Dichlofluanid. Wood preservative ruined 200 homes in Denmark.

FLUORIDE ACTION NETWORK PESTICIDE PROJECT

Dichlofluanid. Wood preservative ruined 200 homes in Denmark.

Issue 17, Chemical Awareness (2001)
http://www.chemical-awareness.com/news.php?nid=18&aid=433

Chemical Awareness is financially supported by the Danish Environmental Protection Agency, the Swedish National Chemicals Inspectorate and the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation.

Wood preservative ruined 200 homes

By: Christian Ege Jørgensen, The Danish Ecological Council.

A wood preservative with the active ingredient dichlofluanid (a sulfamide fungicide) has created a disaster in Denmark. It was marketed in Denmark under the retail product name "Rentolin", and without a warning against indoor uses. (In other EU countries the product name may be different. We know that some wood preservatives containing dichlofluanid are marketed as e.g. "Preventol" and "Flourofolpet").

Around 200 people used Rentolin indoors and suffered serious injury. Many houses are now uninhabitable, and several people suffer from chronic diseases. Some have the diagnosis of MCS [Multiple Chemical Sensibility], meaning that they have violent reaction to all kinds of volatile chemical substances, natural and manmade as well. The sufferers have now formed a union of "Rentolin-injured" people, and have sued the importer. However he escaped to the United States. Experts are not unanimous that the said injuries were caused by dichlofluanid, but to us it appears to be the most likely explanation. Danish EPA finds it more probable that the organic solvent (a kind of white spirit) in Rentolin caused the disorders. But if so, we find it hard to understand why similar disorders have not been seen with indoor use of other products containing organic solvents, such as floor varnishes. The Rentolin case is probably the worst chemical disaster Denmark has seen for decades. We have urged the Danish EPA to make a thorough investigation of the causes, but still this has not been done. Now the same demand has been raised in the Danish parliament.

According to the EU, dichlofluanid is being used in Ireland, UK, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Greece. It is not included in any of the lists for European re-assessment of active ingredients under 91/414, though. As for Sweden we know that Rentolin was always marketed with the label "Only for outdoor use", but we do not know about other countries. Dichlofluanid is on the EU list of hazardous substances, classified as an allergen and hazardous to the environment.

We have already informed NGOs in other countries via the EEB chemicals group and the PAN-Europe (Pesticide Action Network). We recommend that NGOs investigate whether similar injuries have been found in other countries. If investigations show that dichlofluanid caused such disorders a joint call for a ban on the production and use of dichlofluanid in Europe must be considered.

More information: Christian Ege Joergensen: christian@ecocouncil.dk