Pharmacologist Ravindranath Shanbhag, who has been fighting for endosulfan victims, has asked the Hassan district administration to immediately test waterbodies across the district to rule out traces of the banned insecticide.
Dr. Shanbhag, who studied endosulfan and its effects on human bodies, was commenting on reports of its traces in some samples of ginger in Hassan. He said prolonged consumption of water contaminated with the pesticide would increase the level of endosulfan in blood. This will cause serious health hazards as noticed in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Uttara Kannada districts, where the pesticide was sprayed on cashew plantations before being banned in February 2011.
The consumer activist said endosulfan was a water-soluble pesticide. With rain, the pesticide gets mixed with the water and it percolates into the soil. “If endosulfan traces are found in the root or in the fruit, it is an indication that the pesticide has been used in the last few weeks,” he said.
Like any pesticide-sprayed vegetables and fruits that are eaten, there will not be any harm consuming ginger having traces of endosulfan. “After eating such a fruit, the pesticide residue goes out of the body along with urine after a few hours.”
If the pesticide gets mixed with water and is consumed at regular intervals for six months, the level of pesticide in blood increases and leads to health hazards, he said.
This is to rule out traces of endosulfan, which was found in some samples of ginger in the district
