From pesticides and insecticides that are sprayed, often indiscriminately, on crops, to chemicals that are added to processed food, the Government must better monitor the many ways through which toxins enter our systems
The increasing presence of toxins in the environment has always been a cause for concern. Toxicants from pollutants, insecticides and fertilisers can impact an organism and its community through undesirable changes in species-diversity and abundance. Resulting changes in population dynamics impacts the ecosystem by altering its productivity and stability. Off late, sources of environmental toxicity, in the form of organic and inorganic pollutants, have multiplied. Now, they are affecting all aspects of the environment.
The Government has been combating the toxin menace through operative tools such as the Environment Protection Act, 1986, Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, and The Pesticide Management Bill, 2008 (as a replacement to the Insecticide Act, 1968). Yet, strategies based on these laws have not been able to deliver a meaningful impact on the regulation of toxins in the environment. For instance, harmful pesticides are still indiscriminately used in the agriculture sector as farmers do not pay much heed to the consequences.
Since a prolonged bureaucratic process of applying laws has not elicited the desired result, the Government must engage a scientific methodology to approach the issue, besides taking other measures. An over-arching philosophy needs to bind the legislation, allowing greater awareness and better implementation, into one seamless and effective initiative. The renewed effort must envision a comprehensive end to the use of harmful toxins in the form of pesticides and fertilisers, besides providing for sustainable and affordable options.
The science of environmental toxicology, also known as Entox, can be the philosophy to help create a foundation on which all further preventive initiatives and efforts can be based upon. Entox is a multi-disciplinary science, concerned with the study of harmful effects of various chemical, biological and physical agents on living organisms and their immediate environment. Pioneered by Rachel Carson in 1962, Entox can help all stakeholders to scientifically understand the effect of toxicants on the environment.
Furthermore, authorities can scientifically strategise through ecotoxicology, a sub-discipline of Entox. Ecotoxicology can help the agencies study the harmful effects of toxicants such as polychlorinated biphenyls, heavy metals and organochlorines at the population and ecosystem levels.
This in turn can help the agencies prepare action plans for the preservation of the ecosystem, conservation of biological diversity and prevention of the pollution of natural resources such ground water. Countries such as the United States have taken concrete measures by banning these non-biodegradable pollutants, and India must follow suit.
India must also strengthen its research on permissible pesticide residue levels, and these should be based on the Indian system of food intake, which has lots of regional variation and is unlike Western food habits. Pesticide residue levels in India have been found to be between five to 150 times higher than those set in the European Union, making food more dangerous.
In order to achieve an early success in the control of toxins in our environment, it is essential to ramp up inspection and quality control procedures at food manufacturers. India has a capacity of 3,000 food safety officers, which is woefully inadequate. The US, which has only one-fourth India’s population, has 8,000 inspectors.
Similarly, India’s 46 quality control laboratories for pesticide study are simply not enough. Put together, the labs can only analyse 60,000 samples a year. In contrast, the American State of California, with just three per cent of India’s population, alone analyses 70 samples daily at a single laboratory — and results are available within 24 hours.
Awareness-generation among the general population is also of crucial importance in order to discourage the use of pollutants and toxicants. The Government can promote organic production methods and consumption of organic foods as an alternative to processed foods which are loaded with chemicals. The authorities can also plan and provide specific incentives for the producers and consumers of organic food, in order to bring down the premium prices of these products.
Pesticides and other similar toxicants have been linked to a wide range of human health issues, ranging from short-term impacts such as headaches and nausea to chronic impacts like cancer, loss of reproductive abilities and endocrine disruption. These pollutants are often considered a quick, easy, and inexpensive solution for controlling weeds, insect and pests, but the usage has a significant human and environmental cost. Hopefully, the New Year will provide much-needed respite for the environment, and help man better appreciate nature.