Slow poison: how Queensland government workers paid the price for fruit fly eradication
Written by Ben Smee
During the 1990s, workers were told not to worry about breathing in the poison, but years later they suffer debilitating illnesses
Robert Paul Sharman remembers how the smell of the gas would linger.
Outside the fumigation chambers it hung around, bonded to the tropical North Queensland air, amid the hottest November on record. When Sharman went home, and nursed his baby son to sleep, the odour of the gas was still there.
Doctors who I’ve spoken to say there’s no doubt that’s what it is. But I can’t get anyone to put it in writing.
Ethylene dibromide (EDB) was historically used as a soil and post-harvest fumigant for crops, including wheat grains and fruit. It is highly toxic. EDB is most dangerous when inhaled but can be absorbed into the body by penetrating the skin.
Doctors now know about lead but it took a long time. Doctors know now about asbestos but it took a long time.
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