Santo Domingo.- The National Institute for the Protection of Consumer Rights (Pro Consumidor) declared on Tuesday its commitment to monitoring and regulating the retail sale of widely used, “highly dangerous” pesticides. This decision comes in the aftermath of a tragic incident last Sunday in the Piantini sector of the capital, where a woman and her two-month-old baby died following an apartment fumigation.
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Eddy Alcántara, the executive director of Pro Consumidor, disclosed that an investigation conducted by the institution in various establishments in Greater Santo Domingo, San Cristóbal, and Santiago revealed that these pesticides are sold “without any type of control.” To address this issue, a surveillance mechanism will be implemented to ensure responsible sales and proper use of these products.
Alcántara emphasized the intention to enforce measures and decisions taken by the Ministry of Agriculture, the entity responsible for authorizing the import and marketing of these agricultural, urban, and school pesticides. Following the verification that aluminum phosphide was the cause of the tragic incident, Pro Consumidor will establish conditional restrictive mechanisms to regulate its marketing and ensure responsible handling by experts.
The official affirmed the commitment to faithfully implement measures related to the traceability and use of pesticides, including aluminum phosphide, methyl bromide, zinc phosphorus, and magnesium phosphorus. The surveillance efforts will be continuous to prevent the recurrence of such tragedies that have deeply impacted Dominican society.
Pro Consumidor has already identified businesses with significant sales of these products, subjecting them to strict surveillance to comply with measures taken by the Ministry of Agriculture. Alcántara assured that the institution’s vigilance would guarantee that the marketing and use of such products adhere to appropriate measures, similar to the approach taken with the use of “devil’s acid.”
It is noteworthy that the government, through the Minister of the Presidency, Joel Santos, announced a temporary prohibition on the import of the chemical used in the fatal fumigation incident in the Piantini sector.
