Call for banning pesticides that cause kidney disease
June 17, 2011, 9:29 pmBy Ifham Nizam
Professor Nalin de Silva, Head of Kelaniya University Science Faculty, yesterday urged the Government to ban the importation of pesticides that cause kidney diseases and instead promote alternatives.
Speaking to The Island, he said there was Arsenic in all plants, the soil and water in the Rajarata area. However, he said, tests conducted on the Arsenic content in water had to be done with extreme caution as there was the chance of evaporation due to intense heat levels.
He says they had tested more than 50 samples of pesticides and all had Arsenic.
Professor De Silva says the Government must take steps to cure innocent patients and even compensate them.
He challenged those who claimed that the team of scientists, who alleged that Arsenic was found in Rajarata area, was working towards agendas of multinationals to promote their wheat flour for US dollars.
He also said that there was no truth in some claiming that Cadmium, Aluminum and Florid were the prime cause of kidney diseases in the North Central Province.
Agrarian Services and Wildlife Minister S. M. Chandrasena says there is no truth in rumours that Arsenic is found in rice.
The Minister told The Island yesterday that he vehemently opposes statements saying that Arsenic was in rice due to the use of fertilizer.
"We made inquiries in this regard. I inquired from the Fertilizer Secretariat and according to information received it was confirmed that poisonous fertilizers are not imported to the country," he said.
He says that Sri Lanka maintains a very high standard in agriculture in general and particularly when it comes to paddy cultivation.
"We are self-sufficient in paddy. We suspect that this is perhaps a conspiracy to sabotage this achievement. This is apparent when we study the statistics," he added.
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