Toxic School
Sacks of gammexane, a toxic insecticide, was dumped at a civic school in Saraspur. Over 900 students were exposed to the chemical during recess. Don’t their lives matter?
Yogesh Avasthi
Posted On Wednesday, September 14, 2011 (http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/2/2011091420110914024931527829e0d6d/Toxic-School.html)
Children can be pests, at times. But that is no reason why the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) should dump sacks of poisonous insecticide within their easy reach. At Saraspur Gujarati shala no. 11, 12 and Hindi shala no. 6, more than 900 kids were exposed to benzene hexachloride, commonly known as gammexane or lindane. AMC vans had left sackfuls of the powerful chemical at the steps leading to their school building.
The sacks, which contained insecticides like lindane and malathion as well as lime dust, were being delivered to the sub-zonal office of India Colony Ward (North Zone). The office has been set up in the school building. And the civic authorities have converted a room on the ground floor into a storeroom where they keep chemicals and equipment used in cleanliness programmes.
The AMC has launched a campaign against mosquitoes and malaria in the city. As part of this, a consignment of gammexane was unloaded — right in front of the school steps, even though there was a large, empty ground next to the building where the sacks could have been stacked.
This was just a few minutes before the recess bell rang and students from Class 1 to 7 poured out of the building. Unaware of the toxicity of the sacks’ contents, the kids stepped over it to get to their playground.
Many of the students, who come from poor families, wore no shoes. A small child, who was hearing impaired, was seen using his hands to climb over the toxic pile.
Strict warning
The print on sacks from Gujarat Agro Industries Corporation Limited clearly warn: “Do not touch this chemical. Keep it away from food stuff, empty food packets and animal feed. Destroy empty sacks. If you notice symptoms of poisoning, call the doctor immediately. Use: Atrophine, 2 PAM (chloride).”
Lindane is absorbed significantly through the skin. Adverse effects include nausea, dizziness, headache, vomiting, restlessness, arrhythmia (irregular heartbeats), hematuria (blood in urine), paresthesia (tingling or burning sensation on skin), urticaria (itchy skin eruption) or pruritus (intense itching). And these occur when the exposure is limited.
Acute exposure may lead to central nervous system stimulation, mental/motor impairment, excitation, clonic (intermittent) and tonic (continuous) convulsion. Other reactions include central nervous system toxicity, as well as skin and gastrointestinal changes.
Paediatrician Parag Thakkar confirmed, “Minimum exposure to the chemicals can cause itching if it touches the skin. If inhaled, it can lead to respiratory problems. The reactions also depend on the victim’s level of immunity.”
The children at this school come from families that find it tough to put together two meals a day. They have low levels of immunity, making them highly susceptible to the chemicals.
‘Conduct inquiry’
Principal Jasubhai Patel admits that the corporation has been dumping various ‘powders’ at the school’s entrance. “The men leave the powders here and promise to remove it soon. But nothing is done on time. They keep chemicals, brooms and other stuff that are unclean and harmful in the storeroom. We have asked the health department several times to shift their godown to another section of the building, but no one pays any heed.”
Jagdish Bhavsar, chairman of the municipal school board, said, “We will conduct an inquiry into the matter. There is nothing more important than the safety of kids. We will make sure that the incident is not repeated again.”
Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi said, “This is a serious issue. Students from economically weaker sections of the society study at municipal schools. It is sheer luck that no kid was harmed. The godown should be shifted immediately and then the officer responsible for such negligence must be sacked. Such cases should not recur.
Yogesh Avasthi
Posted On Wednesday, September 14, 2011 (http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/2/2011091420110914024931527829e0d6d/Toxic-School.html)
Children can be pests, at times. But that is no reason why the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) should dump sacks of poisonous insecticide within their easy reach. At Saraspur Gujarati shala no. 11, 12 and Hindi shala no. 6, more than 900 kids were exposed to benzene hexachloride, commonly known as gammexane or lindane. AMC vans had left sackfuls of the powerful chemical at the steps leading to their school building.
The sacks, which contained insecticides like lindane and malathion as well as lime dust, were being delivered to the sub-zonal office of India Colony Ward (North Zone). The office has been set up in the school building. And the civic authorities have converted a room on the ground floor into a storeroom where they keep chemicals and equipment used in cleanliness programmes.
The AMC has launched a campaign against mosquitoes and malaria in the city. As part of this, a consignment of gammexane was unloaded — right in front of the school steps, even though there was a large, empty ground next to the building where the sacks could have been stacked.
This was just a few minutes before the recess bell rang and students from Class 1 to 7 poured out of the building. Unaware of the toxicity of the sacks’ contents, the kids stepped over it to get to their playground.
Many of the students, who come from poor families, wore no shoes. A small child, who was hearing impaired, was seen using his hands to climb over the toxic pile.
Strict warning
The print on sacks from Gujarat Agro Industries Corporation Limited clearly warn: “Do not touch this chemical. Keep it away from food stuff, empty food packets and animal feed. Destroy empty sacks. If you notice symptoms of poisoning, call the doctor immediately. Use: Atrophine, 2 PAM (chloride).”
Lindane is absorbed significantly through the skin. Adverse effects include nausea, dizziness, headache, vomiting, restlessness, arrhythmia (irregular heartbeats), hematuria (blood in urine), paresthesia (tingling or burning sensation on skin), urticaria (itchy skin eruption) or pruritus (intense itching). And these occur when the exposure is limited.
Acute exposure may lead to central nervous system stimulation, mental/motor impairment, excitation, clonic (intermittent) and tonic (continuous) convulsion. Other reactions include central nervous system toxicity, as well as skin and gastrointestinal changes.
Paediatrician Parag Thakkar confirmed, “Minimum exposure to the chemicals can cause itching if it touches the skin. If inhaled, it can lead to respiratory problems. The reactions also depend on the victim’s level of immunity.”
The children at this school come from families that find it tough to put together two meals a day. They have low levels of immunity, making them highly susceptible to the chemicals.
‘Conduct inquiry’
Principal Jasubhai Patel admits that the corporation has been dumping various ‘powders’ at the school’s entrance. “The men leave the powders here and promise to remove it soon. But nothing is done on time. They keep chemicals, brooms and other stuff that are unclean and harmful in the storeroom. We have asked the health department several times to shift their godown to another section of the building, but no one pays any heed.”
Jagdish Bhavsar, chairman of the municipal school board, said, “We will conduct an inquiry into the matter. There is nothing more important than the safety of kids. We will make sure that the incident is not repeated again.”
Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi said, “This is a serious issue. Students from economically weaker sections of the society study at municipal schools. It is sheer luck that no kid was harmed. The godown should be shifted immediately and then the officer responsible for such negligence must be sacked. Such cases should not recur.
