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 …
German pharmaceutical giant Bayer A G has disclosed plans to use data collected by testing pesticides on human beings. The tests, which came in for severe criticism, were conducted by the company in 1998. But Bayer has also announced that it will not be reviving trials on humans, which are …
Perseverance pays. With the Malaysian government deciding to ban the herbicide paraquat, a long-standing campaign of environmental pressure groups has finally proved successful. Earlier, a wave of concern was raised by non-governmental organisations about the harmful effects of the chemical. The herbicide is used on bananas, cocoa, cotton, rubber and …
The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (pops), signed by India on May 14, 2002, has expectedly raised the chemical manufacturers' hackles. The pact seeks to regulate the use of the world's most toxic substances, covering 12 of the deadliest chemicals. Interestingly, the industry is not so shaken by the …
I happened to be in Hirekur taluk in Haveri district of Karnataka to attend an Independence Day flag hoisting function this year. Farmers dominated the gathering. Not surprisingly, all talk seemed centred around the Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) cotton experiment in the state. Pleased with my evident interest in their talk, …
What would you say of an industry that takes common salt and turns it into one of the most environmentally deadly substances we know of today, namely chlorine? And what if in its production process it uses yet another deadly substance, mercury? We are talking about India's caustic-chlorine industry. Centre …
See Score Card Raw material sourcing phase To rate the companies on the raw material sourcing phase, grp used the following indicators: the quality of input salt, transportation of salt, self-sourcing of water (water harvesting) and the use of renewable and clean fuels. The Indian caustic-chlorine industry has performed poorly …
Pondicherry-based Chemfab Alkalis Ltd (cal) has been rated as the greenest caustic-chlorine company in India. With an overall score of 46.7 per cent, it has been given the Three Leaves Award. Set up in 1985 by Krishnamurthy Rao, a technical expert, cal set the trend by going in for membrane …
Although there has been a belated shift from the polluting mercury cell technology to the membrane cells, mercury pollution in India is still very high. India does not produce mercury and relies completely on imports. Between 1998-2001, the annual mercury imports stood at 170-190 tonnes, which is 10 per cent …
It’s a Catch-22 situation. How does one rate an industry where the pollution is minimal at the production plant and peaks the moment the product leaves the factory gates? How does one rate an industry that is the mother of all chemical industries? How does one rate an industry that …
Parks, schools and hospitals in Quebec would soon become pesticide-free. Thanks to the pressure mounted by the public and environmental groups, this Canadian province will ban the use of most non-farm pesticides by 2005. The ban on the use of 30 highly noxious pesticides on public land will come into …
parasite infection combined with a weakened immune system caused by pesticide exposure are causing deformities in frogs in the us state of Pennsylvania, indicates a recent research. The research, jointly administered by Virginia-based National Science Foundation (nsf) and Maryland-based National Institutes of Health (nih), includes the first experimental studies of …
Final report of the investigation of unusual illnesses allegedly produced by endosulfan exposure in Padre Village of Kasargod District (N.Kerala)Submitted to the Honourable National Human Rights Commision.
It was in February 2001 that Down To Earth broke the story. A link was established between the unusually high incidence of deformities and diseases in Padre
The protest against endosulfan in Kerala has become a symbol of struggle against pesticides in India. The pesticide industry is worried about endosulfan as much as it is of its other products. As Dave proudly puts it, "I do not defend just one molecule. I am the president for 200 …
In August 2001, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) asked the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to submit a report on the health hazards due to the spraying of endosulfan in cashew plantations in Kasaragod district within four months. ICMR in turn asked the National Institute of Occupational Health …
Pesticides are regulated under the Insecticides Act of 1968 and Insecticides Rules of 1971. In May 2000, the Insecticide (Amendment) Bill 2000, was passed under the shadow of suicide deaths of farmers because of spurious pesticides. This amendment made the punishment for adulterated pesticides more stringent. But it did little …
organic farming method uses land far more efficiently and with less environmental impact than conventional farming methods, shows a 21-year study. Unlike conventional farming, organic farming uses no synthetic fertilisers or pesticides. Because of this, organic crop yield is little less. The study conducted by scientists from Switzerland-based Research Institute …
