Paraquat spraying blamed for poisoning

Press, 28 December 1985, Page 7

Paraquat spraying blamed for poisoning

By TESSA WARD The Christchurch Drainage Board’s spraying of stream and drain banks with paraquat could be one source of paraquat poisoning, according to a Christchurch doctor, Dr Robert Blackmore. “It is difficult to pinpoint exactly how people become poisoned by paraquat because the herbicide is used so extensively,” he said recently. “What I have found is that quite a number of the patients who I am treat-

ing for paraquat poisoning come from paraquatsprayed rural areas.” Dr Blackmore has recently begun using the same method of diagnosis as an Auckland doctor, Dr Matthew Tizard, called electro-acupuncture according to Voll. He is using homeopathic treatment for each patient whom he has diagnosed as suffering from chemical poisoning. This involves the administering of minute amounts of the particular

chemical, which is believed to detoxify the patient’s body.

Large quantities of water were drunk and drops administered by mouth to help the patient’s excretion, Dr Blackmore said.

The diagnosis method used by the two doctors is still controversial and under investigation, according to the Medical Officer of Health in Christchurch, Dr Bill Malpress. “There is a degree of scepticism, controversy and

questioning about both the diagnosis method and the homeopathic form of treatment,” he said yesterday. “Some people doubt that some methods of treatment have been subjected to the kind of rigorous tests and controls that would be ideal to get a cut and dried answer as to why and how these methods work,” Dr Malpress said.' Dr Blackmore' said that two of his patients, whom he alleged had suffered from paraquat poisoning, had been spraying with paraquat. “They have been particularly depressed and have required a psychiatrist,” he said.

“Other patients with a paraquat poisoning diagnosis have shown symptoms of fatigue, poor memory and concentration, stomach cramping, head and muscle aches and depression. If. untreated these symptoms tend to drag on although I don’t know what the longterm effect of the poisoning is,” Dr Blackmore said. Of the first 100 patients whom Dr Blackmore has diagnosed, three showed paraquat poisoning, 26

revealed 2,4,5-T poisoning, and the majority viral infections, he said. “So, paraquat poisoning appears to be not such a.big problem in this region compared with Dr Tizard’s indications that it is a major problem round Wellington where paraquat is sprayed extensively,” Dr Blackmore said.

Auckland firemen suffering from paraquat poisoning after the I.C.L chemical fire last December have been treated by Dr Tizard using minute doses of paraquat. The Fire Service’s assistant commissioner, Mr Barry Radovin, said recently that the treatment was the only one giving his men any relief.

Sixty firemen have been treated by Dr Tizaid since the fire. Another 60 were awaiting treatment at the end of November by Dr Tizard, including intravenous feeding of vitamin C, and breathing pure oxygen in a hyperbaric chamber. The poisoned firemen were reported to have complained of dizzy spells, lethargy, and irritability. “It appears that all the ingredients in paraquat are

bad for human health,” Dr Blackmore said. “The Health Department has yet to endorse the electro-acu-puncture according to Voll diagnosis, which is recognised in other countries including France, Germany, Britain, and the United States,” he said.

Dr Blackmore said he had not reported his cases of chemical poisoning to the department. “I feel that until, the department recognises this method of diagnosis I would be wasting their time and they would be wasting mine,” he said. In November, Dr Tizard reported 30 alleged Christchurch cases of 2,4,5-T poisoning to the Health Department In response, the Health Department set Up a • task force to look into 50 cases of alleged chemical spray poisoning, including these 30 cases and 20 paraquat cases in Auckland. The head of the Wellington Clinical School’s clinical pharmacology department, Dr Tim Maling, heads the task force which must - report to the Director-General of Health, Df Ron Barker. Included in the report

will be the steps taken in the diagnosis, its validity, and a history of each patient’s exposure to the particular chemical in ques-

The chairman of the South Island Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME. or Tapanui flu) Support Group, Mrs Sandra Hyder, said recently that about 150 sufferers of . ME. had gone to Dr Tizard and been diagnosed as having 2,4,5-T poisoning. Almost all the patients from. Sumner and South New Brighton suffering from ME. had . been diagnosed as having 2,4,5-T poisoning, Mrs Hyder said. Dr Blackmore said he had diagnosed and treated more than 200 patients by Christmas, including a traffic officer and firemen who were at. the scene of a recent chemical fire in the Christchurch railway yards. “These two meh were diagnosed as having 2,4,5-T poisoning; I would imagine that during its research, the Health Department’s task force will want to interview me about my methods' of diagnosis .and, treatment,” Dr Blackmore said.