'Even mother's milk is contaminated'

JALANDHAR: The "chakkiraha" (woodpecker), a beautiful bird once seen commonly in Punjab villages, some species of fish-eating birds, the vulture, the falcon, even the "chirri" (sparrow) are disappearing at an alarming rate.
Simply because their daily food is getting dangerously contaminated with chemicals like DDT, BHC, methoxychlor, chlorinated cydodienes, dieldrin, aldrin and endrin.
Even the mother''s milk is contaminated with these halogenated hydrocarbons, a study by scientists at Panjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana, reveals. Even the much loved "chapati" is contaminated.
In a study conducted at PAU by Dr Balwinder Singh and Dr HS Dhaliwal, the residue level of these chemicals were found to be higher than permissible limits.
They have concluded: "These chemicals are a prime candidate for biomagnification (that is a series of organisms in a food chain accumulate increasingly greater quantities of the chemicals in their fat at each higher trophic level). The species at the top of the food chain is adversely effected. For example, the population of fish-eating birds has declined. After crops are sprayed, the chemicals travel from insects or earthworms to reptiles or frogs and from these dead animals to dogs, vultures, hawks and falcons. Chemicals have also been associated with decrease in vulture count. From crops, they travel to milk-giving animals, milk and dairy products and then to human beings. Infants taking only mothers milk are also consuming large amounts of the chemicals."
A PAU survey revealed DDT and BHC residues in wheat and rice grains, flour as well as maize flour. More than 80 per cent of the samples were found to be contaminated (Dr Balwinder Singh, Department of Entomology, PAU).
According to this study, most of the samples contained residues of DDT above the legal limit of 0.1 parts per million. Even in the "chapati'', the daily adult consumption of DDT and BHC was about 208 and 519 ug, respectively.
The daily ingestion of DDT through cereals alone was 69 per cent of the prescribed safe level of 0.005 mg/kgb.w/day and was much higher than the total dietary intake of most developed countries. Residues of DDT and BHC were found in market samples of potato, carrot, cauliflower and "bhindi".
Residues of dieldrin/aldrin were found in potato and carrot samples.
Out of 244 samples of 27 cow''s milk monitored for DDT and BHC residues, contained BHC, while 244 contained DDT residues. Analysis of samples of infant formula (milk) revealed the presence of DDT and BHC residues.
As for mother''s milk, 130 samples collected were contaminated. The results obtained showed that the mean maximum levels of dietary intake of DDT residues were 238 and 428 ug/person/day from a vegetarian diet and 224 and 396 ug/person/day from a non-vegetarian diet.
Discarded technology has been dumped into India by the rich countries. Punjab has been caught in the vicious cycle of high yielding varieties requiring more fertilisers and insecticides and monotonous twocrop system which has become less profitable with each passing year.