Pesticides found in mother’s milk..

FEEDING POISON? 
Pesticides found in mother’s milk 
Rao Jaswant Singh  - Times of India Bangalore - June  5, 2009

Jaipur: Now, it seems pesticides have contaminated even mother’s milk. Researchers from Rajasthan University have found an alarming presence of organochlorine pesticides in the blood and milk samples collected from lactating women in Anupgarh town in Rajasthan’s Ganganagar district. Anupgarh is known for extensive use of pesticides in farming. 
 
  Anupgarh, located near the Indo-Pak border, has Asia’s largest foodgrain industry. It has a population of 29,548 (2001 census). Faculty at Rajasthan University’s zoology department, Inderpal Soni, said organochlorine pesticides are reported to be lipophilic (ability of a chemical compound to dissolve in fats) and their presence in human milk and blood has been documented in different parts of the world. 
 
  “We examined blood and milk samples of 50 lactating women, divided them into four groups on the basis of living standards — area of residence, dietary habits, working conditions and addiction to tobacco,” she said. The level of total organochlorine pesticides in blood ranged from 3.319 to 6.253 mg/l while in milk samples, it ranged from 3.209 to 4.608 mg/l. She said that greater pesticide residue was found in the samples of women from rural areas compared to those in urban areas. 
  Even after the shocking revelation in the research project, the sale of pesticide continues unabated.