“It is potentially sensitizing by the cutaneous and inhalation routes”. With this sentence, the safety data sheet of the biological phytosanitary product used by the Balearic Government to spray aerially the pine trees of Ibiza to combat the processionary.
This has been precisely what has generated alarm and paranoia among alarm and paranoia among some neighbors who have suffered different symptoms such as general malaise as general malaise, nausea, headache and dizziness, as reported by La Voz de Ibiza. In the detail of the toxicological information, although it clarifies that both in inhalation and ingestion and skin contact the product “does not present substances classified as hazardous“, it does establish certain warnings about “sensitization effects” both respiratory and skin and “specific toxicity in certain organs (STOT)”. The Government has not been able to dismiss the conditions, although they have clarified that the product is “fully insured”, that it is not toxic and that “it is the safest option”.
What is the product used
According to the Forest Health Service website , a “biological phytosanitary product of active material: Bacillus thuringiensis variety kurstaki” was used . According to the safety data sheet, provided by the supplier company Probelte, S.A.U., it is a “product not classified as dangerous for the environment“. It should be used as a pesticide exclusively by “professional user/industrial user”. In any case, it details a series of “precautionary advice“:
- Avoid breathing vapors.
- Avoid contact with eyes, skin or clothing.
- Wear protective gloves/protective clothing/respiratory protection/protective goggles/protective footwear.
- Wear respiratory protection equipment.
- In case of contact with skin, wash with plenty of water.
- In case of inhalation, move the person to fresh air and keep him/her in a position that facilitates breathing.
It also warns that “symptoms as a result of poisoning may occur after exposure, so in case of doubt, direct exposure to the chemical or persistent discomfort, seek medical attention, showing the SDS of this product“.
Although it is listed as a product not classified as hazardous by inhalation, skin or eye contact, a series of first aid actions are established for symptoms of intoxication, ranging from “remove the affected person from the place of exposure, In all cases, “seek medical attention if the symptoms persist”. Although if the product had contact with the eyes, the protocol establishes that, “after washing, seek medical attention as soon as possible with the SDS of the product“, as in case of ingestion or aspiration.
Mitigation of handling risks
Meanwhile, the General Directorate of Agri-Food Production Health and Animal Welfare, of the General Secretariat of Agricultural Resources and Food Safety, establishes a series of risk mitigations in the handling of the phytosanitary product. For example, workers must wear long-sleeved clothing, long pants and appropriate footwear, and the use of aircraft with closed cabs is required during the application of the product.
“On the roads and access roads to the loading and treatment area, specific signs will be installed warning of aerial treatments with phytosanitary products, and of the sensitizing properties of the product. These signs will be maintained at least until the end of the treatment,” he states. In addition, a minimum safety strip of 100 meters must be left around the treated area and the crop cannot be entered until the product is dry. In addition, Royal Decree 1311/2012, stipulates that “phytosanitary products shall not be applied by aerial means over urban centers or bodies of water (rivers, lagoons or reservoirs), beekeeping settlements or organic crops not subject to treatment, leaving a minimum safety strip of 100 meters around them in which no treatment by aerial means may be carried out.”
