National Institute Of Occupational Health (nioh)

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  • 13 May, 2011

Endosulfan Industry's Dirty War - A Chronology of events

The numbers of people affected by nearly 20 years of aerial spray of Endosulfan, an organochlorine pesticide, in the cashew plantations in Kasaragod, the northern most district of Kerala is increasing. While the focus earlier was on Padre village, the health impacts are evident in people of nearly 11 panchayats in the district. Victims here are suffering from congenital deformities, physical disabilities, mental retardation and gynecological problems. The same health impacts are now being seen in the neighboring Dakshin Kanada district in Karnataka as well.

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  • 11 May, 2011

India holds on to Endosulfan

At the sixth meeting of Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee (POPRC) to the Stockholm Convention (Geneva Oct 11-15), India once again opposed a global ban on the manufacture, use, import and export of endosulfan. Of the 29 members in the review committee, 24 supported the ban and four (Germany, Ghana, Nigeria and China) abstained.

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  • 11 May, 2011

The venom is spreading...

Endosulfan is claiming new victims, though a state government survey puts the total number of affected at just a little over 2,000 people in 11 gram panchayats of Kasaragod. Years after the pesticide was banned in Kerala, it is creeping into newer areas – a Down To Earth investigation has tracked down more cases in Muthalamada panchayat in Palakkad district, while reports are coming in of endosulfan-affected people from villages and hamlets located far away from regions where the pesticide was sprayed.