Pan Report Text

Endosulfan Poisoning in Kasargod, Kerala, India 1

Report of a Fact Finding Misssion

Over the past 2 ½ decades, the pesticideendosulfan has been aerially sprayed on a cashew nutplantation covering several villages in Kasargod District,Kerala State, India. People residing in the villageswithin the plantation have been afflicted with differentkinds of illnesses which, according to the villagers, werenot present before the cashew nut plantation startedtheir operations. People also noticed the death offishes, honeybees, frogs, birds, chicken and even cows.In 1979, a farmer began to suspect that the pesticidesbeing aerially sprayed in the plantation might havecaused the deformities and stunted growth, which, heobserved in 3 of his calves. A journalist reported thestory warning that endosulfan, the pesticide used inthe aerial spraying, might have been the cause. Thestory raised awareness among the people who startedvoicing out their complaints about health problemsand environmental damage. The stories, however,were not given due attention by governmentauthorities and pesticide users and the spraying ofendosulfan continued (1).

In 1997, a medical practitioner in one of theaffected villages called the attention of the IndianMedical Association about the unusually large numberof serious neurological, developmental, reproductiveand other diseases, including cancer, that he had beenseeing among his patients. His appeal for help andinvestigation was not given any attention. Meanwhile,more health complaints surfaced and in 1998concerned people started to organize themselves toaddress the issue. An appeal to stop the aerial sprayingof endosulfan was lodged in the courts by a coalitionof public interest groups after their initial investigationsconfirmed that indeed there was an unusually largenumber of diseases occurring in the villages withinthe cashew nut plantation where endosulfan was beingaerially sprayed. THANAL, one of the most activeenvironmental organizations involved, conducted amore in-depth investigation on the issue and cameup with a report which affirmed the people�s suspicionthat endosulfan was the cause of their problems. InJanuary, 2000, the School Resource Group, Vaninagar,Government School in Enmakaje, the area where mostof the complaints were coming from, also recorded intheir internal report that most students coming fromthe direction of the plantation were observed to bementally and physically deficient compared to theirschoolmates from other areas and that many of them

were suffering from congenital anomalies, physicaldeformities, mental retardation, and were frequentlyill. Later, they attributed the illnesses to be due toendosulfan being used in the plantation. Despite thegrowing protests, however, the Plantation Corporationof Kerala (PCK), the owner of the cashew nutplantation, continued the aerial spraying ofendosulfan, claiming that endosulfan was �safe� andwas not causing the reported illnesses. The Center forScience and Environment (CSE) from New Delhi thenconducted laboratory analysis of blood, water, andother samples from the affected areas to determineendosulfan contamination. In its study, the CSE foundvery high levels of endosulfan residues in all thesamples collected and published their report onFebruary 28, 2001. By this time, the campaign againstthe aerial spraying of endosulfan was getting strongerand the Munsif Court of Kasargod in February, 2001,issued a stay order on all endosulfan applications inKasargod.(1)

The CSE report was strongly criticized by someagricultural scientists, including the Director of theNational Research Center for Cashew, claiming sev-eral deficiencies in the study, which were respondedto later by the CSE. A team from the Kerala Agricul-tural University (KAU) conducted their own study soonafter and their results showed no endosulfan residuesdetected in water, pepper berries, and betel leaf butfound high levels of endosulfan in soil and cashewleaf samples from inside the plantation. The PCK alsosponsored their own study, conducted two monthslater, and came up with results showing only smallamounts of endosulfan in samples of cashew leavesand soil, and no residues in samples of water, humanblood, fish and milk.

Subsequently, the government of Kerala formeda committee, headed by Dr. Achyuthan, to study theproblem and suggest remedial measures. The reportof the committee was released in November, 2001,with the following significant recommendations,among others:

1. Ban aerial spraying of pesticides in all cashewplantations of PCK in Kasargod District.

2. Use of endosulfan in the PCK plantation ofKasargod District should be frozen for 5 years.

3. ��a detailed investigation involving scientists fromall related fields should be conducted to identifythe risk factors for the high morbidity in the Pa-

Background

2 Endosulfan Poisoning in Kasargod, Kerala, India


dre village and other areas. �the health surveyshould cover the plantation workers also.�

4. The right to information on the use of pesticidesshould be respected.The committee, however, concluded that �there

is no evidence to implicate or exonerate endosulfanas the causative factor of the health problems�.(2)

In August, 2001, the Government of Keralaordered that �the use of the insecticide endosulfan incrops/plantations in Kerala is suspended until furtherorders.�

In October, 2001, upon the instance of theNational Human Rights Commission, the IndianCouncil of Medical Research and the National Instituteof occupational Health conducted a study on schoolchildren and their parents from the affected areas inKasargod. The report on the study is still beingawaited.(1)

The public interest groups and the villagers,however, were not satisfied with the way the studieswere being done and with the apparent bias ofgovernment bodies in favor of the PCK, a governmentcorporation. They observed that the approach of thegovernment designated investigative bodies was notparticipatory, ignoring the community groups in theirdecision making and conducting their research withoutcarefully eliciting information from the peoplethemselves.

In November, 2001, the THANAL ConservationAction and Information Network formally requestedDr. Romeo F. Quijano, Professor at the Department ofPharmacology and Toxicology, College of Medicine,University of the Philippines Manila, to visit Kasargodand look into the question of whether or not endosul-fan was the cause of health problems observed in thecashew nut plantation areas.

Objectives of the Fact �finding MissionThere were two major objectives of the fact-

finding mission:A. To determine the veracity of reports that serious

health problems and adverse environmentaleffects have appeared in Kasargod since the timethe cashew nut plantation started its operations.

B. To determine whether the reported illnesses werelargely due to endosulfan aerial spraying.

Conduct of the Fact-finding MissionThe fact-finding mission was conducted from

January 19-22, 2002, through the following activities:A. Ocular inspection of the physical and topographical

characteristics of the cashew nut plantation areasin Kasargod.

B. Ocular inspection of village interiors within theplantation areas covered by the aerial sprayingof endosulfan.

C. Household visits to selected families reported tohave been affected by the aerial spraying ofendosulfan.

D. Individual interviews and physical examination ofselected persons, and/or their immediate relatives,who had been afflicted with illnesses attributedto endosulfan.

E. Interviews with key informants, including:1. One medical practitioner living in the

affected villages,2. One medical practitioner in a nearby

primary care facility,3. One investigative journalist involved in

the issue since ten years ago,4. Several public interest NGO leaders, and5. Some village leaders.

F. Focus group discussions, andG. Review of documents (official reports, scientific

articles, internet documents, magazine articles andnews reports).

FindingsThe cashew nut plantation in Kasargod, esti-

mated to be 4,600 hectares, is located in a slightlyelevated hilly area with patches of grassy open spacespunctuated by clusters of small trees and shrubs. Thecashew nut trees are mainly in the elevated portionswhile the villagers� houses are located in the valleyscanopied mostly by areca palm and coconut trees. Agovernment high school is located just at the outskirtsof the plantation. Individual houses are interspersedwithin the lush vegetation in the valleys where thevillage people reside. Streams vigorously flow with lotsof small ponds and tributaries which eventually draininto a nearby river. Households get their water, in-cluding drinking water, from open wells or �surangas�,made by excavating a few meters into the rocky sideof the hill to draw constant drips of water collecting



into a small pond. Households appear to be gener-ally self-sufficient in food, cultivating modestly sizedparcels of land with vegetables, fruit trees, grains andpulses. The main cash crop is the areca nut. Almostevery household also has a cow or two and otherdomesticated animals, including poultry. The housesare modest in size, bungalow type, and usually madeof wood and clay material. One or more families livein a single house.

The villagers visited were friendly and were quiteopen to interview and examination, perhaps due tothe fact that the village doctor was with the fact-find-ing team. The team visited nine households, mostlyin Padre village in Enmakaje panchayath which waslocated within the plantation. A short description ofthe families afflicted with serious ailments follows:

1. Mr. Narayana Shastri told us that his wife, 35years old, is a diabetic, asthmatic and is afflictedwith skin disease. She was also diagnosed to haveendometriosis. She was one of those whoprovided blood for the CSE study and it wasfound the endosulfan level in her blood was veryhigh (114 ppm). Mr.Shastri�s son also suffers froma skin ailment. He narrated that their cow andbuffalo died recently due to some liver problemwhich he suspected was due to the aerial sprayingof endosulfan.

2. Mr. Narayana Bhatt and his family live at theedge of the plantation. His father died ofabdominal cancer 6 years ago and his motherdied of uterine cancer. His sister, 35 years old, isan epileptic and his nephew, 22 years old, is alsoan epileptic and suffers from severe mentalretardation. Another nephew, Vishnu, 18 yearsold, is also an epileptic, has breast enlargementand also suffers from severe mental retardation.Vishnu�s blood showed 108.9 ppm of endosulfanin the CSE study.

3. Sheena Shetty and his family also live at the edgeof the plantation. He narrated that his eldestdaughter became epileptic soon after endosulfanspraying started in the area and died 6 years later.His son, Kittanna, whose blood test showed 109.5ppm endosulfan, suffers from severe cerebralpalsy. Another child, Sridhara, 17 years old, ismentally retarded. Mukthaka Shetty, theirmother, had 196.47 ppm of endosulfan in theCSE study. Mr. Shetty also revealed that his cow,

which was grazing at the time of endosulfanspraying, returned home bleeding and vomitingand eventually died 8 days later.

4. Kumaran, a retired school teacher who is about60 years old, has been diagnosed with livercancer and is suffering from severe ascites. Hehas no history of alcoholism and had no knownexposure to hepatitis B virus. He is a non-smokerand claimed that he had been strict on his dietand was very health conscious. He knows of noother possible cause of his disease exceptendosulfan.

5. Udaya is 10 years old with cerebral palsy. Helives at the edge of the plantation. His motherwas exposed to endosulfan spraying during theearly months of her pregnancy. There was nohistory of difficult delivery nor physical traumaand there was also no history of smoking, drinkingalcohol, drug intake, or exposure to otherchemicals except endosulfan during herpregnancy.

6. Shruthi, 8 years old, has congenitally deformedhands and legs. Each hand is bifid with four fin-gers. The severely deformed right lower limb wasrecently amputated to enable the fitting of a pros-theses. Her mother was exposed to endosulfanspraying during her pregnancy with Shruthi andthere was no history of drug intake or any otherexposure to other chemicals or pesticides exceptendosulfan. Shruthi�s mother died of cancer 6years ago.

7. Balakrishnan, 6 years old, lives also at the edgeof the plantation. He was diagnosed to have braintumour(neuroblastoma). He had undergone oneround of chemotherapy but his family could nolonger afford the rest of the treatment. His parentsconfirm that they had been repeatedly exposedto the aerial spraying of endosulfan. There is nohistory of exposure to any other chemical.

8. Rishana is a 3 year old girl with serious growthretardation and delayed mental and psychomotordevelopment. She could hardly speak and startedto walk only a few months ago. Her mother hadno history of difficult delivery and was not takingany medication during her pregnancy withRishana. Her family lives within the plantationthe only exposure to potentially toxic chemicalsthey could recall was exposure to endosulfanaerial spraying.



9. Subramanian was a 19 year old boy with cerebralpalsy and lived within the plantation area. Hehad been an epileptic since birth and had severephysical and mental retardation. He was not ableto perform simple tasks and could not respondto questions. His mother had no history of difficultdelivery, trauma, nor any intake of medicationsduring pregnancy. He passed away in February,2001. The source of drinking water for the familyis an open well which is left uncovered duringthe aerial spraying of endosulfan.The cases described above are just few of the

more than a hundred cases that Dr. Mohan Kumar,the medical practitioner in the area, had documented.Since 1990, in fact, he had noted a large number ofdiseases related to the central nervous system in Pa-dre village where he had his private clinic. He revealedthat the 197 cases he had documented came fromonly 123 households. He added that those he hadrecorded was not comprehensive and did not includethose who might have consulted other doctors. Hislist also did not include cases of asthma, hormonaldisorders, infertility, miscarriages, skin disorders andothers. Most of the cases in his list are cancer, cerebralpalsy, mental retardation, epilepsy, congenital anoma-lies and psychiatric cases, including suicides.(3)

Dr. Sripathy Kajampady, a medical practitionerand proprietor of a primary health care facility in thenearby Perla village, corroborated the observationsof Dr. Kumar. Dr. Sripathy had also seen several pa-tients from the nearby villages within the plantationareas who were suffering from similar diseases. Hehad also observed the disappearance of small ani-mals in the areas covered by the aerial spraying ofendosulfan.(4)

Mr. Shree Padre, the farmer-journalist who firstwrote the story about cows giving birth to deformedcalves after exposure to endosulfan spraying alsocorroborated the observations of the two medicaldoctors. He, too, have seen many villagers with variouskinds of �strange� diseases.(5) The public interest groupleaders and other villagers echo the same observations.Reports from both non-governmental andgovernmental organizations also confirm that anunusually large number of serious illnesses anddevelopmental disorders have occurred in the villageswhere aerial spraying of endosulfan had been regularlydone. The public interest group, THANAL, for example,

has investigated the reports of health problemsassociated with the aerial spraying of endosulfan andconducted community monitoring in the affectedareas. THANAL confirms the observations of the villagedoctors and the others that indeed there are a largenumber of illnesses in the villages and stated that themost likely culprit was endosulfan.(1)

The official report of the study committee formedby the government of Kerala tacitly admits that thereis a high incidence of diseases in the plantation,although other sections of the report cast doubt onthe veracity of the health complaints.Recommendation No. 8 of the report, for example,stated that ��a detailed investigation�should beconducted to identify risk factors for the high morbidityin the Padre village and other affected areas.�(2)

More revealing were the results of the study doneby the Kasargod District Committee of the KeralaShastra Sahitya Parishad.(6) A household survey wasdone to assess the health and environmental situationin 7 villages within the cashew plantation whereendosulfan was being aerially sprayed. A total of 747households with 4102 inhabitants were included inthe study. The respondents were categorized into twomain groups. Those from the Enmakaje area, wheremost of the reports of health problems came from,were designated as Group B and the rest, where suchreports were apparently less, was designated as GroupA. Health and environmental quality indicators werethen compared with those of the entire state of Keralafrom the latest available data (1996). The resultsshowed that disability rate was 73 per cent higher inGroup B compared to that of Kerala state and that therate of locomotor disability and mental retardationtaken together was higher by 107 per cent. Likewise,chronic morbidity was higher in Group B by 70 percent. Although the rates of total disability and chronicmorbidity in Group A did not seem to be significantlydifferent from the overall rates in the state of Kerala,the rates of locomotor and visual disabilities weresignificantly higher. In a separate study done inFebruary, 2001, by the Deputy District Medical Officerin Kasargod, in a survey of 400 households in theaffected areas, it was also found that the rate of mentalretardation in the endosulfan sprayed areas was abovethe state average.(2)



Given the foregoing case descriptions,corroborative testimonies and observations, andgovernmental and non-governmental studies/reports,there seems to be no doubt that indeed there is anunusually large number of illnesses occurring in thevillages within the cashew plantation where endosulfanhas been aerially sprayed.

The question now remaining is: are these illnessesmainly due to endosulfan exposure? The answer isYES, for the following reasons:

1. The illnesses observed are to be expected fromthe known intrinsic toxicologic properties of endosul-fan.

The preponderance of neurologic and mentalillnesses among the reported health problems iscompatible with the fact that endosulfan is a knownneurotoxicant, (7) belonging to a group of highly toxicorganochlorine chemicals. Endosulfan blocks theinhibitory receptors of the central nervous system,disrupts the ionic channels, and destroys the integrityof the nerve cells. Acute toxic effects include dizzinessand vomiting, hyperactivity, tremors, lack ofcoordination, and convulsions. Chronic exposure mayresult in permanent damage to the nervous systemwhich may manifest in various kinds of neurologicdiseases. Apart from its capacity to directly damagethe nervous system, endosulfan is also an endocrinedisruptor.(8,9,10) Even low levels of exposure duringpregnancy could result in various forms of endocrinedisrupting effects in the offspring, including mentalretardation, reproductive organ anomalies,developmental disorders, behavioral disorders laterin life, and many others.

There is also evidence that endosulfan can causecancer, despite contrary claims from the chemicalindustry produced data often quoted by internationaltechnical bodies including the WHO/FAO committees.For example, endosulfan was found to be mutagenicin various assay systems, including the Ames test,micronucleus test, and the yeast conversion test.(11,12,13)

Endosulfan was also found to cause chromosomalaberrations in hamsters and mice, sex-linked recessivemutations in Drosophilia, and dominant lethalmutations in mice.(14,15) Studies in human cells, bothin vitro and in vivo, also showed that endosulfancaused chromosomal damage.(16,17) Very recently, ateam of researchers found further evidence ofendosulfan genotoxicity using sister chromatid

exchanges, micronuclei, and DNA strand breaks asdetected by gel electrophoresis as biomarkers.(18) Otherstudies indicate that endosulfan may causelymphosarcoma and that it is a potential liver-tumourpromoter.(19,20)

The high incidence of cancer in the endosulfansprayed areas is therefore compatible with existingindependent scientific evidence showing thecarcinogenic potential of endosulfan. The fact thatendosulfan has not been classified as a humancarcinogen by international bodies is no reason toexonerate endosulfan as a probable cause. Mostcarcinogenic chemicals have not been classified ashuman carcinogens because of the unrealistic standardsof evidence required by corporate dominated �soundscience� and the �risk assessment � paradigm.

The genotoxic and chromosome damagingproperties of endosulfan not only indicate thatendosulfan causes cancer but also explains the highincidence of congenital abnormalities found in theendosulfan sprayed areas, since genotoxic andchromosome damaging chemicals are also usuallyembryotoxic. In fact, endosulfan has been found tobe embryotoxic in animals.(21) This embryotoxicproperty of endosulfan can also explain the highoccurrence of abortions, stillbirths, and other relateddisorders.

There is also scientific evidence that endosul-fan is immunotoxic.(22,23) This should not be surprisingsince endosulfan belongs to the organochlorine groupof chemicals, many of which have already been dem-onstrated to destroy the immune system. Thisimmunotoxic property can also explain why many ofthe affected villagers are very susceptible to practi-cally all kinds of diseases.

2. There is no other probable cause that mightreasonably explain the observed health problemsexcept endosulfan.

There is no evidence that other environmentaltoxicants that might possibly explain the observedhealth problems are present in the affected areas.There has been no other pesticide, not even householdpesticides, that has been used except endosulfan.There are no industrial activities at or near the areasaffected which might indicate possible contaminationby industrial pollutants, like lead, mercury, cadmium,polyaromatic hydrocarbons, etc.; that might confound



the causation of the health problems in the affectedareas. Furthermore, the villages affected were too faraway from the nearest city where pollution by othertoxicants might possibly occur. Ionizing radiation isalso an unlikely cause since there is no identifiablesource. Detailed interviews also did not reveal intakeof medications or other substances that might havecaused some of the observed illnesses like congenitalabnormalities. While there is a possibility that arecanut chewing might explain some of the healthproblems, there was no history of areca nut chewingby the mothers of the affected children before orduring pregnancy. Some of the cancers, particularlyoral cancer and cancer of the throat, can be causedby areca nut chewing, but the overall incidence ofdiseases in the affected areas cannot be explained bythis possible confounding causative factor. There is alsono history of smoking among the affected households,nor any history of habitual alcohol drinking. Inaddition, the family history of those interviewed didnot reveal any confounding factor referable tohereditary causes, infectious agents, or other biologicalor physical factors. In all cases of congenitalabnormalities seen, there was no history of similarcases in either the mother�s or the father�s relatives.There was also no indication of any infectious episodeduring pregnancy of the mothers of the affectedchildren, nor was there any history of difficult deliverythat might explain some cases of cerebral palsy,epilepsy or severe mental retardation. Malnutrition isalso not a causative factor since most households arerelatively self-sufficient in food and are, in fact,relatively better off economically compared to otherareas. There is also no evidence that other dietaryfactors such as food additives and other foodcontaminants might be present. Intermarriage amongclose relatives, a possible factor in some developmentaldisorders, is relatively uncommon and would notexplain the observed health problems. The twomedical doctors who personally knew the patients andtheir families also affirm that there are no other likelycause of the observed health problems exceptendosulfan.

3. There is clear time and geographic associationbetween the occurrence of the health problems andthe aerial spraying of endosulfan.

The people�s claim that the health problemsoccurred and gradually accumulated during the periodof aerial spraying of endosulfan has not been disputed.Cases of cancer, developmental anomalies,reproductive disorders, neurologic diseases, and theother serious illnesses were practically non-existentbefore the advent of endosulfan aerial spraying. Drs.Kumar and Sripathy also assert that they noticed theincreased incidence of various diseases only after theaerial spraying of pesticide in the plantation wasstarted. The teachers in the school near the plantationalso noticed that children from the villages within thecashew plantation were often sick and performsignificantly less in school compared to children fromother areas outside the plantation. It was also observedthat health problems were more numerous and weremore serious in the villages inside the plantationcompared to those farther away from the plantation.

4. There is corroborating evidence of adverse ef-fects on animals and the environment which are at-tributable to endosulfan.

The reports on fish kills and dwindlingpopulation of honeybees, frogs, birds, and otheranimals soon after the aerial spraying of endosulfanstarted have not been disputed. Cows and chickenwere also observed to die of mysterious causes. Peoplewere also complaining that their domestic animals hadsuffered miscarriages, bleeding, infertility, stunting ofgrowth and deformities. These effects can be expectedas a result of exposure to endosulfan. Endosulfan ishighly toxic to fish, honeybees and birds, and can alsoresult in the diminution of the population of variousspecies of animals and wildlife.(24,25,26,27) Existingscientific data reveal that the above mentioned adverseeffects observed in the endosulfan sprayed villages inKasargod have also been observed in many areasaround the world as a result of endosulfancontamination.

5. There is credible testimonial and clinical recordevidence of the various illnesses from competentmedical practitioners who had been directly consultedby the affected villagers.

There is no reason to doubt the veracity of the



depositions of Dr. Kumar and Dr. Sripathy pertainingto the occurrence of the health problems reported.These depositions are backed-up by clinical recordsof patient consultations. Their professional evaluationof the cases seen leads them to conclude thatendosulfan is the most likely cause of the diseases theywere seeing.

6. Endosulfan has been demonstrated bylaboratory analysis to be present in high concentrationsin biological and environmental samples taken fromthe most affected village inside the endosulfan sprayedarea.

The CSE study, which published its results anddescribed in detail the standard methodology used,revealed very high levels of endosulfan in all samples,including human blood, milk, water, soil, plants, andseveral others, taken from Padre village.(2) While thestudy had been criticized, the criticisms had beenanswered by the CSE scientists. Another study, the KAUstudy, did not show endosulfan levels in samples ofwater, pepper and betel leaves but showed low tohigh levels of endosulfan in soil and cashew leaves.This study, which was not openly published and whichhas not described its methodology in detail, concludedthat there was no conclusive evidence that endosulfanwas the cause of the problem. A study was also donetwo months later by the PCK and the pesticidemanufacturers themselves and came up with resultsshowing no endosulfan residues found in samples offish, water, milk, and blood; while there were low levelsin soil and low to moderate levels in cashew leaves.This study was also not openly published and no detailsof the methodology were provided.

7. People�s experiences and testimonies from theaffected villages had indicated that endosulfan wascausing health and environmental problems.

The people in the affected villages had beenseeing the increased incidence of diseases and envi-ronmental problems only since the plantation startedits operations. Many other villages in Kasargod havealso reported such health problems at various timesduring the years of endosulfan aerial spraying.

People�s experiences and testimonies provideimportant information and evidence on the causationof certain illnesses. Medical practitioners often relyon the oral narrations of patients or their close rela-

tives and friends to determine the nature and causa-tion of diseases. The clinical impression often over-rules laboratory analysis since very often,unquantifiable uncertainty factors, including intuitionbased on clinical experience, prove to be very usefulin the total appraisal of the situation. Clinical deci-sions are often based mainly on patient�s personalaccount of signs and symptoms of ill health and itscause. In the particular case of the health problems inKasargod, the people�s testimonies and experiencesimplicating endosulfan as the cause of their healthproblems, carry a lot of weight.

Taken together, the foregoing reasons estab-lish beyond reasonable doubt that endosulfan is pri-marily the causative factor of the health problems inthe villages within the cashew plantation in Kasargod,Kerala, India.

ConclusionsBased on the foregoing findings and analysis, it

is concluded that:1. There is an unusually large number of illnesses

occurring among the people in the villages ofKasargod within the cashew plantation whereaerial spraying of endosulfan has been goingon since the past 26 years.

2. The occurrence of these illnesses is due mainlyto endosulfan.

Recommendations1. The use of endosulfan should be permanently

banned.2. A comprehensive health and environmental sur-

vey of the villages which were likely exposed toendosulfan should be undertaken to determinethe extent of adverse health and environmentaldamage.

3. Remediation measures should be undertakenimmediately on the affected villages. Immediatemedical assistance should be provided to thevictims and economic compensation paid for bythe polluters should be awarded to the affectedfamilies. Clean-up of the soil and water at theexpense of the polluters should be immediatelyundertaken in areas where endosulfan levels aredetermined to be high.



4. Community health and environmental monitoringfor at least 10 years should be instituted to deter-mine the occurrence of latent and delayed effectsand to determine the effectiveness of remediationmeasures.

5. Policy reforms should be initiated to ensure ad-equate protection of health and environment frompesticides.

6. Steps should be taken to include endosulfan amongthe list of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) tar-geted for global elimination.

-oOo-References1. THANAL Conservation Action and Information Network.Preliminary Findings of a Survey on the Impact of AerialSpraying on the People and Ecosystem.Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. Oct. 2001.2. Achyuthan Committee. Report of the Committee to Studyand Analyze the Effects of Aerial Spray of endosulfan inthe Cashew Plantations of PCK LTD. In Kasaragod District.Government of Kerala. Nov. 2001.3. Kumar, Dr. Mohan. Interview. Padre Village, Enmakaje,Kasaragod, Kerala. Jan. 19-22, 2002.4. Kajampady, Dr.Sripathy. Interview. Perla Village,Kasaragod, Kerala, Jan.19-22, 2002.5. Padre, Shree. Interview. Padre Village, Kasaragod, Kerala,Jan. 19-22, 2002.6. Kasaragod District Committee, Kerala Shastha SahityaParishad. Household Survey to Assess the Health and Envi-ronmental Impact of Aerial Spraying of Endosulfan in PCKCashew Plantation of Kasaragod District. August, 2001.7. ATSDR.Toxicological Profile for Endosulfan. U.S. Depart-ment of Health &Human Services, Public Health Service,ATSDR, Atlanta, Georgia. 1993.8. Soto, A.M., Chung, K.L. and Sonnenschein, C. The pes-ticides endosulfan, toxaphene and dieldrin have estrogeniceffects on human estrogen-sensitive cells. Environ HealthPerspec 102:380-83, 1994.9. Jin, L., Tran, D.Q., Ide, C.F., McLachlan, J.A. and Arnold,S.F. Several synthetic chemicals inhibit progesterone recep-tor-mediated transactivation in yeast. Biochem Biophys ResComm 233:139-46, 1997.

10. Chakravorty, S., Lal, B. and Singh, T.P. Effect of en-dosulfan (Thiodan) on vitellogenesis and its modulationby different hormones in the vitellogenic catfish Clariasbatrachus. Toxicology 75:191, 1992.11. Syliangco CYL. Mutat Res. 53:271-2, 1978.12. Adams JS, Mutat Res. 53:271-2, 1978.13. Yadav, A.S., Vashishat, R.K. and Kakar, S.N. Testing ofendosulfan and fenitrothion for genotoxicity in Saccharo-myces cerevisiae. Mutat Res 105:403-7, 1982.14. Velazquez, A., Creus, A., Xamena, N. and Marcos, R.Mutagenicity of the insecticide endosulfan in Drosophilamelangaster. Mutat Res 136:115-18, 1984.15. Naqvi, S.M.,Vaisnavi, C. Bioaccumulative Potential andtoxicity of endosulfan insecticide in non-target animals.Comp Biochem Physiol&. 1993;105:347-61, 1993.16. Sobti, R.C.,et al. Cytokinetic and cytogenetic effect ofagriculture chemicals on human lymphoid cells in vitro. II.Organochlorine Pesticides. Arch Toxicol, 52:221-31, 1983.17. Dulout, F.N., et al. Mutat Res. 143 :237-44, 1983.18. Yuquan, L., et al. Genotoxic Effects of Alpha-Endosul-fan and Beta-Endosulfan on Human HepG2 Cells. EnvironHealth Perspect, 108 :559-61, 2000.19. Reuber M D., The role of toxicity in the carcinogenicityof endosulfan. Sci Total Environ. 20:23-47, 1981.20. Fransson-Steen R et al.,Carcinogenesis.13 :2299-303,1992.21. Popov et al. Ontogenez 29(2):104-12, 1998.22. Banerjee BD and Hussain, QZ. Arch Toxicol 59:279-284, 1986.23. Das, N. et al. Cur Sci 57:524-526, 1986.24. Binham, B. The Pesticide Hazard. London, UK. ZedBooks, 1993.25. IPCS. Environmental Health Criteria Series No. 40.Endosulfan. Geneva, Switzerland. WHO, 1984.26. National Wildlife Federation. Pesticides: Is Safe UsePossible? Washington DC. 1987.27. Hansen, OC. Ecotoxicological Evaluation of Endosul-fan. Danish Technical Institute, Copenhagen, Denmark.1993.

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