Brazil Anvisa bans Methyl Parathion

Brazil's National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) has issued a ban on Methyl Parathion, an active ingredient of agrochemical. The decision was taken during a public meeting of the Collegiate Directorship of the agency last Thursday (12.03).

In order to justify the decision, the agency affirms to be based on “scientific evidence that demonstrated the extreme toxicity of this active ingredient” and an opinion of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), which elaborated a statement to subsidize the proposal of a technical regulation for the substance. Anvisa also submitted Methyl Parathion for a public consultation.

At its evaluation, Anvisa uses the argument that the substance was banned and had it registration canceled in 34 of 45 countries researched. In the United States, for instance, it was banned two years ago, and even in the countries that allow its use, this just happens with severe restrictions.

The Anvisa director Ivo Bucaresky, who held the case, reminded that the ban of Methyl Parathion occurs after an exhaustive started in 2008. “This measure is very important for the human health and for the environment because it bans a highly toxic substance and collaborates for the image improvement of Brazilian agriculture,” he justifies.