Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 150
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 151
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181]
LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Mitigating toxicity -Tapan Kumar Maitra

Mitigating toxicity -Tapan Kumar Maitra

Share this article Share this article
published Published on Oct 1, 2015   modified Modified on Oct 1, 2015
-The Statesman

The toxicity of pesticides to humans, their ability to remain in the environment and accumulate in products require the establishment of strict scientifically substantiated regulations for their safe application. In India, the rules for using pesticides are worked out together by the Union ministries for agriculture and health. Every year, an approved “List of Chemical and Biological Means for Controlling Pests, Plant Diseases and Weeds Allowed to be used in Agriculture” is jointly issued by the ministries. Consequently, when employing pesticides, it is necessary to adhere to the list approved for the current year and also abide by the instructions on the application of the pesticides compiled in strict conformity with the requirements adopted for the relevant substances.

The recommended rates of usage must be observed strictly. Excessive use of a particular pesticide may lead to its large accumulation in the environment and in the products obtained. To protect the health of the population and prevent the circulation of pesticides in nature, sanitary norms have been established for the maximum tolerated concentrations of pesticides in the air of the working zone, water of open basins and in the soil. Of special significance is control of the amount of pesticides in the soil because it constitutes the source of contamination of food products, water basins and air. The content in the soil is controlled in the spring before field work starts. When the topsoil contains persistent pesticides (carbaryl, HCH, polychloropinene, toxaphene) in amounts exceeding the maximum tolerated levels, only grain and technical crops may be grown and surface treatment with these pesticides is prohibited.

For the sanitary control of pesticide residues in products, standard values of the tolerance levels in various food products and fodder are determined for each substance. These indices are coordinated by the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation and the World Health Organisation. The values of the maximum tolerated residual amounts (tolerance levels) are established from the results of tests after studying the toxicity of a pesticide to animals and from the determination of the dynamics of the residues in the relevant culture. Cultures differ substantially in their ability to accumulate pesticides. For example, with a toxaphene content in the soil of 10 mg/kg, plants absorbed from two to 46 mg of the pesticide per kilogram of their mass.

The smallest values of the tolerance levels are established for dietetic food products (milk, eggs, meat) and somewhat higher ones for vegetables and  fruit. For example, in India the tolerance level of HCH (a mixture of hexachl-orocyclohexane isomers) in meat, eggs, milk, dairy products and sugar must never exceed 0.005 mg/kg, in cereal crops 0.2 mg/kg, and in potatoes and vegetables 0.5 mg/kg. No residues of heptachlor, carbaryl, 2, 4-D, mercury compounds, polychloropinene, parathion-methyl, thiram, etc, are tolerated in any food products.

The magnitudes of the tolerance levels vary with progress in investigations of the toxicity of pesticides and their influence on the environment. These levels are used to establish the harvest time (the time that must elapse after the last treatment with a pesticide before a crop may be harvested). All pesticides applied to plants or incorporated into the soil not later than harvest time remain in amounts not exceeding the tolerance levels or completely decompose. It is determined by the persistence of the substance and also by its toxicological and sanitary properties. For rapidly detoxicating substances, harvest time is two to 20 days, and for more toxic ones a couple of months.

When persistent pesticides have to be used, nevertheless, within shorter periods or on crops in which they may accumulate, regulations for using the products obtained are established. To prevent the possible poisoning of workers in fields treated with pesticides, the periods when work is permitted (re-entry times) and the conditions of work are regulated. For example, after the use of persistent pesticides such as HCH, work not associated with soil cultivation may be performed after six days, while work associated with cultivation of the soil may be performed only after two weeks.

Another important condition for ensuring the safety of workers and protection of the environment from contamination with pesticides is the strict observance of the safety rules in the storage, transportation, and use of toxicants in agriculture released by the Union ministry for agriculture and approved by the Union ministry for health. Strict observance of the standards and rules adopted for controlling pesticide use will ensure reliable prophylaxis of poisoning and effective protection of the environment.


The Statesman, 30 September, 2015, http://www.thestatesman.com/news/voices/mitigating-toxicity/93661.html


Related Articles

 

Write Comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

Video Archives

Archives

share on Facebook
Twitter
RSS
Feedback
Read Later

Contact Form

Please enter security code
      Close