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Lindane in India
INDIA EXPORTING BANNED PESTICIDES: GREENPEACE
Greenpeace has accused India of manufacturing and exporting
potentially harmful and toxic pesticides to developed countries which have
already banned these chemicals. According to the non-governmental environmental
organisation, Greenpeace International, India has exported nearly 0.5 million
kilograms of highly poisonous pesticides such as DDT, BHC, Aldrin and Lindane to
several countries, including the United States, Australia, European countries
and Brazil. http://indiashow.com/ecoupdate/august.htm
PESTICIDES RESTRICTED FOR USE IN INDIA -
Aluminium Phosphoid, Captafol, Carbaryl, Chlorobenzillate, DDT, Ethylene,
Dibromide (EDB), Lindane, Methyle Bromide, Methyl Parathion, Nicotene Sulphate,
Phenyl Mercury Acetate and Sodium Cyanide. |
Persistence of chlorpyriphos, quinalphos, endosulfan and lindane in sunflower (Helianthus
annus L.) seeds and oil
N S Parihar and A Gupta
AICRP on Pesticide Residues, Agricultural Research Station,
Durgapura, Jaipur - 302018, India
Sunflower is one of the most important oil seed crop grown in
temperate countries. In India it has gained popularity due to the national
priority of vegetable oil production. A number of insect pests attack sunflower
including cutworm, caterpillar, aphids and jassids. Insecticides like
chlorpyriphos, quinalphos, endosulfan and lindane are frequently used for the
control of these pests. But it is likely that in mature seeds and in their oil,
residues of pesticides may persist in unacceptable levels, therefore, the
present study was conducted to study the persistence of chlorpyriphos,
quinalphos, endosulfan and lindane in sunflower seeds and oil. Field experiments
were conducted during the Rabi season of 1993-94, and 1994-95 at the
Agricultural Research Station, Durgapura, Jaipur (India). All four insecticides
were tested at two dosages, viz. 500 and 1,000 g a.i./h. The insecticides were
applied to the crop first at four weeks after its germination and for the second
time three weeks later. The crop was harvested 125 days after sowing. Mature
sunflower seeds and their oil were then subjected to insecticide residue
analysis by the GLC method. The study revealed that residues of chlorpyriphos
and quinalphos both in sunflower seeds and in their oil were at below detectable
level at 500 and 1,000 g a.i./h. Residue levels of endosulfan in seeds were
0.0052 and 0.0177 ppm at the 500 and 1,000 g a.i./h dosages respectively. In
sunflower oil the corresponding values of endosulfan residues were 0.013 and
0.0422 ppm respectively. The sunflower seed and oil contained 0.038 and 0.143
ppm lindane residues at 500 g a.i./h dose respectively. At the higher dose of
1,000 g a.i./h the sunflower seed and oil contained 0.077 ppm and 0.276 ppm of
lindane residues respectively. Current studies suggest that the foliar
application of chlorpyriphos, quinalphos and endosulfan were at safe levels but
that the test schedule of lindane required revision from the residue point of
view.
References
FAO (1992) Codex Maximum Limits for Pesticide Residues. Food and
Agricultural Organisation, Rome, Part 2.
Kumari, B, Kumar, R, Malik, M S, Naresh, J S and Kathpal, T S
(1996) Dissipation of Endosulfan and Lindane on Sunflower Seeds and Cowpea Pods.
Pestic. Res. J. 8, 49-55. http://www.wda.co.uk/business/techtran/clubs/wpmf/ecotox
Hindustan Insecticides, New Delhi Butachlor, DDT, Dicofol, Endosulphan, Lindane,
Malathion.
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Bioremediation of pesticide-contaminated soils
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Collaborators: R. Pagliarini, C. Seignez, C. Holliger
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Objectives:
The
overall goal is to develop a bioremediation technology to treat pesticide
contaminated soils based on bioaugmentation with specific pesticide-degrading
bacteria. To achieve this goal it will be necessary:
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To
develop cultivation and storage techniques for the pesticide-degrading bacteria
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To
develop optimal field application methods and methods for monitoring the
inoculant's efficacy for in-situ pesticide degradation.
Key words: in-situ bioremediation, bioaugmentation,
lindane, hexachlorocyclohexane, endosulfane, parathion, methyl-parathion, Sphingomonas
paucimobilis, Pseudomonas cepacia
Short Description and
Results:
Consequently,
many cheap and effective insecticides such as hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH),
endosulfan, parathion, and methyl-parathion, which were banned in many other
countries, are still being used in India. Unfortunately, in particular these
insecticides are very toxic and poorly biodegradable. Their extensive and
sometimes indiscriminate use resulted in a widespread occurrence of residual
insecticide concentrations in the Indian environment, and also in their
accumulation in crops and food products.
The
overall goal of this project is to develop a bioremediation technology to treat
pesticide contaminated Indian soils by using specific inoculation of previously
enriched pesticide degrading bacteria (bioaugmentation). The project shall be
carried out under controlled laboratory conditions, in pot and tray experiments,
and finally, on field scale. Most of the work will be done in parallel except
for the field trial that only will be done at the end of the project period. The
project will be carried out by a collaboration of three Indian groups and two
Swiss partners. It is our challenge to reach an efficient and implementable
biological treatment technique for existing pesticide-contaminated soils in
India, thereby reducing residual pesticide concentrations in the environment
and, consequently, exposure to the Indian people.
©
EPFL - Laboratory for Environmental Biotechnology
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Warning the following article is loaded with mis-
and disinformation:
PROJECTS ON OFFER BY
NSTEDB IN CHEMICALS MANUFACTURE
OF LINDANE |
