Science and Technology - Briefs

ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES Storm alert

The new obesity

Pesticides in our food

There is never any end to learning. And so, surprises. We have learnt, over 20 years, that environmental governance in India is lackadaisical. Still, the extent of irresponsibility never fails to surprise.

COLANISATION'S DIRTY DOZEN

The Pollution Monitoring Laboratory (PML) of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) places in the public domain its analysis of the contents of 12 cold drink brands sold in Delhi. Three bottles of each of the 12 brands were purchased from markets across the city and analysed to see if they contained pesticides.

Pesticide residues in bottled water

There was a time in the recently liberalised past when people didn't quite know how to refer to a new product called drinking water. They would say 'bottled water' and 'mineral water' to freely refer to one or the other kind of water, perhaps meaning the same one. It used to be confusing. People were not used to drinking water that had to be bought. People were getting used to paying money to drink water. Paying more money for their water than they did for milk everyday.

Science for ecology

Down To Earth and the Centre for Science and Environment announce that the winner of the 2001 Green Scientist Award is V P Sharma , former head of the Malaria Research Centre.

Toxins in the womb

EXPOSURE to organic pollutants can disrupt the formation of nervous system in a foetus. This in turn may lead to neural tube defects. The disease affects over 320,000 infants worldwide every year.

“Reddy” remedies

Satwant Reddy committee: Report of the committee on the pesticide residue in packaged drinking water and packaged natural mineral water, March 25, 2003 • Setting standards • BIS should have a core group of scientists from various fields to keep track of recent scientific and technical developments in critical areas.

Notified, at last

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Notification, July 18, 2003 Prevention of Food Adulteration (1st Amendment) Rules, 2003 • Pesticide residues considered individually — not more than 0.0001 mg/litre (The analysis shall be conducted by using Internationally established test methods meeting the residue limits specified herein) • Total pesticide residues — not more than 0.0005 mg/litre (The analysis shall be conducted by using internationally established test methods meeting the residue limits specified herein)

Pesticide-rich food

THE country’s regulators have failed to check the flow of pesticides into the food chain, suggests a monitoring report of the Department of Agriculture and the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, the country’s premier institute. Fruits, vegetables, poultry and milk are all laced with high pesticide residues —much above the maximum residue limits (MRL) set by the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act of 1954. Samples of Amul milk collected from Ahmedabad, for instance, had the highest traces of chlorpyriphos, a known carcinogen that can also cause neural disorders.