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Are we aware of aluminium phosphide poisoning?

The lethal gas that may have caused the death of two siblings in Dhaka
The tragic death of two siblings in the capital’s Bashundhara Residential Area, allegedly from pesticide poisoning, has yet again reminded us how cheap our lives can be in a country that has failed to ensure basic safety and security of its citizens. Sadly, news of unnatural deaths – in road crashes, fire incidents, gas explosions, etc – have become a regular part of our everyday lives. However, the fact that two children would have to die in the “safety” of their own home just because a pest control agency did not do its job properly is inconceivable.
Reportedly, Mobarak Hossain, the father of the two children – Shayan Mobarrat Zahin, 15, an eighth-grader, and Shahir Mobarrat Zayan, 9, a third-grader – hired a pest control agency to rid their home of cockroaches. The employees of the agency spread the pesticides in their house on June 2 and asked the family to stay out of the house for two to three hours. But the family decided to take extra precaution and returned to the house after about 10 hours. Yet, all five family members fell sick soon after arriving home and inhaling the toxic fumes. As the state of the two children deteriorated, they had to be admitted to a private hospital, where both of them passed away.
I was horrified at the news, and the first question that came to my mind was: did the children die of aluminium phosphide poisoning? Aluminum phosphide is a chemical that emits a poisonous gas that not only kills insects, but is also dangerous for humans. A local news agency later reported that the pest control company had used aluminium phosphide tablets as a pesticide in the house, which likely led to the death of the two children.
I first learned about this life-threatening chemical a few years ago, when a relative was looking for a solution to bed bugs and had hired a pest control agency to get rid of the insects from his house. The agency used some tablets to kill the bugs while the entire family was away for a whole day. And this did result in their house being free of bed bugs from thereon.
However, after a brief internet search, I came across news of how people across the world, including in the US, UAE, Thailand, and India, had died after inhaling this poisonous gas, following which the countries have implemented stricter regulations to control the use of this chemical. The UAE banned pesticides containing aluminium phosphide for public use back in 2009.
But aluminium phosphide is available in the form of tablets in Bangladesh, largely being sold by street vendors and used by pest control companies.
Reportedly, if aluminium phosphide gas is inhaled by humans, it can prove fatal within hours. And if not treated properly, a majority of the affected may die within 24 hours. The chemical is particularly lethal for children and the elderly.
However, in Bangladesh, it is sold openly for pest control purposes. During my commute to my office in the capital’s Farmgate area, I regularly come across street vendors advertising and selling these tablets (among other pesticides) to people, under the very noses of law enforcers. Once, I asked a street vendor how to use these tablets. He gave me specific directions to keep the tablet in a room and stay out of the house for at least two days. It is supposed to “work like magic.”
Forget about street vendors; professional pest control organisations in Dhaka have been using this lethal chemical for years. The question is: are they using it with approval from the government? Do they have the necessary knowledge and training to safely use this highly toxic pesticide, which has no antidote for those affected by it? Reportedly, the company that used the chemical in the Bashundhara house had told the residents to enter the house two to three hours after the pesticide had been spread – while the gas was still present in the house. This clearly indicates the company’s lack of knowledge about the chemicals they are using in fumigating households. Their incompetence and negligence have now possibly caused the deaths of two young children.
According to a BARI official, aluminium phosphide tablets are not banned in the country, but their use is restricted. These tablets are basically meant for use in warehouses to protect foodgrains from insects. They should never be used for household pest control. How, then, are the pest control agencies using them?
Unfortunately, aluminium phosphide is not the only pesticide that is being sold openly in the city. According to Dr Syeda Sultana Razia, a professor at the department of chemical engineering in Buet, many other harmful insecticides which should only be used for pest control in agricultural fields are being sold in the capital’s markets, without any monitoring from the authorities.
The onus is now on the government to look into the issue and take the required measures to restrict the sale of these lethal chemicals in the country. It is also high time that government authorities learned about pest control from the experiences of developed nations and formulated strict regulations regarding the use of such dangerous chemicals in households. Otherwise, we might see more such deaths from pesticide poisoning in the future.
Since the father of the deceased children has filed a case against the pest control company, it is up to the police now to properly investigate the incident and bring those responsible for the children’s death to justice. Such acts of negligence must not go unpunished.