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Battling mosquitoes: Ex CMC official says expired chemical being used excessively, CMC medical chief says not so
View(s):Questions have been raised by a former senior CMC official about the alleged excessive use of a chemical with a passed expiry date, by the Public Health Department of the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) to control mosquitoes.
A complaint has been lodged with the Municipal Commissioner, that the chemical identified as ICON Lambda Cyhalthrin is being stored at various MOH offices and at the main pest control office at Maligakanda, the Sunday Times learns.
According to the complaint 62.5g of sachets of this chemical is being stored in barrels at the pest control office while another three barrels of sachets have been reportedly stolen.The stock had reportedly been manufactured in 2015 and carried an expiry date in 2017.
CMC sources also charged that they have been instructed to use three sachets in 16 litres of water for spraying purposes, instead of the normal practice of one sachet per 8 to 9 litres of water, in a move to finish off the expired stock.However, CMC’s Chief Medical Officer Dr Ruwan Wijeyamuni said although there were some barrels containing the chemical with expired dates at the pest control office, orders had been issued not to use them.
He said, there was no reason to use those chemical stocks as they had sufficient stocks of fresh chemicals, adding that the Pesticides Department had already been informed about the old stocks.
Asserting that the allegations were false, Dr Wijeyamuni also explained that the ICON Lambda Cyhalthrin is used for dengue irradiation as a residue spraying chemical that sticks to the surface it is spayed onto.
He said, it was this same chemical that was successful in eradicating the Malaria mosquito and it has been in use for several years to control dengue too.He said the chemicals are used only after gaining approval from the World Hhealth Organisation on the recommendation of the Health Ministry.
“ Every chemical has a toxicity level. Knowing that I cannot ethically allow the use of an amount that would be harmful to people. Therefore the workers are advised to use 62.5g in 8 to 9 litres of water. Even Public Health officers and others are instructed to use the correct amount,” he said.
He said malathion too is another chemical that is being sprayed regularly especially outdoors to prevent an outbreak of dengue.Dr, Wijeyamuni further asserted that all these chemicals had been effective in controlling dengue last year in Colombo city. He claimed that although islandwide the reported cases of dengue were 180,000 and 480 deaths, in Colombo city there were only eight deaths and 5,700 cases.