In uk.rec.gardening Tim Tyler wrote:
: In uk.rec.gardening Oz wrote:
: : Tim Tyler writes
: :In uk.rec.gardening Oz wrote:

: :: 1) There is no direct health cost, due to the approvals testing.
: :
: :So you claim - yet pesticides kill thousands anually.

: : I don't think so.
: : Please offer a .gov source from a first world country useage to show
: : this where it's not misuse.

: I should think pesticides killing people is - by definition - a misuse.

: Here's a study giving some concrete figures regarding the extent of the
: problem:

: ``Acute pesticide poisoning is an important cause of morbidity and
: mortality worldwide. It has been estimated that around three million
: severe cases of acute pesticide poisoning occur each year with some
: 220,000 deaths. Ninety-five percent of fatal pesticide poisonings occur
: in developing countries.''

: - http://www.sums.ac.ir/IJMS/9934/abdollahi9934.html

I've also found some concrete figures for England and Wales:

``Deaths from pesticide poisoning in England and Wales: 1945-1989.

Casey P, Vale JA.

Pesticide Monitoring Unit, National Poisons Information Service
(Birmingham Centre), Dudley Road Hospital, Birmingham, UK.

1. Data on deaths from pesticide poisoning occurring in England and Wales
between 1945 and 1989 (no data are available for 1954) have been
collated; pesticides were responsible for only 1012 (1.1%) of the 87,385
deaths from poisoning (excluding those due to carbon monoxide) occurring
over this 44 year period. At least 73% of all pesticide fatalities were
due to suicide and overall there was a predominance of males
(male:female ratio 2.4:1). No deaths from pesticide poisoning in
children under 10 years have been reported since 1974 although almost
50% of suspected pesticide poisoning incidents involve this age
group. 2. Herbicides were responsible for 787 (78%) fatal poisonings,
110 (11%) were caused by insecticides, 69 (6.8%) by rodenticides, 30
(3.0%) by wood preservatives and 16 (1.6%) by other pesticides. 3. The
herbicide, paraquat, was responsible for 570 of 1012 (56%) deaths and,
although there has been a progressive decline in the annual number of
deaths from paraquat poisoning since 1982, paraquat remains the most
common cause of fatal pesticide poisoning in England and
Wales. 4. Sodium chlorate caused 113 (11.2%) deaths, most of these
fatalities occurring between 1965 and 1983; only one death has been
recorded since 1984. The phenoxyacetate herbicides resulted in 50
deaths; 2,4-D was implicated most commonly. Sixty-eight deaths were due
to organophosphorus insecticides; demeton-S-methyl, malathion and
mevinphos were involved most frequently. Only eight deaths resulted from
organochlorine insecticides and two of these also involved an
organophosphorus insecticide. [...]'' - PMID: 7908817

Most pesticide deaths are likely to be lingering ones - rather than
straight poisonings. The cancer deaths are not likely to show up in
studies like this one.
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|im |yler http://timtyler.org/