Estimated 4.4 million rats in KL

Rats have become a serious problem since they are reservoirs of leptospirosis and other vector borne diseases.  The number of mortality and infections is increasing rapidly as more humans are exposed to rat urine and droppings.
The Ministry of Health reported 62 deaths and 1,418 cases of infection due to leptospirosis. Another common rat related disease in Malaysia could be salmonellosis but there is lack of data on this.

The two most commonly found rodents in residential, commercial and industrial areas in Malaysia are the house rat Rattus rattus and the Norway rat Rattus norvegicus.  The alarming rate of growth in rat population in Malaysia could be attributed to poor sanitation practices and waste management, the rapid rate of urbanization and improper planning of population centres.
Rats living in close proximity of humans pose serious harm to human health, welfare and economy as they carry pathogenic agents and also cause many allergic disorders. Among the main diseases attributed to rats are the bubonic plague, leptospirosis, murine typhus, salmonellosis and rat-bite fever.  
Most patients with leptospirosis have been found to come in contact with rat urine before the onset of illness. If leptospirosis is not treated, the patient could develop kidney damage, meningitis (inflammation of the membrane around the brain and spinal cord), liver failure, and respiratory distress.
Rats which frequent rubbish dumps and sewage tanks also contact Salmonella bacteria.  Food, food containers and food preparation area that are contaminated with rat droppings would be the source of salmonellosis.  
Salmonellosis is characterized by diarrhea, abdominal cramps, vomiting and nausea, and generally lasts up to seven days. Unfortunately, in the elderly, children or people with depressed immune systems, Salmonella infections are often fatal if they are not treated with antibiotics.
Besides contaminating our foods and carrying diseases, rats are also a menace as they damage our belongings, chew electrical wires, and cause damage to crops.
The standing population of rats in metropolitan Kuala Lumpur is estimated at 4.4 million whilst the Municipal Council of Penang Island (MPPP) reported that 14,639 rats were caught and killed in 2009.  Massive rat hunt and gassing are undertaken by some local authorities but this does not solve the problem. One source of the problem is increasing rat breeding grounds due to lack of hygiene; with food waste and rubbish abound in the surroundings.   
The rat population can increase rapidly if control measures are not taken. Rats breed all year round, about four to seven times a year with an average size litter of six to twelve babies. Assuming a female rat has litters four times a year, this can lead to roughly 582 to 954 rats a year. Although the mortality rate is high, the abundance of food in the urban area ensures the survival and expansion of the rat population.
The relevant authorities and local government should pay more attention to the dangers of an expanding rat population. Rats can even be found in high rise buildings and eateries with good housekeeping.  What more in wet markets, food courts and other eateries where rats have a field day.
So how do we control the rat menace? Besides eliminating rat nesting sites and food sources, we should also seal openings that allow rats to enter our premises.  Rearing cats is a good biological control rather than using baits and chemicals.  
The general public and food handlers must be educated on the risks posed by rats and to practice good hygiene. To avoid contamination of food with rat droppings or urine, we must prepare food hygienically, wash all cans before opening, wipe the food preparation counter clean and wash all containers before using.
Local authorities must also carry out frequent checks in all eateries and commercial premises where food is stored and sold to ensure no rat infestation.  The pick-up rate for rat-related illnesses should also be improved.
Rats will thrive wherever food is available – especially discarded food.  To keep the rat population in check we must ensure cleanliness and not dump food waste indiscriminately. CAP calls upon the government to address the rat menace urgently for our common good and in view of public health.
Press Statement – 13 October 2010

A quarter teaspoon of this pesticide can kill

The Consumers Association of Penang calls on the Ministry of Agriculture to impose an immediate ban on  the pesticide carbofuran.
Early this year five farmers in Pendang, Kedah lost RM30,000 when 18 cows died from carbofuran poisoning. The cows were grazing on the rice field which had used the pesticide.
 

During a recent survey it was found that farmers growing maize placed carbofuran granules at the shoot of the plant to prevent it being attacked by pests. Watermelon growers were also using carbofuran on the soil to prevent pest from attacking the plant.
 

Due to its acute toxicity carbofuran has been banned in Canada and the European Union since 2008. Recently the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) also banned its use. 
Carbofuran is one of the most toxic carbamate pesticides. It is marketed under the trade name Furadan. According to the Food Regulation 1985 carbofuran is allowed to be used in rice, maize, pepper (black, white), mango, banana, sugarcane and brinjal.
Carbofuran has one of the highest acute toxicities to humans amongst the insecticides widely used on field crops.  A quarter teaspoon (1ml) can be fatal. It is a neurotoxic pesticide and can over stimulate the nervous system, causing nausea, dizziness, confusion. At very high exposures it can cause respiratory paralysis and death. But the long term effects are far more serious, permanent damage to the nervous and the reproductive system.
Consumers also risk serious health effects from pesticide residues on food and  contaminated drinking.
Carbofuran poses significant environmental risks.  Because of its long soil half-life (up to 60 days) carbofuran also has a high potential for groundwater contamination and is mobile in sandy and silt loam soils. Carbofuran has a high potential for ground water contamination and has been detected in surface water.
Carbofuran is responsible for the deaths of millions of birds and wildlife since its introduction in 1967. Carbofuran pellets often resemble plant seeds commonly eaten by birds and are often applied on newly cultivated soil.  One highly toxic granule can kill a small bird and carbofuran moves up the food chain when birds are eaten by predatory species.
This chemical is also highly toxic to fish, and is believed to be one of the main contributors to the reduction of salmon populations in the northwestern United States.  In early 2009, it was reported that carbofuran was being used to poison African lions in Kenya.
In view of the toxicity of carbofuran, this dangerous agrochemical should be banned in Malaysia.

Press release, 22 Sept 2010

Disposing of household nasties-safely

Wondering what to do with all those chemical nasties lurking in your cupboards? Here's how to dispose of them safely.
 

Next time you have a big clean-up, stop and consider what happens to all those old medicines, pesticides, pool chemicals, cleaners, paint thinners and batteries after you've thrown them in the bin or down the sink, or hosed them down the gutter.

 

Some chemicals become more dangerous when mixed with other chemicals, food scraps or even just water. Some things are hazardous because they contain heavy metals and other poisons that contaminate soil and pollute waterways.

Flammable chemicals and sharp objects pose a serious risk to others -- such as waste collectors and handlers, children and curious animals -- when they're sitting in your garbage bin and going into the garbage truck.

Clearly you don't want all these nasties sitting around your house either, endangering the health and safety of you and your family. So what do you do with them?

The following are some health and environmental hazards associated with products commonly found in the home, and options for their safe disposal.
Paint and related products

Paints, thinners, varnish, wood stain, solvents, methylated spirits, turps, glues and fillers.

 

The problems:

 

• They can be highly flammable.

• They can give off toxic fumes when they evaporate or burn.

• They can be toxic to plant, animal and aquatic life, as well as people.

• Aerosol cans are potentially explosive if heated or punctured.

• Oil-based paints contain flammable solvents, and brushes have to be cleaned with turps, another disposal problem.

 

The solutions:

 

• Use water-based paints rather than oil-based whenever possible.

• Calculate the area to be painted, and buy the smallest tin of paint that will meet your needs.

• Never pour these products down the sink or an outside drain.

• Use up the products, or give them to friends or neighbours who can use them. There may be a paint collection centre near you for community projects.

• Old paint that has hardened can be thrown out with your normal garbage. Leave the lid off the tin if there isn't much left (preferably outside, so the fumes don't cause harm), or pour it over newspaper, let it dry, then throw it away.

• If none of these options is practical, phone your local council for advice.

Medical waste

Medicines, needles and syringes (including veterinary products).

 

The problems:

• If left around the house, expired or left-over medicines pose a safety risk, particularly to children or people with poor eyesight.

• If you dispose of them in your household garbage, children or animals could be poisoned.

• Putting medicines down the toilet or sink can affect sewage treatment (which depends on bacteria and other organisms to break down waste).

• Used needles and syringes pose a health and safety risk to waste handlers, children and curious animals.

The solutions:

• Don't put bottles containing pills or liquid medicines in your garbage.

• Take unwanted pills out of their packaging, and wrap them in newspaper. Soak the newspaper thoroughly to dissolve and dilute the pills, put it in a plastic bag and then dispose of it with your normal garbage.

• For liquid medicines, if there's only a small amount left, pour it onto several layers of absorbent paper, wrap securely in a plastic bag and put it in your garbage bin.

Household cleaning products

Ammonia, chlorine bleach, disinfectant, dry cleaning fluid, drain cleaners, polish and oven cleaners.

 

The problems:

• Some cleaners give off dangerous (and potentially lethal) fumes when mixed -- some toilet cleaners with bleach, for example.

• If you tip large quantities down the sink or toilet, they can interfere with the bacteria which break down waste in the sewage treatment process.

The solutions:

• Never put them down the sink or drain. (Some will obviously go down the sink while you're cleaning, but in small quantities they won't do a great deal of harm. However, heavy use can kill bacteria in the sewerage system and may harm human health and the environment.)

• Use up the products, or give them to friends or neighbours who can use them.

•Use less hazardous alternatives where possible.

 

Batteries

 

The problems:

 

• The cadmium in nickel cadmium rechargeable batteries (NiCads) is a highly toxic heavy metal.

• Car batteries contain lead and highly corrosive acid.

 

The solutions:

 

• Nickel metal hydride rechargeable batteries (NiMHs) don't contain toxic material and can be disposed of with your household waste.

• Using rechargeable batteries will mean fewer batteries going to landfill.

• Never burn batteries -- this releases dangerous fumes and can cause an explosion.

• For your old car battery, check with your local garage or car battery retailer -- they might take it from you. When you're transporting one, handle it very carefully and make sure the acid doesn't leak out.

 

Fuels, oils and other flammables

 

The problems:

 

• Fuels are highly flammable and dangerous to store around the home. If you don't need it, don't keep it.

• Used motor oil contains a number of toxic chemicals, and may contain lead.

• Oil and water don't mix: don't put motor or cooking oil into the sewerage or stormwater system.

The solutions:

• Used motor oil can be recycled Ñ your local garage or tip might take it. (Ask your mechanic, at your next grease and oil change, if they recycle motor oil.)

• Collect used cooking oil in a sturdy plastic bottle and throw it out with your regular garbage.

 

In Brief

• Think before you throw it out and does the product pose a danger to people, pets and other animals, or the environment?

• The best way to avoid future problems of disposing of dangerous products is to buy and use non-hazardous alternatives wherever possible. And only buy what you really need, in the quantity you need.

 

Do's and don'ts

Do:

• Use non-hazardous alternatives wherever possible.

When you have a choice of pack sizes, buy only as much as you need.

• Give left-over chemicals to someone who can use them.

• Store chemicals carefully in a dry, well-ventilated area, safely locked away from children and pets.

• Leave products in their original containers, and write the purchase date on the label.

• If you're taking chemicals to a hazardous waste depot, make sure they're packed securely and labelled clearly.

Don't:

• Store chemicals in food or drink containers.

• Tip hazardous chemicals down the sink or toilet -- a sewage treatment plant can't break down all toxic substances, and they could create potentially explosive fumes at the plant. Some chemicals interfere with the biological processes used in breaking down sewage.

• Put hazardous chemicals (including motor oil) down the drain or hose them into the gutter -- they'll go directly into your local waterways.

• Bury them -- they can poison local plants and wildlife, contaminate soil and leach into the groundwater system.

•Unless stated otherwise in this article, don't throw them in the garbage bin. Seemingly harmless on their own, chemicals can react with other substances, possibly creating dangerous fumes, and even a fire or explosion in the garbage truck or waste centre. In landfill, they can leach into the soil and the groundwater system.

Children more susceptible to environmental carcinogens

Children are more vulnerable to carcinogens than are adults.  Children have many more years of life ahead of them after a toxic exposure in which to develop a tumour.

Malignant transformation is a slow process. Children's ability to detoxify environmental chemicals is not fully developed. They lack certain mechanisms possessed by adults that enhance the removal of toxic chemicals from the body.

Thus children's exposures to environmental carcinogens must be minimised.
 

There are many reasons why toxic chemicals are greater threats to children than to adults.

• Pound for pound, children breathe more air, drink more water and consume more food than adults. This higher rate of intake means that children will receive higher doses of whatever contaminants are present in the air, water or food. 

(In the US, it has been estimated that children aged 1-5 eat 3-4 times more per unit of body weight than the average adult. Infants and children drink more than 2 1/2 times as much water daily as adults do as a percentage of body weight.  And the air intake of a resting infant is twice that of an adult under the same conditions.)

• Children are also more susceptible to chemicals because of  their smaller size. For example, a typical newborn weighs 1/20 of the weight of an adult male, but the infant's surface area is 1/8 as great. Therefore, the total area of skin that could be exposed to a chemical (by bathing in polluted water or rolling in dirt for instance) is 2 1/2 times as great per unit of body weight in the infant as in the adult.

• Children absorb a greater proportion of many substances from the intestinal tract or lung.  For example, children take up approximately half of the lead that they swallow while adults absorb only about one-tenth.

• Children indulge in more hand-to-mouth activity than adults and transfer more foreign substances into their bodies through this route.  Since children often play in the dirt, they are also closer to the source of many pollutants.

• Children's biology is different. Their immune system is less developed, and may be less protective. For some toxicants, the body has developed biochemical detoxifying mechanisms; in some instances, these are less developed in children.

• Cells that are developing (in children) are generally more vulnerable than cells that have completed development (in adults).  This is particularly true for the central nervous system.

 

Handling Toxic chemical need safety control

Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP) views with concern the incident in Shah Alam where 31 students of a school there fell ill and had breathing difficulties – apparently following the release of a toxic chemical known as ethyl mercaptan.

Exposure to ethyl mercaptan can cause headaches, weakness, fatigue, nausea, lack of coordination and irritation of the mucous membranes. Children are naturally more vulnerable.

Petronas Gas Shah Alam area manager, Mohd Isa Adam, was quoted in the press stating that there was no gas leak but that this chemical used to odourise natural gas, was released during a routine service check at the station.

The police and Fire & Rescue Department staff had to cordon off the road leading to the station during the cleaning-up operations, while workers from Kualiti Alam sealed several drums believed to contain the chemical.

Firstly, is a gas station supposed to be so close to a school to the extent that children can be adversely affected by its chemical operations? Secondly, were safety measures followed, and if so, why did this “accident” happen – requiring young children to be sent to hospital and a road to be cordoned off for clean-up, and for drums to be sealed?

According to the Guidelines of the US National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health and the Centers for Disease Control, during ethyl mercaptan operations as a fuel gas odourant, the recommended safety controls include “process enclosure” and “general dilution ventilation”.

Workers handling this chemical also have to be protected with a prior thorough baseline health status evaluation and regular medical surveillance for any anticipated occupational risks.

CAP calls on management of PETRONAS, the Department of Environment (DOE) authorities and also Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) authorities to throw more light on the circumstances surrounding this mishap and the measures taken nationwide to prevent any repeat occurrences.

Asbestos: The deadly, silent killer

In recent weeks, concerns over asbestos poisoning have been raised in our local print media. And rightly so! This naturally occurring fibrous mineral, with fire and heat resistant properties, has been recognised as a serious threat to life in the Western countries and where possible, its use is avoided.

People who work with asbestos are at serious risk of developing lung cancer, asbestosis, mesothelioma and fatal respiratory illnesses. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) conservatively estimates that 100,000 workers die each year from asbestos-related diseases. Thousands more perish from environmental exposures.

 

Asbestos fibres are exceptionally strong and commonly found in ceiling tiles, flooring, water pipes and vehicle brakes. Asbestos was once heralded as the greatest building material, but is today recognised as one of the biggest workplace killers.
Asbestos also includes chrysotile, amosite, crocidolite, tremolite asbestos, anthophyllite asbestos, actinolite asbestos, and any of these materials that have been chemically treated and/or altered.
Asbestos only becomes a danger when it is disturbed, causing the fibres to become airborne. This is commonly referred to as friable asbestos, while intact asbestos is referred to as non-friable asbestos.
Airborne friable asbestos is sucked into the lungs of people exposed to it. Until today, research has yet to determine a safe level of exposure to asbestos, but one thing is for certain – the more prolonged the exposure, the greater the risk becomes for developing an asbestos-related disease. This is why asbestos poisoning is often called an occupational hazard disease, because the people who commonly work with the material are most at risk for developing an asbestos-related disease.
Health officials have warned that widespread asbestos exposure will result in epidemics of mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis. Besides these debilitating fatal diseases, a panel of 27 experts convened by the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) reported new evidence that asbestos causes cancer of the larynx and the ovary.
Of concern is a forecast by Dr James Leigh, retired director of the Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health, Sydney School of Public Health, Australia, that there will be 5 to 10 million deaths from asbestos-related cancers by 2030.
It is also alarming that international health agencies such as the WHO, ILO and IARC agree that there is no safe level of asbestos exposure. Despite this, asbestos roofing materials, asbestos cement pipes and other asbestos-containing products are still being widely used worldwide, including in Malaysia.
What is of great concern to consumers is that there does not seem to be any concern for their health in being supplied with water through asbestos cement pipes. Malaysia does not have any programme to specifically replace asbestos cement pipes. Even if there is little evidence of the carcinogenicity of ingested asbestos, precaution must be taken by replacing old asbestos-cement pipes with safer substitutes.
Acknowledging the dangers of asbestos, 54 countries worldwide have imposed bans, restrictions or exemptions for minor uses of asbestos. In Malaysia, only crocidolite (blue asbestos) has been prohibited, but the use of chrysotile (white asbestos), amosite (brown asbestos), tremolite, anthophyllite and actinolite are allowed.
In view of the importance of safeguarding the health of the public and workers handling asbestos, CAP has been calling for a complete ban on the material. We understand that the Malaysian government is in the midst of studying the implementation of a ban, but our concern is that this process is taking too long.  
Besides imposing a ban on asbestos, the Malaysian government must make available a national registry for asbestosis and mesothelioma, early diagnosis of asbestos-related diseases and implement a workers’ compensation scheme.
The government must also embark on an asbestos awareness and education programme to impart the message to the public, contractors, mechanics, plumbers and workers in general about the hazards of asbestos and to encourage compliance with regulations and safe asbestos management practices. We also need knowledgeable and skilled labour for safe removal and disposal of asbestos-containing products.
CAP reiterates our call to the government to expedite an outright ban on asbestos and ensure that the necessary measures are taken to safeguard the health of all Malaysians.
Letter to the Editor - 9 October 2010