This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/21/india-school-lunch-pesticide
The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Previous version
1
Next version
Version 0 | Version 1 |
---|---|
Indian school lunch pesticide not widely available, says magistrate | Indian school lunch pesticide not widely available, says magistrate |
(about 1 hour later) | |
The free school lunches that killed 23 Indian children last week were contaminated with concentrated pesticide that is not widely available, according to the district magistrate overseeing the police investigation. | The free school lunches that killed 23 Indian children last week were contaminated with concentrated pesticide that is not widely available, according to the district magistrate overseeing the police investigation. |
The children fell ill within minutes of eating a meal of rice and potato curry in their one-room school in Bihar state on Tuesday, vomiting and convulsing with stomach cramps. | The children fell ill within minutes of eating a meal of rice and potato curry in their one-room school in Bihar state on Tuesday, vomiting and convulsing with stomach cramps. |
The lunch was part of India's mid-day meals scheme, which covers 120 million children and aims to tackle malnutrition and encourage school attendance. It had already drawn widespread complaints over food safety. | |
The deaths sparked protests in Bihar. | The deaths sparked protests in Bihar. |
An initial forensic investigation found that the meal had been prepared with cooking oil that contained monocrotophos, an organophosphorus compound used as an agricultural pesticide, Ravindra Kumar, a senior police official, told reporters on Saturday. | |
The pesticide found in the oil was more than five times more concentrated than that used in a commercial version, according to a forensic report. | |
"It is highly poisonous, it's highly toxic, and, therefore, it has to be diluted when used as commercial pesticides," said district magistrate Abhijit Sinha. | "It is highly poisonous, it's highly toxic, and, therefore, it has to be diluted when used as commercial pesticides," said district magistrate Abhijit Sinha. |
"Typically it has to be diluted five times. So one litre of monocrotophos is mixed with five litres of water." | "Typically it has to be diluted five times. So one litre of monocrotophos is mixed with five litres of water." |
Sinha said the concentrated form was not widely available and the pesticide was normally sold commercially in the diluted state. | Sinha said the concentrated form was not widely available and the pesticide was normally sold commercially in the diluted state. |
Police said on Friday they suspected the cooking oil used in the meal was kept in a container previously used to store the pesticide. They are still looking for the headmistress of the school, who fled after the deaths. | Police said on Friday they suspected the cooking oil used in the meal was kept in a container previously used to store the pesticide. They are still looking for the headmistress of the school, who fled after the deaths. |
The World Health Organisation describes monocrotophos as highly hazardous and that handling and application of it should be entrusted only to competently supervised and well-trained applicators. | The World Health Organisation describes monocrotophos as highly hazardous and that handling and application of it should be entrusted only to competently supervised and well-trained applicators. |
The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations says all waste and contaminated material associated with the chemical should be considered hazardous waste and destroyed in a special high-temperature chemical incinerator facility. | The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations says all waste and contaminated material associated with the chemical should be considered hazardous waste and destroyed in a special high-temperature chemical incinerator facility. |
Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. | Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. |
Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. Enter your email address to subscribe. | Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. Enter your email address to subscribe. |
Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox every weekday. | Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox every weekday. |
Previous version
1
Next version