesticide Control Service (PCS), has told The Irish Times it acknowledges growing concern across the EU about the potential effects of lindane, an organochlorine compound which can be retained in the human body for long periods.

It is used mostly to dress seeds before planting to protect them from plant diseases. The PCS in its annual report for 1997 found that 34.5 per cent of Irish cereal samples had some degree of lindane, though its use has been declining in some countries because of health concerns.

The most recent study, a monograph, carried out by Austrian scientists on behalf of the European Commission, was circulated to all member-states during the past fortnight.

The study identifies issues of concern relating to lindane's possible cancer-causing capability, and its ability to cause genetic mutation. Most concern has centred on increasing indication of its association with breast cancer.

It is expected that the commission will reach its verdict before the end of this year, but the most likely outcome is a total ban on its use as a "plant protection" agent. In Ireland at present the chemical is restricted to use in timber preservatives and as seed dressing in cereal production.