Did you remember to take your dose of pesticides today?

The Green Revolution gave us food security - and convulsions, visual defects, Parkinson's Syndrome, headaches, sleep disturbances, poor attention spans.... The second day of the National Conference on Health and Environment discussed the effect of environmental toxins and air pollution on the human body

First the good news -- India has increased its food production by four times since the Green Revolution. Then the bad news -- it has increased its pesticide consumption by nine times to achieve this fourfold increase. At the National Conference on Health and Environment organised by the Centre for Science and Environment, Dr. H N Saiyed from the National Institute of Occupational Health, Ahmedabad, warned that their studies among the general population in India has revealed high levels of pesticide residues in blood, fatty tissues and human milk.

The three-day Conference, inaugurated by Vice President Shri Krishan Kant yesterday, focused on environmental toxins and air pollution today. Pesticidal contamination of animal feed has led to widespread contamination of milk and milk products, including human milk. People in Delhi have one of the world's highest levels of DDT accumulated in their body fat. Dr. Devika Nag, a neurologist from the King George Medical College, warned that exposure to toxins leads to dysfunctions of the central nervous system, and reproductive disorders.

In India, pesticides continue to be used despite repeated warnings from scientists. Malathion, a chemical sprayed to create an anti-mosquito fog, for example, is a known neurotoxin, particularly dangerous because it is absorbed by the skin as well as through the respiratory system. Most important, it has an extremely low efficacy -- only about 10 percent of the mosquitoes are killed by the chemical. But, said V P Sharma from the Malaria Research Centre at the Conference, India continues to use it due to political reasons. The fog created during malathion spraying is visually impressive, and convinces the electorate that politicians are doing something to rid them of mosquitoes!

In the session on ambient air pollution and health, Dr S R Kamath, retired from the KEM Hospital in Mumbai, revealed a new study that showed a higher morbidity rate due to cardiac diseases in areas like Parel and Khar, where there is vehicular congestion. Residents of areas with slow dense traffic are more likely to suffer from high carbon monoxide levels in blood, causing chest pain, irratibility, and headaches. In Mumbai, he said, deaths due to infectious diseases such as abdominal illnesses and tuberculosis were on the decrease, while pollution related respiratory and cardiac deaths were increasing.

The Conference will conclude tomorrow, after sessions on environmental changes and nutrition, the health effects of indoor air pollution, noise pollution, radiation, and sanitation among others. Environment minister Suresh Prabhu will deliver the valedictory address.

Please contact Priti Kumar and Sonia Kapoor for additional information.