How safe are the maggots we use?

[MarkTheSpark]

To my certain knowledge, the makers of chrysoidine (for such is it spelt) ICI will no longer supply anyone but the paper industry with the stuff.

Clive Smith wasn't the only bladder cancer victim - there were several, including a women's national champion, ('May' someone or other?)I think. I spoke to the chief toxicologist of ICI at the time, in the mid 80s, and he said chrysoidine was a KNOWN carcinogen, that its effects on people dyeing paper with it were known, and that he'd be pushing to withdraw it from general sale outside of industry.

The jury's not out on chrysoidine; soak yourself in the stuff and, if you're susceptible, you could get bladder cancer. And it's ONLY bladder cancer - a fairly rare cancer.

 

[Graham Whatmore]

I presume you mean Mae Vince from Evesham(who ran Twyford farm fishery and I knew well} but it was never put down to using chrysoidine maggots and I have never heard of anyone in the angling world other than Clive Smith who died of bladder cancer where chrysoidine was <u>suspected</u> as the cause.

Even Clive Smith's death didn't stop the use of Chrysoidine and it was never proven that the chemical was the cause anyway, it was only <u>suspected</u> and no one will ever convince me that chrysoidine caused his death. Too many anglers used the bait just as much as he did and never had bladder cancer, his next door neighbour and constant fishing companion Ken Giles being but one example, me being another because I never used anything else on the river along with thousands of others every week.

No one has ever proven that Chrysoidine causes cancer it just one in a mile long list of chemicals that <u>may</u> be a cause and regardless of what you think Mark it is still used to colour maggots today.

 

[MarkTheSpark]

In an original stidy in 1985, the one I was referring to, scientists has calculated a three-fold increase in risk, and identified five anglers from a sample of 99 pairs of people who had contracted bladder cancer and fished with dyed maggots.

But you are right; since then the stats have been brought into question, as are some tests with rodents. My apologies. I didn't know that the original tests had since been discredited.