Aldicarb Spill in Texas Causes Fire, Evacuations, Sends
People to Hospital
April 21, 1994
On April 13, a truck carrying 23,000 pounds of aldicarb
crashed near Dallas, Texas, spilling the toxic pesticide and
sending at least 17 people to the hospital for possible
exposure. Aldicarb, one of the Pesticide Action Network's
Dirty Dozen pesticides, is the most acutely toxic pesticide
allowed to be sold in the U.S.
The truck carrying aldicarb hit a traffic sign and burst into
flames on Interstate 20 in Balch Springs, southeast of
Dallas. Because of contaminated smoke from the fire,
officials evacuated a five-mile radius around the accident
site, including two schools, 1,650 students and dozens of
homes. Interstate 20 was also closed. An emergency room
physician said that anyone who came in contact with the smoke
or drove near the accident should take a 15 minute shower and
see a doctor.
Seventeen firefighters and police officers who were at the
scene of the accident were sent to Baylor University Medical
Center for evaluation. Afterwards, emergency officials let
the fire burn itself out so that no additional firefighters
would be harmed by the smoke. UPI quoted Balch Springs City
Manager Angie Warner as saying, "We're telling anyone that
drove through the smoke to get to their doctor." A hospital
spokeswoman warned that breathing the fumes can cause
vomiting, diarrhea, sweating, over-salivating and frequent
urination.
Aldicarb, registered in the U.S. since 1970 to control
insects, mites and nematodes on a variety of crops, is the
most toxic agricultural chemical currently used in the U.S.,
according to the Center for Disease Control. Just one drop
of aldicarb absorbed through the skin is enough to kill an
adult. It is also highly toxic to mammals and birds, and to
marine and freshwater organisms.
In 1989, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimated that
between 34,000 and 82,000 infants and children consumed
enough aldicarb in potatoes each day to suffer illness. A
further 1,500 infants and children were estimated to suffer
similar effects from consuming aldicarb in bananas. In 1990,
Rhone-Poulenc, the sole U.S. registrant of aldicarb,
voluntarily stopped the sale of the pesticide for use on
potatoes in response to evidence of aldicarb residues
exceeding the legal tolerances. In 1993, EPA revoked the
tolerance for aldicarb in bananas after evidence indicated
that high residue levels of the pesticide could result from
established use rates. Aldicarb is still registered in the
U.S. for use on citrus, cotton, dry beans, ornamentals,
peanuts, sorghum, soybeans, sugar beets and sweet potatoes.
Aldicarb has caused many serious accidents and health threats
in the U.S. and internationally. In the largest single
pesticide food poisoning incident ever reported in North
America, 1,000 people were poisoned by aldicarb-tainted
watermelon in 1985. That same year, over 300 people in
British Columbia, Canada, suffered aldicarb poisoning after
eating tainted cucumbers. A 1988 survey of recorded
pesticide poisonings in Costa Rica showed that aldicarb
caused more poisonings than any other pesticide.
Aldicarb was one of the pesticides manufactured at the Union
Carbide plant in Bhopal, India, the site of the world's worst
industrial disaster which caused thousands of deaths and tens
of thousands of serious injuries in 1984. Eight months after
the Bhopal disaster, a gas leak at a Union Carbide aldicarb
factory in Institute, West Virginia, sent 135 people to the
hospital, but caused no apparent serious injuries.
Source: United Press International, "Truckload of Pesticides
Burn in Texas", April 14, 1994. "The Case Against Aldicarb",
Pesticide Watch, May 1990. "Unnecessary Risks, " National
Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides, 1992. EPA Press
Release, February 3, 1992 and July 23, 1993. PAN Dirty Dozen
Pesticide Fact Sheets.
Contact: PANNA.
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The Pesticide Action Network Updates Service (PANUPS) is a
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Action Network North America Regional Center (PANNA). PANNA is
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