HEALTH CONCERNS LINKED TO FUMIGATION

Parliament of Singapore · 11 January 2010

Official Report, 11 January 2010, Vol 86, Issue 14 · Open in the reader (summaries, search, filters)

27.

Mr Baey Yam Keng asked the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources how does his Ministry ensure that proper fumigation by private companies is carried out to address the mosquito breeding problem adequately without causing undue health concerns, inconvenience and discomfort to the public.

Column: 1967

Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Source reduction, or eliminating potential mosquito breeding grounds, is the most effective and direct method for reducing the mosquito population. Fogging is targeted at adult mosquitoes and should be used only where there is a need to quickly reduce a large mosquito population in an area.

To ensure fogging is carried out safely, only authorised personnel licensed by NEA are allowed to carry out fogging. They are required to don proper personal protective equipment and observe proper operating procedures when fogging. These include observing safety precautions when handling the equipment and keeping the public and animals away when fogging is in progress. In addition, NEA only permits the use of insecticides that do not exceed the toxicity levels specified by the World Health Organization to be used in fogging. These insecticides degrade rapidly in the environment.

Pest control operators are required to notify NEA of any fogging operations to be conducted. To minimise any inconvenience and discomfort to the public, pest control operators are also required to inform premises affected by the fogging in advance. Town Councils and property managers are likewise encouraged to give notice of fogging to their residents as a best practice.

NEA carries out spot checks on fogging operations to ensure that these correct fogging practices are observed. The licence of the pest control operator or personnel may be suspended or revoked if their fogging practices are found to compromise public safety. Although no licence was suspended or revoked so far, written warnings were issued to some pest control operators for failing to inform the affected premises of their fogging operation.

Source: Singapore Parliament Official Report (Hansard) for 11 January 2010. Republished on SGParliament.