PHORATE POISONING IN KERALA, INDIA
KERALA, 26th June 2001 - In two separate pesticide accidents one boy (16 years old) died and 41 people mostly women were hospitalized in Idukki district Kerala. Pesticide that concerned was phorate, an extremely hazardous acutely toxic organophosphorous pesticide which is widely used in Kerala for various crops and available in market under various names.
The boy who died due to inhalation of phorate was a daily waged labourer in a cardamom plantation. Employing children of 14 to 18 years old is very common in cardamom plantations especially when monsoonal rain starts. This coincides with fertiliser and pesticide application. And it's a period of intense activity. Children have to be paid only half the wages for whatever work they are employed to do.
The boy, who died, Kannan, was employed for the first time and was asked to apply phorate. The work starts at 8 am and goes up to 4 pm. They are not given any protective clothes or equipments while handling such deadly chemicals.
He was engaged in phorate application for the sixth day when he succumbed to phorate. After two hours of phorate application on the sixth day he felt uneasy and lied down. He was lying down unnoticed for quite some time and he started vomiting and the sound attracted other workers to the site. They immediately took him to the near by Homeopath. She advised immediate attention at a hospital and he was taken to the St. John's Mission Hospital, Kattappana. On the way to the hospital he had his last breath. The doctors are not sure whether this death is caused by phorate inhalation. They have only seen cases of poisoning by consumption in suicide attempts, which is very common in the area.
Even after this tragic death the management has not stopped phorate application. They will not be paying any compensation to the victim as it is not proved to be caused by the work he did and also because he is not a permanent employee.
Phorate is still continuing in almost all the cardamom plantations of Idukki. This is recommended by Spices board the agency which gives guidance to the planters.
In another case, at Karintharuvi Tea estate in Idukki district, Kerala, 41 people were hospitalized due to exposure to phorate.
Tea estates in the state have been under very bad financial stress due to the fall in tea prices. The Karintharuvi Tea estate opted to diversify by planting bamboo. The Hindustan Newsprint Limited a public sector paper manufacturer is promoting the same in this area. They supply bamboo seeds and promise to buy back the bamboo. The estate was planting the bamboo seeds under this. To protect these seeds phorate was applied.
On the ill-fated day the women workers along with their supervisors came for regular work of plucking tea-leaves in the area where phorate was applied in the morning. With in half an hour one women worker fainted. The others also got affected soon. Vomiting, giddiness, uneasiness in the stomach, loss of vision was the major symptoms of poisoning. The supervisors also got sick. Immediately they were taken to the St. John's hospital in Kattappana.
One local man walking along nearby road also fainted and was admitted to the local government hospital.
The doctors and the management speak the same language that the workers are not fully affected by poison but are under "fear of it". The management does not agree that there is a problem. They see this, as an attempt to block the bamboo planting which is diversification from tea. Workers fearing loss of employment when the bamboo grows are behind this, alleges the management. The workers say that they are really unwell. Even after four days of the accident when the author met them they were feeling giddiness and vomiting sensation. All were discharged from the hospital by the fourth day and the supervisors of the management strictly guard them. They only talk to the doctors and do not permit the women to describe the problems directly. Six of the affected women, discharged from the hospital, had to be taken to medical college and admitted as they were still sick. Two were admitted in the estate hospital, which does not have a doctor.
Men who undertake the spraying of pesticides in this estate said that accidents of this sort are very common. But do not get reported to outside.