Endosulfan

• The Supreme Court recently transferred to Kerala High Court the responsibility of monitoring the measures taken by the State to provide medical and palliative care for victims of endosulfan contamination.
• Advocates representing Kerala govt reported that ₹5 lakh compensation has been provided to almost all of the 3700 victims.

ABOUT ENDOSULFAN

• Endosulfan is an organochlorine insecticide which was first introduced in the 1950s and is commonly known by its trade name Thiodan.
• It is sprayed on crops like cotton, cashew, fruits, tea, paddy, tobacco for control of pests such as whiteflies, aphids, beetles, worms etc.
• Supreme Court banned its production and distribution in 2011.
• Endosulfan is a known carcinogen, neurotoxin and genotoxin (damages DNA).
  • Health effects include neurotoxicity, late sexual maturity, physical deformities, poisoning, among others.
• Endosulfan is listed under both the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent and the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants.