The Standing Committee on Chemicals and Fertilizers presented its report on ‘Insecticides and Pesticides – Promotion and Development including Safe Usage – Licensing Regime for Insecticides’ on December 19, 2023. Pesticides are broadly of four types: insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, and bio-pesticides. Herbicides kill/control the growth of weeds, and have the …
indians have the highest levels of pesticide residues in their bodies, says a study conducted at the King George Medical College, Lucknow. Devika Nag, head of the department of neurology who led the study, warned that there was an urgent need for public awareness campaigns to promote the use of …
The European Union has recently agreed to fund research to evaluate methods and techniques which rank pesticides according to their environmental impact. One such system is being evaluated by the University of Hertsfordshire in the UK. The software, which will be available by early 1998, is called the pesticide eco-rating …
ever since deformed frogs were found in Minnesota, usa , scientists have been attempting to know the reason of such unusual cases. Recently, John Bantle, a researcher at Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, usa , has discovered that when methoprene
Five widely used organophosphate-based pesticides have been added to the list of 17 harmful pesticides by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). As a result, international trade in these pesticides will be strictly monitored. These pesticides are methamidophos, methyl parathion, monocrotophos, parathion and …
More than 11 million children die every year before reaching the age of five, out of which nearly eight million deaths are caused by pneumonia, diarrhoea, measles, malaria and malnutrition. Many of these deaths can be prevented, with the help of Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI), an approach developed …
grassroots movements and the people of northwest California have won a major battle over keeping the state's highways pesticide-free. The victory has been scored over Caltran, the California agency that manages 24,135 km of land running along freeways. One of the largest and most powerful organisations of its kind, Caltran …
A Hong Kong court has awarded us $24.5 million to an American musician, who suffered injuries after inhaling a toxic pesticide 10 years back during rehearsals at the Academy for Performing Arts. The payout is said to be the largest in Hong Kong for a personal injury case. Kristan Phillips, …
IN APRIL 1996, Down to Earth ('The Trouble with the Trapezium', DTE , Vol 4, No 22 ) published an article pointing out that the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute ( neeri ), Nagpur, had consistently accused small-scale industries in Agra and Ferozabad for pollution in the Taj Trapezium, but …
Counsel of despair Repeatedly, the establishment has sent out the message that information relating to public health does not have to be shared with the people if only they could talk, government agencies would have nothing to say. The set-up believes in withholding information of crucial importance to the public …
The establishment is now attacking officials who perform their duty. Government agencies have a wealth of information on the state of the environment. When this does
Getting the forest bureaucracy to cooperate is almost always a nightmare, and there's always a strong chance of bumping into people like V Bhaskar, ccof ( chief conservator of forests, wildlife), Bangalore
Following efforts by the Game Conservancy Trust based at Sussex Downs, farmers in the British countryside have adopted a new method of conserving bird species. A six metre-wide outer strip is left unsprayed with pesticidesin farms. Insects in the protected strip provide larder to birds. The populations of birds like …
The recently published Annual Health Bulletin of the ministry of health in Sri Lanka has highlighted the debilitating effect of poisoning in the island. In 1995, there were 62,973 cases of poisoning in state hospitals, pesticides topping the list of agents that were responsible for poisoning. In the seven districts …
WITH the ministry of health and family welfare ready to launch a major offensive against malaria from June 1, the country is in for another dose of one of the most toxic chemicals known to humans: dichlorodiphenyl trichloroethane (DDT). Health minister Saleem Sherwani recently announced the setting up of a …
WITH the government ban on the manufacture and use of benzene hexachloride (BHC) coming into effect in India from April 1, vector control and pest control operations in agriculture have been forced to look for safer alternatives. BHC is a highly toxic, non-specific organochlorine insecticide used mostly for a wide …
a recent study conducted in Hungary with the help of the World Health Organization (who) has found that workers exposed to pesticides showed a considerably higher percentage of abnormal cells than the accepted amount. According to a team headed by I Desi of the department of public health at Albert …
in the us, they are clubbed under the curious heading of 'Life industry': giant transnational enterprises which buy, sell and control the market for bio-industrial products. These enterprises thrive on biological materials (plants, animals and microorganisms). From seeds and agrochemicals to pharmaceuticals and veterinary medicines, these corporate heavyweights cater to …
• Screening: First, appropriate microorganisms are identified from the soil, water, air or sea. The technique usually comprises a series of tests, depending solely on the discretion of the researcher. • Strain development: The term 'strains' refers to different sub-species of microorganisms. Once an appropriate strain is identified, it is …
The first ever patent in microbiology was granted to Louis Pasteur in 1873. It was on "yeast, free from organic diseases, as an article of manufacture". This was followed by the anti-toxin serum patent (1877), the bacteria vaccine patent (1904) and the viral vaccine patent (1916). The first microorganism-based product …
