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NEWS ÜVERVIEW
World Events andTrends
Common
European
Currene
y
the form of a common
economic unit that is
growing in popularity and
usage.
lntroduced in 1979, the
E
uropeans have taken
European Currency Unit
another step in their long (ECU) has become one of
quest for unity. lt appears in the most sought alter
EXCHANGE RATES*
MAKEUP OF TOTAL ECU VALUE
IN 0RDER OF
VALUE OF ECU FLUCTUATES ALONG
INFWENCE ON ECU
WITH VALUES OF MEMBER CURRENCIES
ACCORDING TO THESE PROPORTIONS:
.60 BRITISH POUNDS
t384 .09
!TALlAN LIRE
2.52
DUTCH GUILDERS
44.91
BELG./LUX. FRANCS
8.03
DANISH KRONES
91 .32
GREEK DRACHMAS
Farmers
Risk Chemical
Poisoning
H
ealth-conscious
consumers have worried
for years about the use of
chemicals on farm produce.
Some of the greatest risks
in the use of herbicides and
pesticides are suffered by
the farmers themselves.
According to the
Australian Oepartment of
Health, some 10 percent of
Australian farmers are
POISoning themselves with
farm chemicals each
summer. Chemical blood
April 1985
1 SH POUND
1.2%
RACHMA
1.3%
DAN ISH l<RONE
2.7%
)
BELG./U:i~FRANC
% ':'\
¡DUTCH,
GUILDER
)
10.1%
!TALlAN
LIRA
10 2o,t;
poisoning affected 11.5
percent of orchardists in the
Goulburn and Shepparton
districts during spraying
season, for example. In New
South Wales, about 10
percent of graziers and 15
percent of horticulturists
were found to have some
degree of chemical blood
poisoning.
Although no deaths have
resulted, some farmers
experienced loss of strength
and impaired breathing
because of high levels of
organophosphates in their
blood.
In the more severe cases,
victims of chemical
mediums of borrowing and
lending on the international
financia! market.
The acronym
ECU
is
reminiscent of !he name of
an old, widely circulated
French coin, the écu, dating
from the 14th century.
Common Market
members have used the
ECU as an accounting
medium and as an aid in
establishing relative fixed
exchange rates among their
currencies. Part of what has
made !he ECU so desirable
is its stability. Since it is tied
to the European monetary
system, the ECU's
exchange rates are not
§
subject to fluctuations of
; other currencies such as the
w
U.S. dollar.
~
The ECU's growth in
~
popularity has been
!
dramatic.
:;:
ECU Eurobond issues
poisoning suffer from
nausea, paralysis,
headaches, blurred vision
and excessive sweating.
The problem has been
attributed to the farmers'
failure l o wear protective
clothing and to follow strict
safety precautions. Most
poisonings occur when
chemicals are absorbed
through the skin.
Not all the poisonous
symptoms and side effects
of common farm chemicals
have been firmly
established. Pesticides
containing organochlorines
may be cancer causing. In
1983, the Royal Hobart
now rank third behind !he
U.S. dollar and the West
German mark. And while
European consumers cannot
yet use ECUs in place of
marks, francs, guilders,
pounds, krones, lire or
drachmas, a prototype of
an ECU coin has already
been minted . This year,
European banks will
introduce traveler 's checks
denominated in ECUs.
How much will the ECU
eventually affect Europe?
Robert Ball , wril ing in
Fortune
magazine, noted:
"Though the EC
bureaucrats in Brussels
were astonished by the
explosive growth of the
ECU, they 're hardly
complaining. They see the
ECU as the forerunner of a
European currency that will
help unite Europe
politically." •
Hospital in Tasmania noted
a high incidence of leukemia
among apple growers using
large quantities of
insecticides. •
Spraying soybeans: not al/
poisonous effects ha11e been
established.
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