Hazardous Fumigants Found in Shipping Containers

A new study by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) has reviewed the risks to workers when opening fumigated shipping containers. The study identifies significant gaps in preventive measures and makes recommendations that should be implemented to improve the safety and health of workers.

Each year, more than 600 million freight containers are shipped worldwide. These containers are frequently treated with pesticides to prevent damage to the goods. Agents used for this purpose have known toxic or irritant properties and can have long-term effects on the cardiovascular and central nervous systems, for instance phosphine (PH3), methyl bromide (MeBr) and formaldehyde. Workers at ports who open these containers, for example during customs inspections, can be exposed to these harmful agents. The report indicates that this problem has been underestimated.

Despite the potential for exposure, standard safety and health measures and documentation to protect the workers have been introduced in only a few cases. The report aims to provide an overview of the current knowledge of the situation and to recommend how to minimize these risks to workers’ safety and health.

The report — produced in response to a need identified by the European Commission’s Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee — describes a number of problems including:

• Fumigated containers are almost never labelled as fumigated.
• Insufficient safety procedures when opening and unloading fumigated containers.
• Appropriate risk assessments not carried out.
• Lack of a clear, standardized screening protocol to check for residual fumigants.
• Under-reporting of incidents of adverse health effects.
• A number of changes to current practice could vastly improve the safety and health of the workers in question. The report includes a number of preventive actions, strategies and recommendations.
• Do not open containers until a risk assessment concludes that it is safe to do so. This could be based on shipping documents or approved measurements of the container atmosphere, if necessary after ventilating it.
• Introduce adequate monitoring equipment and standardized screening procedures for fumigated containers. The tools used for screening should detect MeBr and PH3 (and other fumigants if possible) with sufficient sensitivity to accurately detect a level of at least 10% of the occupational exposure limit.
• Enforce legislation regarding the labelling of fumigated containers. A uniform approach across European ports is needed to avoid competition at the expense of safety and health.
• Identify containers that might pose a health risk to workers – clear, standard labelling is needed (including the use of symbols where there may be a language barrier).
• Create and implement standard procedures for off-gassing (replacing the air) and ventilating fumigated containers.
• Distribute information packs offering guidance on personal protective equipment and risk assessment; these should be easily understandable to all workers who may be exposed to fumigated containers.

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More than 4 in 10 Americans Live with Unhealthy Air

The American Lung Association's 2018 State of the Air report found ozone pollution worsened significantly due to warmer temperatures, while particle pollution generally continued to improve in 2014-2016. The 19th annual national air quality report card found that 133.9 million Americans—more than four in 10 (41.4%)—lived in counties with unhealthful levels of either ozone or particle pollution in 2014-2016, placing them at risk for premature death and other serious health effects such as lung cancer, asthma attacks, cardiovascular damage, and developmental and reproductive harm.

"Near record-setting heat from our changing climate has resulted in dangerous levels of ozone in many cities across the country, making ozone an urgent health threat for millions of Americans," said American Lung Association National President and CEO Harold P. Wimmer. "Far too many Americans are living with unhealthy air, placing their health and lives at risk. The 'State of the Air' report should serve as a wake-up call for residents and representatives alike. Everyone deserves to breathe healthy air, and we must do more to protect the air we breathe by upholding and enforcing the Clean Air Act."

Each year, State of the Air reports on the two most widespread outdoor air pollutants, ozone pollution and particle pollution. The report analyzes particle pollution in two ways: through average annual particle pollution levels and short-term spikes in particle pollution. Both ozone and particle pollution are dangerous to public health and can be lethal. But the trends reported in this year's report, which covers data collected by states, cities, counties, tribes and federal agencies in 2014-2016, reflect the ongoing challenges to reduce each pollutant in the changing political and outdoor climate.

Read more on Environmental Resource Center.