The 4th International Biocidal Congress held between 25-29 March 2018 was successfully completed with the cooperation of Biocidal Occupational and Environmental Health Association and support of Çukurova University and Ege University, we would like to thank to those who contributed to the congress organization.
We exchanged information and experience in many topics such as the effect of climate change on vectors, insecticide resistance studies, rodenticides and resistance development, laboratory applications, occupational health and safety in biocidal products, biocidal product applications in health institutions and municipalities throughout the congress.
Our congress has been supported by Ministry of Environment and Urbanization, Ministry of Customs and Trade, Confederation of European Pest Management Associations, Paint Manufacturers Association, Public Health Pest Control Association, İstanbul Garment and Apparel Exporters' Association, İstanbul Chemicals and Products Exporters' Association, Turkish Union of Municipalities and Turkish White Goods Industrialists Association and public institutes and organizations and non-governmental organizations and many private sector organizations contributed to the congress organization.
16 sessions, 3 conferences, 1 workshop, 1 course has been realized in the congress scope, 28 verbal notices presented, 62 posters were exhibited. A total of 702 people, including 61 academics and speakers, 8 of them from abroad and 53 from Turkey, 257 health workers, 73 municipal employees, 28 students and 277 private sector representatives, attended our congress.
During the congress, the issue of biocidal products was discussed from various perspectives and the parties had the chance to share their knowledge, experiences and ideas.
As a result of the discussions in the scope of the congress, the following primary issues were decided:
1. Biocidal products and plant protection products exist to facilitate human life and to protect their products and activities from pests. However it should be kept in mind that many of them are products with chemical content. Active substances the use of which has been suspended in the European Union, is also suspended in our country. Although this is a positive development, it is necessary to detect and control the residues in foods and living spaces with practices.
2. Legislation on plant protection products should be developed and execution of works and procedures for plat protection products in fully electronic environment and product tracking with data matrix was ensured. It is extremely important that keeping biocidal products and active substances under control at all stages, from production and import to use and disposal; for sustainable use and minimizing the risks to human, animal and environmental health. For this reason, it is necessary to make legal regulations on the subject and to develop electronic applications.
3. Plant protection products and biocidal products, especially used outdoors pose a great risk especially for bees. Recently, mass bee deaths and physiological disorders have been observed. For that reason it is necessary the application of the products in question at night to be implemented when the bees are not active, informing the citizens dealing with beekeeping before the application and performing legal arrangements for these issues.
4. Thousands of cases are reported to the World Health Organization every year and more than 2 million people die from mosquito-borne diseases. Currently no sustainable biocide standard has been created however a global pest management system has been created in Europe for examining public health risks, informing the public, raising awareness and actively controlling. While 428 companies engaged in professional pest control are registered in Europe in our country this number is above 1000. It is necessary to standardize and legal arrangements must be in place to execute in an efficient manner in our country.
5. Climate change and temperature increase; creates better environments for vectors such as mosquitoes being most important factor of zika, chikungunya, dengue fever, malaria, west Nile fever, and yellow fever diseases. It is observed that the spread of Aedes aegypti has changed and Aedes albopictus has spread rapidly especially in Spain in the last year. Environmental changes, destruction of forests, reduced agriculture and increased meat production, urbanization and increased amount of stored water and increased travel causes easier dissemination of vectorial diseases. Besides efforts of preventing climate change these issues should be considered among the additional loads to be created by climate change.
6. Since the observation of the resistance development to DDT in the 1940s in pest control dating back to the 1500s BC resistance seems to be a major problem. It is seen that the suggested application doses for active substances are increased in the guidelines published by the World Health Organization. Improper timing, application and dosage of biocidal products can cause structural, behavioral, physiological, cross or special resistance development in insects. It is of great importance for the practitioners to read the labels and strictly follow the instructions for use, however, the tests performed in the laboratory environment may not fully reflect the current situation. For this reason, it is essential to follow the resistance formation and take the necessary actions to prevent it.
7. The pilot scheme initiated by the General Directorate of Public Health of the Ministry of Health to detect the development of resistance in houseflies and mosquitoes was appreciated. Preliminary data obtained from the project aiming to detect resistance emerging through mutation-induced new genetic gains in Konya and Şanlıurfa provinces shows us the possible existence of resistance development. In the continuation of the study, the nature, degree and course of the resistance will be identified and reported. Application of this pilot scheme in country wide is extremely important for the correct management of biocidal products for fighting against insects.
8. With thanks to use mechanical, physical and cultural fighting methods it has been noted that a very serious reduction in larvicide and insecticide consumption has been achieved. Instead of using only chemical products in municipal applications applying physical fighting methods by identifying reproduction sources and performing effective pest control with products without active substances but are used for biocidal purposes in open and closed areas is of extremely important for integrated insect management.
9. Ineffectiveness of the biocidal product may not mean that resistance has developed. Problems on application, problems with storage, water quality and pH values, the devices are not calibrated, the wind speed is not taken into account, the application is made at the wrong times and times, failing to rotate active ingredients, The amount of product in the package content is different from the amount written on the label, problems with production quality, lower purities, problems with inert substances are extremely effective on efficiency. In this respect, from the quality of the ingredients in the product to the quality of the production process; from the practitioner's ability to read labels to the calibration of application equipment; from storage conditions to water quality of the water used higher standard and guides should be formed for each stage.
10. Average pesticide content consists of 0.1-75% active substance, 5-30% emulsifier, 20-95% solvent. In this respect, it is not appropriate to evaluate only the toxicity and eco-toxicity data of the active substance. Purity of other components just as in active substances, their impurity acute or chronic toxic effects, effects on environmental compartments such as water, soil and air, effects of metabolites should be considered.
11. Rodenticide induced secondary poisoning poses a great risk especially for birds and mammals. As anticoagulants do not have a repulsive odor, colored granular rodenticides look attractive to non-target organisms are especially dangerous for children. Regulations regarding rodenticides need to be developed to reduce the exposure of vulnerable groups. In addition, increasing the use of physical control methods and active substances other than anticoagulants and encouraging the development of alternative active substances are necessary.
12. Medical device disinfectants are registered by the Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency, biocidal products such as surface disinfectants and pest control products are licensed by General Directorate of Public Health. In addition to documenting product effectiveness, it is important to demonstrate compliance with quality standards. In this respect, municipalities, public and private hospitals need to purchase effective, quality and licensed or registered products conforming to the area and target organism for their procurements from other institutes and organizations.
13. Unnecessary, excessive or less than recommended use of disinfectants in terms of hospital infection exposure of microorganisms to disinfectant’s residual concentrations is the reason of resistance development. Antimicrobial resistance is a phenomenon with a more serious course, more difficult to treat and costly. For this reason, disinfectants should be prepared with appropriate dilutions and stored under appropriate conditions, used with proper indications effect spectra should be known, resistance profiles should be determined, periodic controls should be made and used.
14. Meeting the administrative and technical requirements for laboratory accreditation and creating technical infrastructure is also important. Traceability, repeatability, measurement uncertainty and proficiency tests are critical concepts. It is a requirement that biocidal product analyzes are carried out in accredited laboratories. In addition, the regulation on the Working Procedures and Principles of Biocidal Product Laboratories needs to be updated.
15. In recent years, it has been observed that the idea that people and their environment should be clean as if they are undergoing surgery has become widespread through perception management and the word hygiene has been abused. However, there is no point in being so hygienic and trying to create hygienic environments. Advertising legislation places the burden of proof on the claimant however, some products concern more than one public agency. Unnecessary and uncontrolled use of chemicals can cause vital health problems. In this respect, it is necessary to develop the legislation, ensure the cooperation of institutions, clarify the usage purposes of the products and prevent perception management.
16. For biocidal products, it is important to choose packaging materials suitable for their chemical structure. Incorrect packaging material selection, especially in active substances such as sodium hypochlorite, hydrogen peroxide and povidone iodine affects product stability and in some cases the product content. Creating some products at the place of use rather than packaging is a much more effective solution. Legal arrangements regarding the authorization and use of on-site biocidal products should be enacted as soon as possible.
17. With the publication of the Regulation on Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals another important step has been taken in the harmonization of chemicals legislation with the European Union legislation. It is necessary to ensure harmonization with the European Union legislation on biocidal products in a short time, registration, evaluation, authorization and restriction of active substances to be carried out in our country with the high-level cooperation of the relevant ministries.
18. It is necessary to pay attention to occupational health and safety in the storage, transportation, application and disposal stages as well as in the production phase of biocidal products, identifying possible risks, creating worst-case scenarios and taking measures accordingly.
19. In addition to having no legal regulation on articles treated with biocidal products rejecting internationally accepted tests creates problems in the production of data on biocidal products. By making legal arrangements and preparing guide documents in the earliest convenience it is necessary to accept the tests carried out in accredited institutions with standard methods and to eliminate the problems experienced in the sector.
4th BIOCIDAL CONGRESS ORGANIZATION COUNCIL