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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | The Perils of Endosulfan

The Perils of Endosulfan

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published Published on Apr 26, 2011   modified Modified on Apr 26, 2011

As the stage is set for the crucial meeting of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP), a global regime to protect human health and the environment from dangerous chemicals, to be held in Geneva from April 25, a showdown between the Centre and Kerala has been underway. In the meeting with an all-party delegation from Kerala, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has reiterated the position taken by Union ministers Sharad Pawar and Jairam Ramesh on the question of a nationwide ban on endosulfan. It is now obvious that the die has been cast in favour of an exemption rather than a ban on the pesticide. Though more than 80 countries have banned endosulfan, the most crucial could be the position of India, which is the biggest endosulfan supplier in the world. But the indications are that India, which would play a divisive role in the Geneva talks, is in favour of seeking an exemption for endosulfan rather than a total ban.

For the Centre, the startling data from the Kasargod district of Kerala are not enough for a total ban. The datasheet on endosulfan provided by the WHO and UNEP is also not sufficient for the Centre for a rethink. Moreover, it's strange that India appears to be unconcerned about why 87 countries , including the US and the EU, have banned the chemical. It is not approved to be used in rice fields in several other countries. The use is severely restricted in others. Endosulfan has been sold under different trade names in different countries. It is widely recognised today that endosulfan is one of the dangerous insecticides belonging to the class of compounds called organochlorines . India is one of the largest global producers of endosulfan. It is the supplier of 70% of the world's endosulfan needs - a market valued at $300 million (Rs 1,340 crore). Out of the 9,000 tonnes India produces every year, half is bought by the country's 75 million farmers, making it the world's largest consumer of endosulfan as well. That explains New Delhi's reluctance to impose a ban.

Endosulfan has been extensively used in India and is one of the prime agents of pesticide poisoning. Many studies concluded that it has been dreadfully toxic to humans, fish and other aquatic life. It causes a plethora of adverse effects, including death, disease and birth defects, among humans and animals. The toxicity would result in cancer, allergies and hypersensitivity, damage to the central and peripheral nervous systems, reproductive disorders and disruption of the immune system. Coffee growers in Colombia had complained that endosulfan was much worse than the insect pest broca, which it seeks to eliminate. Innumerable respiratory problems among workers were reported and researchers found significant quantities of endosulfan in the blood and urine of agricultural workers. The Pesticide Action Network has recorded a number of cases of adverse effects of endosulfan in different countries. In the US, endosulfan had caused adverse impact on the aquatic life. It was the primary cause of pesticide poisoning in Sudan , Malaysia, the Philippines , Colombia, Indonesia, Ecuador, Mauritius and Paraguay . Endosulfan users in the cotton industry in Australia were alerted a few years back when significant amounts of residues were found in meat. Environmental groups and rural communities in Australia have been warning of the dangers of endosulfan contamination for several years.

The linkage between endosulfan and human miseries had come to the surface for the first time in Kerala in the 1980s when several cases of ailments and deaths were reported in the Kasargod district. Almost a decade back, the National Institute of Occupational Health (NIOH) had presented a report to the Union government linking endosulfan to the prevalence of health disorders. However, the report has been undermined by the pesticide lobby. The NIOH report noted that there was a significantly higher prevalence of learning disabilities, low IQ and scholastic backwardness among children , besides serious neurological problems and congenital and reproductive abnormalities among people in the region. The report has been confirmed by the team of doctors of the department of community medicine from Calicut Medical College, who conducted an epidemiological investigation since October 2010 upon the directive of the Kerala government. This is perhaps the latest in the series of nearly a dozen studies, all of which confirmed the lethal role of endosulfan .

Most recently, a study conducted by the Salim Ali Foundation found that the indiscriminate use of the chemical in Kasargod caused a biodiversity disaster in the area. The area clearly indicated a decline in plant diversity between 40% and 70%, particularly for native species, compared to the natural habitat. Yet, the Union government wants a fresh round of studies to generate further data! As Endosulfan is the most important of the POPs, there is certainly a case for a global ban due to its acute toxicity. While the WHO places endosulfan as 'hazardous' , the US Environmental Protection Agency classified it as 'highly hazardous' and it eventually banned it. The Stockholm Convention has been reviewing the risk management evaluation on endosulfan since 2010. It had already agreed that the POP characteristics of the chemical warrant global action. The Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee will report its recommendations to the forthcoming meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP5). Now the question is whether the UPA government will shed its lingering inertia to ban its use. The Stockholm Convention will be the litmus test for New Delhi's sincerity and genuine concerns for health and environmental security.

(The author is Dean, School of Social Sciences, MG University, Kottayam)

The Economic Times, 26 April, 2011, http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/comments-analysis/the-perils-of-endosulfan/articleshow/8086876.cms


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