Boycott pesticides,
Make Bihar Insecticides Free, Make Meals Poison Free
Agriculture Ministry,
Pollution Control Board should ensure inventorization, proper disposal of
obsolete pesticides and contaminated containers
Patna/New Delhi: While it has been acknowledged that the
Insecticide was responsible for the Mid Day Meal Tragedy on July 16, 2013 at
the Dharma Sati Primary School Mashrak, Chapra in Saran district, the issue of
widespread availability insecticides and absence of hmethod to deal with
obsolete insecticides and their containers which are contaminated with
insecticides has remained off the radar so far.
There is a crying need for Agriculture Ministry and Pollution
Control Boards to ensure inventorization, proper disposal of obsolete
pesticides and contaminated containers.
Organophosphorous, a chemical used as an insecticide has been
identified and found to be responsible for deaths and diseases of school
children. Organophosphate-containing insecticides parathion, malathion, methyl
parathion, chlorpyrifos, diazinon, dichlorvos, phosmet, fenitrothion,
tetrachlorvinphos, azamethiphos, and azinphos methyl.
The agencies involved in the probe must identify the name of
the Organophosphate insecticide involved and its manufacturer. The
responsibility and liability of this manufacturer must be fixed. The probe must
recommend take back policy so that these manufacturers have an Extended
Producers Responsibility with regard to its residual insecticides and their
containers.
It may be noted that most home uses of organophosphorus
insecticides have been phased out in countries like USA. The US Environmental
Protection Agency lists the organophosphate parathion as a possible human
carcinogen. The World Health Organization, Pesticide Action Network (PAN) and several
environmental organisations have sought a general and global ban on it. Its use
is banned or restricted in 23 countries and its import is illegal in a total of
50 countries. Its use was banned in the U.S. in 2000 and it has not been used
since 2003. The usage of such insecticides continues to be used because of the
political patronage enjoyed by the manufacturers of these insecticides.
Union Ministry of Agriculture should initiate efforts to
recall Organophosphorus pesticides, which is responsible for about 200,000
deaths annually. Organophosphorus
pesticides cause poisoning by inhibiting release of enzymes.
Lessons from the Insecticides Tragedy in Bihar should not be
forgotten. It creates a compelling logic for initiating efforts to make Bihar
insecticides free.
In view of this insecticide tragedy, ToxicsWatch Alliance
(TWA) proposes to initiate a campaign to Make Bihar Chemical Insecticides Free,
to seek proper management of pre-existing insecticides and their containers and
to take the issue of insecticides tragedy to its logical end.
For Details: Gopal Krishna, ToxicsWatch Alliance
(TWA), Mb: 09818089660, 08227816731
E-mail:gopalkrishna1715@gmail.com, Web: www.toxicswatch.org
No comments:
Post a Comment