JEDDAH: Jeddah’s Center for Poison and Medication wants to work closely with the city’s municipality, especially to ensure insecticide spraying is not posing a danger to public health.
“Repeated spraying of insecticides may carry dangerous side effects. Pesticides should be sprayed taking into account their quality, contents and effect on human health and other plant life in any given location,” director of the center Hassan Al-Ghamdi told Arab News on Tuesday.
He added that he received several complaints from homeowners affected by the recent flooding disaster that their water tanks had become contaminated with toxic substances. He also stressed the need for laws closely regulating insecticide use.
The municipality confirmed on Tuesday that health workers sprayed around 18,560 liters of insecticides in 165 locations throughout the city on Saturday.
Assistant undersecretary for markets and food materials, Mahmoud Kansara, who also supervises the municipality’s Crisis Management Department, said the comprehensive municipal plan to combat germs and diseased animals was prepared with due consideration for environmental protection.
The municipality sprayed areas including Balad, Breiman, Jamiah, Aziziah and Sharafiah among others.
According to a report from the authority, 14 special vehicles and over 200 pieces of equipment including hand sprays and mounted sprayers were used in the operation.
Kansara said the insecticides were sprayed mostly in locations where diseases were likely to spread, such as areas where pools of stagnant water were present.
This was in order to prevent mosquitoes spreading the dengue virus, particularly in flood hit districts.
