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Garma
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Concept
paper-Kheti Virasat’s Medicos Workshop 1.
BACKGROUND Recovering
from the euphoria of Green Revolution India is now battling from
residual effects of extensively used chemical fertilizers and
pesticides. The
decade from 1980 to 1990 alone saw the area under pesticides in
India increase a whopping 20-fold, from six million hectare to 125
million hectare. After a high annual consumption of nearly 75 000 MT
reached in the early ’90s, interventions in the form of Integrated
Pest Management (IPM) practices have only now started to show a
declining trend in the use of pesticides in India. Interestingly,
India’s consumption of pesticides per hectare is low when compared
with world averages—0.5 kg/ha against Korea’s 6.60 kg/ha and
Japan’s 12.0 kg/ha. According to the pesticides industry
statistics, India spends $3/ha on pesticides compared with $24/ha
spent by Philippines, $255/ha spent by South Korea and $633/ha by
Japan. Yet,
despite a comparatively low use of pesticides in India, the
contamination of food products in the country is alarming. About 20%
of Indian food products contain pesticide residues above tolerance
level compared to only 2% globally. No detectable residues are found
in only 49% Indian food products compared to 80% globally. "The
reason lies in non-judicious use of pesticides, lack of awareness,
and inadequate information dissemination amongst the farming
community in India," says Dr N Ramesha, research associate,
TERI, who is working on a project relating to bioremediation of
pesticides contaminated soils in India. A
pesticide is any substance or mixture of substances intended for
preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating any pest. Pests can
be insects, mice and other animals, unwanted plants (weeds), fungi,
or microorganisms like bacteria and viruses. Though often
misunderstood to refer only to insecticides, the term pesticide also
applies to herbicides, fungicides, and various other substances used
to control pests. By
their very nature, most pesticides create some risk of harm to
humans, animals, or the environment as they are designed to kill or
otherwise adversely affect living organisms. At the same time,
pesticides are useful because of their ability to kill potential
disease-causing organisms and control insects, weeds, and other
pests. Studies
show that pesticides can cause health problems, such as birth
defects, nerve damage, cancer, and other effects that might occur
over a long period of time. World Health Organization (WHO)
estimates one million pesticides poisoning cases and 20,000 deaths
every year globally. It
is now increasingly believed that many of the environmental problems
that have come to light in the past 40 years are not isolated from
each other at all but rather have been caused by just one class of
chemicals: Organochlorines. This
class includes the notorious DDT, dioxin, HCH (hexachlorocyclohexane),
and Aldrin. The production, use, and disposal of Organochlorines
create a scary range of problems. While not all Organochlorines have
the same impacts, the chemicals as a class include carcinogens,
endocrine disruptors, and substances that harm nervous,
reproductive, and immune systems. Almost every Organochlorine
studied has been linked to some environmental or human health harm.
Organochlorines are carbon-based
substances that have one or more chlorine atoms. Many
Organochlorines are persistent, lasting in the world for years
before degrading. Dioxin is literally forever. Wind and air currents
take these chemicals far from their homelands. Organochlorines have
been found everywhere, even in areas where the chemicals have never
been used.
Source:
Safety evaluation and monitoring (1999) While
DDT, HCH, Aldrin and endosulfan were banned in the US and many other
countries as early as in the ’70s, they are still being used in
India. In fact, DDT, HCH (the gamma form) and Malathion account for
70% of the total pesticides consumption in the country. The
pesticides banned in India continue to flow into the market despite
government notifications. The small farmers prefer them because they
are cost-effective, are easily available and display a wide spectrum
of bioactivity. India
has become self-sufficient as regards the production of food grains
after the Green-revolution with the coordinated efforts of the
policy makers the scientists and the farmers of India in general and
of Punjab in particular but the aftermath of this exercise was never
thought of. Relatively large amount of synthetic chemicals have been
introduced and used by farmers during the last four decades, which
are posing a potential hazard to human & its environment. 1.1 Hazards
Of Pesticides Adverse
effects of pesticides in the environment first received widespread
attention in the 1960s. However,
only recently it has been postulated that long term, low exposure of
these chemicals are increasingly linked to human health effects such
as immuno-suppression, endocrine disruption, reproductive
abnormalities and cancer. In industrial setting workers engaged in
manufacturing and formulation of pesticides and also rampant use of
these chemicals in the agriculture field have resulted in:
Pesticide
and its impact on Women Health Clearly
pesticides pose health risks for women. In general, most pesticides
have not been adequately tested for safety. Pesticide exposure is
one of the most widely studied occupational risk factors, with the
United Nations Environment Program estimating that accidental
pesticide poisoning causes 20,000 deaths and 1 million cases of
illness per year worldwide (7). In general, data on pesticide
poisoning is notoriously underestimated. Pesticides
have been implicated in human studies with leukemia, lymphoma,
aplastic anemia, soft tissue sarcoma and cancers of the breast,
brain, prostate, testis and ovaries.. The International Agency for
Research on Cancer has found "sufficient" evidence of
carcinogenic potentiality in eighteen pesticides and
"limited" evidence in additional sixteen pesticides. Studies
have shown a link between a variety of reproductive health impacts
in women and pesticide exposure. Studies have documented increased
incidence of miscarriages, stillbirths and delayed pregnancy among
women agricultural workers and wives of men employed in pesticide
mixing and spraying. There is also evidence of increased risk of
birth defects from parental exposure to pesticides, although the
extent of this risk is uncertain (8). Specific herbicides, such as
2,4-D and 2,4,5-T, disrupt estrogen cycles in women and can cause
menstrual-cycle problems in animals. Carbonate and organophosphate
insecticides have been reported to increase birth prematurely and
spontaneous abortion rates. Other pesticides such as Aldrin,
Dieldrin, chlordane and toxaphene can also disrupt reproductive
cycle (9). Other recorded health effects from research with women in
the field include acute effects such as dizziness, muscular pain,
sneezing, itching, skin burns, blisters, difficulty breathing,
nausea, nail changing color and sore eyes. DDT
was one of the most widely used chemicals for controlling insect
pests on agricultural crops and controlling insects that carry such
diseases as malaria and typhus. The presence of DDT in the
environment is generally a result of contamination due to past
production and use and subsequent movement from sites of application
to land, water, and air. Although there is a diminishing trend of
DDT use worldwide since the 1970’s a number of countries still use
the substance for malaria control. DDT has been proven to cause
cancer in laboratory animals, therefore the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services has determined that DDT may reasonably be
anticipated to be a carcinogen (10). The analysis of links between
breast cancer and pesticides began with Israeli scientists examining
the connections between the significant drop in breast cancer that
took place between 1976 to 1986 and the policy to ban several
Organochlorine insecticides (11). Subsequently researchers have
continued to explore the relation between these substances and
breast cancer risk, with evidence that xenohormones can cause damage
to DNA. There is clearly urgent need for long-term comprehensive
study that look at the impacts of these exposures throughout
women’s life span (12). Many
studies worldwide have reported the presence of DDT and its
metabolites in samples of breast milk. In Delhi, a breast-feeding
infant receives 12 times the acceptable limit of DDT and in Brazil 4
times. In Zimbabwe, studies in some regions have found all the
samples of breast milk contaminated with DDT. In China for example,
most children take DDT from breast milk at level 5 to 10 times
higher than internationally accepted maximum, even though these
chemicals have not been used or produced in that country since 1983
(13). Low birth weight and premature babies have been found to have
higher levels of DDE in their blood compared to normal full term
babies. Higher levels of DDT have been found in mothers of premature
babies. 2. Outcome
Of The Study Conducted By Kheti Virasat In The excessive use of chemical fertilizer like urea, DPK, NPK,
etc and pesticides (insecticides and weedicide) have resulted in the
disorders of endocrine glands e.g., thyroid, parathyroid, pituitary,
kidneys and adrenals. The incidence of cancer, asthma and diseases
of kidney, skin and digestive tract has increased by 20-25% in
Punjab. Youngsters at the age of 25-30 are suffering from heart
ailments and male infertility. Along-with suffering humanity, the
soil is also sick with severe deficiency of micronutrients.
Decreasing carbon content of soil has resulted decrease in water
& nutrient holding capacity. In addition organisms like
bacteria, fungi and earthworms have disappeared. Furthermore,
selenium levels in Punjab are very high at toxic level. The food we eat, the water and milk we drink are contaminated with one or other chemicals. So much so the traces of BHC, endosulphan, DDT & HCH the banned pesticides have been found in the most safe & sacred mother's milk in many cases in Punjab. Due to use of Endosulphan in Punjab as in Kerala, increase in birth of mentally retarded (MR) children. The
Bhatinda example Kheti
Virasat team experienced a very amazing fact during its visit to
three villages of Bhatinda district that there is exceptionally high
number of cancer patents in these villages. Kheti Virasat team went
there to study the farmer’s debt and suicide cases. The team finds
that the forced excessive use of pesticides for cotton crops had
extremely harmful effect on the region’s environment and health of
the people. What kind of devastation these pesticides can cause? Can
be gauged from the statistics collected from these villages. The
pale faces of the people here are attributed to debt and tension.
Yellowing of teeth and joint-pains are common, thanks to the
chloride in the water. But the most startling is the alarming
incidence of cancer. In the village Ramanvas, a population of two
thousand has already seen 25 cancer-caused deaths with another 15
suffering from cancer. Mandikhurd and Harkishanpura have had six and
ten cancer deaths respectively. All these deaths have occurred in
the last eight years. Kidney failure has claimed one victim each in
each village. There are other two who are suffering from kidney
problem. The proportion of diabetes relative to the population is
also quite high in these villages. Ramanvas has more than 50
diabetics. The other two villages have 8 to 10 cases each. The
number those suffering from breathing and skin disorder are also
high. Children with congenital defects, including mental retardation
are also quite common. In village Harkishanpura about a dozen such
birth have taken place in the last ten years. Mandikhurd has had
four such cases in last four years. According to Mrs. Harbans Kaur,
the sarpanch of Harkishanpura, the complaints of abortions or
abnormal births and jaundice during
pregnancy have gone up considerably. The incidence of infertility
has also increased. Hypertension and high blood pressure have become
common ailments. The
Kerala Experience – Catastrophe of village Padre The
village Padre in Kasaragod district of North Kerala is burning
example of far more destructive impacts of pesticides. Due to Ariel
spry of Endosulfan, (an Organochlorine pesticide) on cashew trees
the whole village faces unimaginable health problems. According to
Dr.Mohana Kumar Y S, who has been practicing medicine in the area
since 1982, has been perplexed with very high incidence of central
nervous system disorders in children of that area. These include
cerebral palsy, mental and/or physical retardation, epilepsy and
congenital abnormalities like stag horn limbs. In addition an
increase in blood and liver cancer, infertility, un-descended
testis, miscarriages, menstrual irregularities, skin disorders,
asthma, etc were also observed. Psychiatric problems and suicidal
tendencies have also been rising. Surprisingly, almost all the
ailments are restricted to people below 25 years of age. The
residue limits for the pesticide endosulfan in soil, water and
vegetables from Padre village have been breached several times over
legitimate/permitted level. Blood samples from residents of Padre
were also tested at CSE laboratory and had shown several hundred
times endosulfan residues from permit able limit. The
Parallels-Padre and Punjab The
experience of Padre village i.e., destruction caused by endosulfan,
is a warning to Punjab where farmers frequently use the same
endosulfan. If Padre reached this devastating end with only 15 years
of endosulfan spraying, then what is going to happen to Punjab where
endosulfan is in use for last 25 years? No study or measures have
been undertaken yet on this issue in Punjab. Pesticide
kills even in mother’s womb Dr.
S.G.Kabra, physician at the Indian Institute of Health Management
Research in Jaipur, links the malady to pesticide use. Pesticides
are known to negate the action of folic
acid, vital
for neural tube development. Pesticide residues in food can inhibit
the intake of folic acid leading to birth of babies with congenital
defects. The risk is higher if conceived at the time the Kharif and
Rabi crops reach the market, a time when pesticide residue is very
high, says Kabra’s study. According to Dr. Kabra, pesticides are
the main culprits because they are antagonistic to folic acid, a
vitamin that is very important for the development of neural tube
i.e., future nervous system including that of brain. Studies have
shown that pesticide residue in food can prevent the availability of
folic acid leading to birth of babies with neural tube defects. The
Vietnam Experience: killing even after thirty years Between
1961-1975 of the Vietnam War, massive herbicides or defoliants were
used. Ninety thousand metric tons of Agent Orange, White and Blue
were sprayed over an area of about 38,000 square kilometers. Agent
Orange which was a mixture of 2,4-D & 2,4,5-T, contaminated with
the extremely toxic Dioxin, or TCDD made about the 80 percent of the
chemicals sprayed. Studies
of the effect of the Agent Orange on herbicide-exposed Vietnamese
populations have produced suggestive evidence of an excess of
primary liver cancers and other evidence of chronic toxicity.
According to studies which related to “an increase in the
unfavorable outcomes of pregnancy in North Vietnamese woman whose
husbands served in the south and were therefore at least potentially
exposed to herbicides compared to fellow villagers whose husband had
stayed in the North.” A large number of congenital anomalies were
reported. These included deformities of sense organs; Orofacial
cleft defects, and conjoined twins. The Vietnamese scientists have
reported an increase in chromosome aberrations and sister chromatid
exchanges on adults and their children directly exposed to
herbicides in Vietnam…The abnormalities reported include chromatid
breaks, chromosome breaks, translocations and polyploid cells. The
above-mentioned genetic aberrations have been found many years after
the chemicals had been sprayed. The people of Vietnam who were exposed to Agent Orange over 30 years ago are still suffering to this day from high rates of cancer and from frightening birth defects. 2, 4-D has been listed as a hazardous air pollutant in America since 1990 and its levels of use are therefore restricted, 2, 4-D went under review with the Indian government in 1995. The government only passed regulations to make the manufacturing process less toxic, however it kept 2, 4-D legal for use. Exposure to 2, 4-D is known to lead to reproductive problems, including spontaneous abortion and birth defects. Prolonged inhalation may cause coughing, dizziness loss of coordination, stomach ulcers and even death. It
is a matter of grave concern that the same chemical is selling in
India under Round-up brand by Monsanto and Punjab is a major market
for this. Pesticides
leads to male infertility French
and Argentine researchers produced new evidence showing that
exposure to pesticides and solvents could be contributing to falling
sperm count and rising levels of male infertility. In a study of 225
men from a productive farming region in Argentina, the scientists
could found exposure to insecticides, herbicides and fungicides
could limit their ability to have children. “Exposure to
pesticides and solvents is significantly associated with threshold
sperm values much lower than the considered limits for male
fertility”, Dr Luc Multigner of the French research institute
INSERM said in a report in Human Reproduction. Dwindling sperm counts have been a cause of concern since Danish researchers reported in 1992 that sperm counts worldwide were declining. Many experts blame environmental- factors for this decline, as well as an increase in testicular cancer also. Although other factors may also be contributing to their infertility, the scientists said exposure to pesticides and solvents were a factor.
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Unfortunately,
40% of all pesticides used in India belong to the Organochlorine
class of chemicals. Another 30% of the pesticides used belong to the
organophosphate category. Monocrotophos, phorate, phosphamidon,
ethane, methyl parathion and dimethoate are some of the highly
hazardous pesticides that are continually and indiscriminately used
in India. Most of these chemicals are banned in other countries and
the rest are awaiting risk assessment reports before action can be
taken.