Government grants huge tax exemptions to industries for installing pollution control equipment. This is done to achieve certain social, economic and environmental goals. But it has failed to monitor the working of this subsidy regime. While many industries do achieve the desired pollution control results, many others blatantly flout norms. …
Are environment and forest clearances a hindrance to development in the country? No, says a study by Delhi-based non-profit Centre for Science and Environment. The study analyses the environment and forest clearances granted during the 11th Five Year Plan, from April 2007 till August 2011. The pace of such clearances …
TOY makers use phthalates to make plastic toys supple and chewy. But the chemical also happens to be very toxic and its use in the Indian toy industry remains unregulated. The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has finally drafted standards for phthalates in toys and childcare products so that their …
A NAGPUR Bench of the Bombay High Court has stalled the transfer of toxic waste from Bhopal to Maharashtra amid protests by residents and activists. The decision comes a week after the Jabalpur Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court ordered that 350 tonnes of the hazardous material lying at …
A youth enters a south Delhi bar, greets the bartender and orders “the usual”. The drink, it turns out, is Red Bull plus vodka. Prod him a little and Manoj Joshi, a law student, says there is no better drink on the menu. It tastes great, he says, and will …
Over a year ago, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) undertook an exercise to assess pollution levels in some of the highly polluted industrial areas of India. It then released a list of 43 most polluted areas, terming them critically polluted, and imposed a moratorium on their expansion. …
On the night of March 7, a thick pall of smoke enveloped Kudikadu village near Cuddalore. It made people ill; over 120 persons had to be hospitalised after they complained of nausea, giddiness and eye irritation. The white smoke was bromine gas and its source: pharma company Shasun Pharmaceuticals, which …
Unable to find a clear line about the mode of congestion tax, the Delhi Government is all set to conduct a costly study to levy/tax on congestion in the national Capital. As per the proposal, the study that will cost Rs 20 crore will be completed in nine months. The …
This document contains the presentation by Anumita Roychowdhury of Centre for Science and Environment, at Second country media briefing on “Challenges of Air Quality and Mobility Management in South Asian cities” held in Colombo on 27 April 2011, jointly organized by CSE and TVE Asia Pacific.
THE Supreme Court has directed the food regulatory body to reconstitute its scientific panels. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) had inducted members from the food industry, defeating its purpose of regulating that very industry. The Authority has eight scientific panels, of which seven have 18 members …
Sometime in June 2009, the West Bengal chief minister’s office forwarded a complaint to the state pollution control board (SPCB) about three sponge iron factories in West Medinipur district. A team was dispatched to Jhargram subdivision. It found a thick layer of grey dust coating trees and pathways, and noted …
A blanket of smog envelopes Kuarmunda and Bonai subdivisions of Odisha’s Sundargarh district every morning. Area residents attribute it to emissions from sponge iron factories nearby that switch off their emission control devices—electrostatic precipitators (ESPs)—at night. The reason these factories get away with such offences is weak rules and weaker …
If one were to compare steel consumption figures, Indians lag far behind the rest of the world. Against the world average of 215 kg, per person steel consumption in India is just 50 kg a year. This consumption gap is likely to reduce in coming years. With rapid economic growth, …
FOOD Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has issued an advisory stating that residues of antibiotics and pesticide are not allowed in honey. The authority said India follows stringent safety standards similar to the EU and the US, where use of antibiotics in honey is illegal. The move was …
The Union Carbide India Ltd (UCIL) factory at Bhopal, abandoned after the world’s worst industrial disaster that took place on December 3, 1984, is still heavily contaminated with a range of persistent pollutants. From this study it can be concluded that even after 25 years the residents of the area …
Universally, honey is believed to be a natural product. Regulations across the world say as much. The Codex Alimentarius Commission is a global body set up jointly by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) to develop food standards for international trade; it defines …
OXYTETRACYCLINE Belonging to the common antibiotic class of Tetracyclines, this antibiotic is used by beekeepers against bacterial foul brood diseases. The BIS recommends it for the treatment of European foul brood disease. HEALTH IMPACTS: Chronic exposure to oxytetracycline or OTC can lead to bloodrelated disorders, liver injury and delayed blood …
Multiple antibiotics in high amounts were found in 11 out of the 12 samples. All 11 samples failed the antibiotics standards set by the Indian government’s Export Inspection Council (EIC) for exported honey. The two imported honey samples were also highly contaminated with antibiotics. Both would have failed their own …
Antibiotic resistance is the ability of a microorganism to withstand the effects of an antibiotic. If even at a large dose, the antibiotic is not effective in treating an infection, then the microorganism that is responsible for the infection is declared resistant to that antibiotic. Antibiotic resistance is a global …
The journey of honey from bee farms to breakfast tables has become complex with time. From wild honey gatherers, honey supply has passed into the hands of cooperatives of individual beekeepers and then to big companies. The cooperatives could have helped beekeepers demand better prices, but they did not last …
