Transcript To spray or not to spray?

Presented by
Rita Pakalniskyte
Marie-Helene Pech
Marcin Otorowski
Iris Müller
Anne-Laure Mairesse
Case background
 DDT – Dichloro – Diphenyl - Trichloroethane
 DDT as a way of preventing malaria
 Malaria facts:
 2-3 million deaths annualy
 350 – 500 million people affected
 Economic loss (1/2 billion dollars per year)
 Threat of 40% world population
 Mostly affect poor, developing countries
 Since 1939 DDT is commonly used for fighting against
malaria
The problem
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Long half-life length (up to 15 years),
Bio-accumulates in human body and environment,
Passed from mother to infants during breast feeding
No one ever died from sprayed DDT
No proofs that it cannot lead to death nor
environment pollution (asbestos example).
 UNO considers banning usage of DDT -> less polluted
environment but higher amount of malaria infections.
Environment vs human life
Principal values for decision
• Human health and life
• Natural environment
• Financing
Possible options
Approve the ban
Keep using DDT
Other options?
Why to use, why not to use DDT?
Efficient and cheap way of defeating
malaria
Spread of malaria
Unknown effect on human health and
environment
Economy profit
Irreversible to the nature
If banned, many people will die
Huge risk taken
No sure anything better will come up
But still, there is a risk
Limited use, indoor use
What risk can we afford?
No risk-fee technology
The choice
Marie:
„We should not ban DDT. It can save many
people. I am aware of risk, but the benefits
are definitely worth it”
Marcin:
„We should ban DDT. We can’t afford
such a high risk, and be responsible for
its effects”
Two methods
of making this decision
Risk / Benefit analysis
Precautionary principle
Risk/benefits analysis vs
precautionary principle
Risk / benefit analysis
Precautionary principle
You must prove the potential benefit is
valuable enough to take some risk
connected.
You must prove it is completely safe to
introduce particular technology
Focuses on proper management of the
risk
Focuses on eliminating the risk
With precautionary principle, there
wouldn’t be such invention like cellular
phones, nuclear power plants etc.
With precautionary principle, there
wouldn’t be ozone depletion, harmful
effects of asbestos and haloalkanes etc.
The decision
 Awareness of difficulty of choice
 Complex issue
 Choosing less evil solution
 Ethical and moral problem
 Consequences
 Our solution – to limit usage of DDT