 There is a famous saying in Tamil that goes like this Unave marindu This translates to there is no better medicine than food But in the present scenario what we have did we have transformed food which is supposed to be a medicine into poison Mindless use of fertilizers and pesticides has reduced the nutrition value in our food and also has damaged the environment around us Although through modern technology and use of fertilizers we have increased the food production and increased the life expectancy of our population the disability adjusted life years is also on the rise There is the increasing prevalence of non-communicable diseases like cancer in our society While talking about this issue what comes to my mind is the silent killer of Kesargad which is none other than Endosulfan See first of all what is Endosulfan? Endosulfan is a pesticide What is meant by a pesticide here? Pesticides are substances that are meant to control pests such as insects, weeds, fungi and other pests So we can say that pesticide is a collective term to represent herbicide, insecticide, nematicide, maluskicide, rottenicide, bactericide and other insect repellent, animal repellent, microbicide, fungi side etc So all these that are used to control the pest are collectively termed as pesticide See Endosulfan is a brown colored solid that may appear in the form of crystals or flakes It has a smell like turpentine but it does not burn It does not occur naturally in the environment Yes this organochlorine insecticide was first introduced in the 1950s This is to control a variety of insects including white flies, apids, leaf hoppers, Colorado potato beetles and cabbage worms So this Endosulfan is a broad spectrum organochlorine This pesticide works as an insecticide and accreside Insecticide means it kills the insects that are detrimental for crops And accreside means it kills the subclass of arachnids which is acre This acre subclass includes ticks and mites See in the year 2011 the Supreme Court of India banned Endosulfan throughout India Now let us see some of its features and the harmful impacts caused by the Endosulfan And let us see why it is banned The first feature is it is relatively persistent and it is semi volatile compound What does this mean? It means that this Endosulfan lasts long in the environment Because they are less likely to get vaporized So this Endosulfan is detected in soil, sediment and water and even in areas where it is not used This is the first feature Secondly it has the potential to bioaccumulate in aquatic and terrestrial organisms Here bioaccumulation refers to the gradual buildup of chemicals in a living organism over time See these are the two major features of the Endosulfan Now let us see what is the issue with this pesticide The main issue is it is toxic by inhalation, skin absorption or ingestion And it causes many health issues Its persistent and bioaccumulating nature further aggravates the problem Due to this it has negative impacts on humans In humans it leads to neurobehavioral disorders, cognitive disorders, hydrocephalus, mental retardation, cancer at anger age and other lifelong illnesses among female children Here what is hydrocephalus? See it is a condition that increases pressure within the head and make the head grow in abnormal size This leads to brain damage and ultimately death Endosulfan causes abnormalities related to male reproductive system also Just look at this image to see the harm caused by this endosulfan It does not stop with this, it also impacts the environment and other organisms It leads to mass death of bees, fishes, birds and also causes congenital deformities in domestic animals See the Burtland report in 1987 defined sustainable development as the idea that human societies must live and meet their needs without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs See eliminating the use of harmful chemicals like endosulfan is also an important component of sustainable development Let us take effort to conserve our nature to protect our future generation To know more about environment related news and issues, follow Shankara Esakadami's YouTube channel. Thank you