Chinese Mosquito Coil Denied Registration due to Cancer Risk
Ministry of Agriculture, Press Release – Saturday, November 17, 2018
The Pesticides and Toxic Chemicals Control (PTCCB) Board has recently denied the registration of “Zenden Mosquito Coil”. This denial prohibits import, distribution, sale and use of the Mosquito Coil in Guyana. The illegally imported Chinese mosquito coils have been an area of focus for the authority for quite some time. Smugglers of these products have made little to no effort to register the products which are suspected to be dangerous to human health and the environment.
The process of pesticide registration allows the PTCCB to examine the toxicity characteristic of pesticide products to human health and the environment. It allows for more informed decision making regarding the import, distribution, sale and use of pesticides in Guyana.
The PTCCB has spent years confiscating and disposing of these illegal “Chinese mosquito coils” through numerous enforcement exercises. The PTCCB has been and continues to raise awareness on the illegality and possible risks to human health and environment.
A recent registration submission for the “Zenden Mosquito Coil” reveal the product to be a Class 1A carcinogen. This means that the product is “known to cause cancer in humans”. The product also has potential to cause germ cell mutation in humans. It is also classified as a highly hazardous pesticide (HHP) and poses significant risk to human health and the environment. The human health risk to exposure to Zenden Mosquito Coil is high. Additionally, the registration data submitted had numerous other areas of non-compliances.
Mosquito coil is widely known as an efficient mosquito repellent. When a mosquito coil is burned, the insecticides evaporate with the smoke, which prevents the mosquito from entering the room. Exposure to the mosquito coil smoke poses both acute and chronic health risks.
The PTCCB began confiscating illegal mosquito coils in 2008 and to date has confiscated 4,435.08kg (4.4 tonnes) of these products; approximately, 778.80kg of those confiscated was Zenden Mosquito Coil. The PTCCB is committed to continued enforcement activities targeting importers, distributers and retailers of these illegal mosquito coils. This is in keeping with the PTCCB’s mandate to eliminate the importation, sale and use of illegal pesticides while reducing the availability of these unwanted products. The following brands of mosquito coils are registered for sale and use in Guyana and are therefore recommended for use by the PTCCB Fish, Protox, Baygon, Raid, Vape and BOP.