Aversion to NIOH
It is not without reason that members of the pesticide industry have launched a relentless onslaught against the National Institute of Occupational Health's (NIOH) research. They are aware that the study can prove the clincher in exposing endosulfan and that it could raise issues of compensation to the victims.
Perhaps for the first time, the research throws light on the chronic health effects of a single pesticide on humans. Normally, several pesticides are sprayed in a particular area. The result is that the industry gets away by citing the alibi of the large number of pesticides in use.
But the Kerala case is unique in this respect. Environmental Health Perspectives' (EHP) science editor, Jim Burkhart, observed: "This is the first human study ever to measure the effects of endosulfan on the male reproductive system. Decades of spraying this, and only this, pesticide in the village provided a unique opportunity to analyse its impact. Although the sample size is somewhat limited, the results are quite compelling.'