No, we’re still not Bayer… September 25, 2007
Posted by JennieB in Corporate Technology, News.trackback
Here at Corporate Watch we’re used to receiving random calls intended for other companies. I like to call this syndrome “Lazy Googling”. Usually, after explaining for the umpteenth time that we’re not a department of *insert-name-of-company-we’ve-reported-on-here*, they go. But a call I received at 12.10pm today was so interesting I thought I’d share it with you.
This afternoon Corporate Watch was mistaken as part of Bayer, a German chemical and pharmaceutical company. I gently explained to the man on the phone that we weren’t Bayer; that we are a research group who have reported on them. Normally this leads to a “sorry, wrong number” elicited from the caller then a hasty hang-up. Oh no, not this guy. He told me he was calling from Canada, from the Department of National Defence (DND) based in Ottawa. Even after directing him to our website, he still wanted to tell me what they were trying to source.
DND are looking for a product Bayer makes called Eulan SPA. The man from the DND told me it was “mildew resistant and used as a coating on army sweaters and socks”. A bit of dirt digging on my side – and a modicum of Not-So-Lazy Googling – found that the active agent in Eulan is permethrin which is a synthetic chemical (more technically, a synthetic pyrethroid).
According to SGS, a ‘quality-control’ company based in Geneva, permethrin has been commonly used in the wool industry as an insect repellant since 1980[1]. Construction Resources, an ecological-building focussed company, reported that, “[p]yrethroids act as nerve poisons, and their use in carpets has been banned in the USA for 15 years.[2]. In laboratory tests, permethrin was found to “dramatically [reduce] testosterone levels and sperm counts in adult mice” and is considered carcinogenic to humans[3].
Permethrin is also used as a pesticide in agriculture, and has been found to be incredibly toxic to fish[4], mice, and beneficial insects such as bees[5]. However, non-beneficial insects, such as mosquitoes, are building up resistance to the chemical; this is becoming a major health issue in West Africa[6].
In 1997, the Environment Agency (EA) reported that levels of permethrin exceeded Environmental Quality Standards mostly in the North East and Midlands[7], it is classed as a ‘dangerous substance’ by the EA[8]. In 2001, Eulan SPA was banned in Australia[9].
Our caller lamented that he tried to get hold of Bayer in the States but to no avail. He pondered on whether the the market for Eulan SPA had gone down, and that the textile mills “could have been moved to Asia”. If he’d looked a little bit harder, he would have discovered that you can buy it in from a company based in Mumbai. It’s probably for the best that he doesn’t.
More information from: Corporate Watch (2002) Bayer AG: A Corporate Profile
References
[1] Author unknown, ‘Wool Testing Services Info-bulletin’, SGS, Volume 5.11, http://www.sgs.com/info-bulletin_5_11-2.pdf viewed 25/09/07
[2] Author unknown, ‘Natural flooring’, Construction Resources, http://www.constructionresources.com/products/pdfs/interiors/Natural%20flooring.pdf viewed 25/09/07
[3] S-Y Zhang et al (April 2007, updated August 2007), ‘Permethrin may disrupt testosterone biosynthesis via mitochondrial membrane damage of leydig cells in adult male mouse’, Endocrinology, doi:10.1210/en.2006-1497/Endocrinology Vol. 148, No. 8 3941-3949 , http://endo.endojournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/en.2006-1497v1 viewed 25/09/07 For a more indepth description, see ‘Data Sheet on Pesticides No. 51: Permethrin’ International Programme on Chemical Safety report for the World Health Organisation, http://www.inchem.org/documents/pds/pds/pest51_e.htm
[4] ‘Wool Testing Services Info-bulletin’ as above
[5] Ole Hertz, ‘Bees & pesticides’, Bees for Development, http://www.beesfordevelopment.org/info/info/pesticides/bees-pesticides.shtml viewed 25/09/07
[6] I.S. Adams, K.M. Laila, Z. Tukur (2006), ‘SUSCEPTIBILITY OF SOME SPECIES OF MOSQUITOES TO PERMETHRIN PYRETHROID IN ZARIA NIGERIA’, Science World Journal 1(1), http://www.scienceworldjournal.com/article/viewFile/645/524 viewed 25/09/07
[7] Author unknown, ‘Carpets – toxic accumulation’, Pesticide Action Network UK, http://www.pan-uk.org/pestnews/homepest/carpets.htm viewed 25/09/07
[8] Author unknown, ‘North East. Dangerous Substances Factsheet’, Environment Agency, http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/commondata/105385/ne_dangerous_879349.pdf viewed 25/09/07
[9] Author unknown, ‘List of non-renewed registrations’, Commonwealth of Australia Gazette, Agricultural and veterinary Chemical Codes Act 1994, No. 9, 4th September 2001, http://www.apvma.gov.au/archive/0109downloads/gazette0109p27.pdf viewed 25/09/07
I’d always thought Permethrin was a little worrying, but it is in practically all household sprays for dealing with fleas from domestic pets once they get into the carpet. I’ve been constantly reassured in pet shops that it’s totally safe, and that other more organic ways of dealing with fleas don’t work. Does anyone know of any sprays that kill fleas in the carpet (once you’ve done the pet as well of course) that don’t contain Permethrin?
I rid my home of fleas by dusting borax over carpets and furniture, and leaving for 3 days before using a vacuum cleaner to pick up the powder. I had heard this was the only foolproof way, and it worked like a dream. The only fleas left after the 3 days were tiny newly hatched ones, which wouldn’t have been able to survive to lay new eggs, as the borax apparantly dehydrates them. To be sure of total elimination, I repeated the process.
Hope this helps.