Specialists from the regional Disinfection Center spoke about the dangers of uncontrolled use of disinfectants in everyday life. To avoid accidents, they recommend using the services of professionals.

As is customary, people began to talk about the dangers of disinfection, deratization and pest control agents after the emergency. In October, two cases of poisoning occurred in Aktau. Two victims, children under three years old, died. According to the head of the department of the North Kazakhstan Disinfection Center, Irina Tupova, this is a consequence of the abolition of license requirements. Since that time, pesticides have become widely available in the retail chain.

“At the same time, the population often lacks special skills and knowledge to use them. This was the case in cases of poisoning in the Mangistau region, in Almaty and Shymkent, when residents of apartment buildings, carrying out disinfestation against bedbugs in their apartments, left their homes during the treatment, without warning their neighbors about the treatment; as a result, it was the residents of neighboring apartments who suffered,” - said the head of the department of  the North Kazakhstan Disinfection Center  Irina Tupova.

In her opinion, only professionals should deal with the destruction of harmful insects in apartments and other premises. According to Irina Tupova, the Disinfection Center uses only drugs of the fourth hazard class. Whereas on the market you can even buy the first one, which is prohibited from free sale.  

“In 2020, a ban was established for individual entrepreneurs and legal entities on the sale of pest control and deratization products of hazard classes 1, 2, 3. Despite the preventive measures taken, cases of drug poisoning are repeated. This year, nine cases of toxic poisoning of unknown etiology with a fatal outcome were registered in Aktau. When the circumstances were clarified, it was found that the apartment was treated against insects independently with the chemical preparation “Quikfos”. It is a highly dangerous pesticide and is strictly prohibited for use in residential premises,” says Irina Tupova.

Currently in Kazakhstan there is no official ban on self-treatment by apartment residents. However, after fatal cases of poisoning, they began to talk about introducing licensing for this type of activity from July 1, 2024. Sellers illegally selling pesticides will be fined.

This year, specialists at the Disinfection Center received 142 requests for the destruction of bedbugs, 32 for cockroaches, two for ants, and 17 requests for deratization and deodorization.

Source: Qazaqstan Media