SEVERAL weeks ago a neighbour joined Sandy Perceval in his car for a chat. Within seconds Mr Perceval was out the door and crawling on the ground, desperate to get away from the man.
His neighbour smelt of sheep dip, an odour which assails Mr Perceval's nerves and senses. Since that brief meeting Mr Perceval (51) has depended on his wheelchair or walking sticks as he recovers from what he calls "chemical crippling".
A sheep farmer in Co Sligo, Mr Perceval had used sheep dips containing organophosphates since they became available in Ireland in the early 1970s.
Now he claims that continued exposure to the chemical has left him hyper sensitive to sweet perfumes, aftershave, washing powders, petrol fumes and sheep dip.
He wears a face mask, for protection against the smell because, once in contact with organophosphates, he suffers partial paralysis, blurred vision, feels extremely cold, and suffers nausea and a severe depletion of energy.
"It is not very dignified to have to crawl up your front steps or around your house on your hands and knees because you cannot walk," said Mr Perceval, who has 1,000 sheep on his farm in Ballymote, 14 miles outside Sligo town.
Compounds of organophosphorus were developed in pre war Nazi Germany as a nerve agent for chemical warfare. The chemical erodes the nervous system and knocks out the enzymes which control the flow of messages around the body.
These chemicals provide a very effective way of killing sheep scab and other ticks. However, accumulated absorption usually through the skin can leave humans highly sensitive to the presence of organophosphates.
Between 1989 and June 1995, 14 cases of suspected adverse reaction to organophosphates were notified to the National Drugs Advisory Board, now called the Irish Medicines Board.
Dr Colette McDonagh White of Galway said many sufferers from organophosphate poisoning displayed flu like symptoms and might not come to the attention of their GPs.
Mr Perceval said hundreds of people North and South have contacted him to tell of experiencing side effects similar to his own. Many are women who have washed clothes soiled with sheep dip.
Wicklow farmer Alan Keegan lists about 10 men and women in the Enniskerry area who are affected by symptoms similar to his own.
"You can kit yourself out in rubber boots, overalls, masks, but you cannot dip 100 sheep without getting some sheep dip on you," said Mr Keegan.
He suffers many of the classic symptoms of organophosphate poisoning depression, loss of short term memory, severe nausea, fatigue and, at the age of 41, days when he can neither work nor eat. He has been in hospital three times and was once brought to his hospital bed by wheelchair.
He can no longer go to sheep markets. He became violently ill last year when a herd of dipped sheep passed along the road in front of his farm.
"You lose interest in day today life work, family, everything, and that is not a very easy thing to admit to myself," said Mr Keegan.
He said his troubles were compounded by the unwillingness of medical personnel to believe his complaints. A nurse accused him of being drunk, one doctor told him he had ulcers, while another laughed at him and told him to stop being ridiculous.
His wife Elizabeth said the effects of the illness extended beyond her husband.
"The physical thing has an effect on Alan but the depression has an effect on everybody. When he is in a bout of depression there is no such thing as having a normal family life," said Mrs Keegan.
Farmers treat sheep for scab twice a year, in summer and winter. Dipping was compulsory from the foundation of the State until a few years ago, when the Government responded to lobbying by the Irish Farmers' Association.
Farmers may now use alternative methods. They are obliged to report sheep scab and can be prosecuted for failing to do so. Injections and pour on remedies against sheep scab are now available but are more expensive.
The Department of Agriculture and the IFA said they were concerned about reports of illness caused to farmers. They also emphasised the importance of controlling scab among the estimated seven million sheep in the State.
Sheep scab erodes the fleece, leaving the skin open to infection which often leads to death.
The chairman of the IFA sheep committee, Michael Holmes, says "For the time being, if used correctly and safely, it is of paramount importance that farmers continue to dip their sheep to control scab. We are watching developments with injectables, with pour ons as alternatives which must be economically viable, given that is of paramount importance to keep sheep scab under control."
Most of the evidence to date has been clinical and no research has been conducted in Ireland.
A British study quoted in the medical journal the Lancet last year compared the wellbeing of 145 sheep farmers with quarry workers. Both groups were exposed to similar weather conditions but the one major difference was the farmers' exposure to pesticides.
The study found the sheep farmers were far slower in language, reasoning and arithmetic tasks, and were more vulnerable to psychiatric disorders.
The Health and Safety Authority said there were definitely known problems related to sheep dip, but proof remained elusive.
But there are murmurings of legal action against the manufacturers and the Government. In 1992 Mr Perceval wrote to Sligo County Council threatening legal action if it forced him to use sheep dip.
There has been one out of court settlement by a pharmaceutical company and in England a Kent sheep farmer is taking action against a company. He was officially diagnosed as suffering from organophosphorous myocarditis, and he is seeking compensation for permanent damage to his heart.
However, without commenting on any particular case the Animal and Plant Health Association, which represents all six suppliers of sheep dip to the Irish market, said the medical evidence was not clear.
One of the leading manufacturers of sheep dip, Ciba Geigy, said instructions were issued about safe use.
"We have no problem with the use of organophosphate sheep dip once the label recommendations are followed correctly," said Gerry Fahey, manager of the animal health division.
He said the labels included advice on protective clothing and had been approved by the Irish Medicines Board. He added that they had recently been updated to include information on the safe disposal of dip.
Mr Fahey said he was aware that the issue was being discussed in the United Kingdom. But it had yet to be scientifically proven that organophosphate dips cause adverse side effects.
Meanwhile, Mrs Keegan said they would await the outcome of the ease in England before deciding whether to take legal action.
"It is the long term effect of this that is most worrying. There could be a very definite link between organophosphates and Alzheimer's disease and multiple sclerosis. These are all diseases that have become more prevalent in the last 20 years," she said.