HERBICIDE USED ON COLOMBIAN DRUG FIELDS MAY CAUSE EYE DAMAGE

WASHINGTON - A government report released Thursday acknowledged
U.S.-supplied chemicals used for eradication of coca plants in Colombia
have the potential for "acute eye toxicity."

It said the State Department plans to switch to a less toxic formulation as
soon as it can be manufactured and delivered.

The report was issued in response to a congressional requirement that the
government make a determination on the safety of the U.S.-led eradication
program for humans and the environment.

The report included contributions from the State Department, the
Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Agriculture.

Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., has questioned the safety of aerial spraying
program, the aim of which is to curb cocaine exports to the United States
and to deny revenues to illegal armed groups that profit from the drug trade.

Private watchdog groups have also expressed concern about the safety of the
program. Some people living in areas where spraying occurs have complained
that the activity has produced health problems but the Colombian government
has found no evidence to support such claims.

The report contains an Aug. 14 letter to Secretary of State Colin Powell
from Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman, who defended glyphosate, the main
herbicide used in spraying.

She wrote that glyphosate "poses minimal health risks to humans and
animals, is environmentally benign, and degrades rapidly in soil and water."

But a "memorandum of justification" contained in the report says that an
inert ingredient in the glyphosate formulation used in Colombia carries the
potential for acute eye toxicity.

It said that an EPA report concludes that the risks of eye damage are
limited to the "handlers and mixers of the concentrated formula as opposed
to the general public."

The report said a test sponsored by the State Department determined that
the spray mixture had a "category three" toxicity level based on an EPA
scale of one through four, with one being the most toxic.

A new formulation with lower potential for acute toxicity was recently
approved for use in Colombia. The report said the State Department expects
to place an order for the product early this month.

As the report was released, Lisa Haugaard of the Latin America Working
Group expressed concern that the evidence cited in the report will not be
adequate to certify that the program does not pose serious risks to human
health.

She said the studies presented as evidence that the spraying program poses
no risk to human health "were so poorly designed that they do not provide
any conclusive results."