By Robert A. Emmanuel
Could Antigua and Barbuda be inching closer to the end of mosquito coils usage on the island?
Although research has shown that one may not need to look too far to see a recently lit coil with its distinctive smell and, as the name suggests, coiled appearance whether it is being used on one’s verandah, bedroom, or kitchen.
While the insecticide product has been generally considered safe, it is the particulate matter produced from a smouldering mosquito coil that poses the greatest risk, and the Pesticides Toxic and Chemical Control Board has been advocating for alternative measures to repel the common but irritating insect.
Chairman of the Pesticides Toxic and Chemical Control Board, Dr Linroy Christian further explained this point to Observer media.
“You are talking about burning a product, so you are combusting a something indoors while increasing the fine particulate matter indoors.
“The actual active ingredients are not necessarily the problem, because the concentration is not particularly high but when you have other components of that coil like the dyes, like the material you are combusting; that is where those secondary items are what may pose a problem for you,” he said yesterday.
During an interview with state media last week which had ignited the debate over the use of the repellent product, Dr Christian stated that there were “ways in which products should be used that doesn’t cause you undue harm.”
As he told our newsroom, “I gave the example of mothballs that everybody would put to deodorise places, but those are supposed to be used in a very specific context where you are supposed to put them in a closed container as they are not designed for you to inhale all of the time.”
According to Dr Christian, the issue wasn’t new as the Board had stopped accepting the registration of new coil products on the market for at least a year.
“We [the Board] looked into the types that were being put forth for registration and we made a decision not to bring those types of materials onto the market,” he said.
The comments came on the back of the Board celebrating Chemicals Awareness Week 2023 under the theme: “Safe Use and Management of Chemicals Is Our Collective Responsibility.”