{"id":73775,"date":"2018-01-15T03:29:44","date_gmt":"2018-01-15T10:29:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=73775"},"modified":"2018-01-15T03:29:44","modified_gmt":"2018-01-15T10:29:44","slug":"is-sri-lanka-a-killing-field-full-of-toxins-where-people-die-of-chronic-disease","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2018\/01\/15\/is-sri-lanka-a-killing-field-full-of-toxins-where-people-die-of-chronic-disease\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Sri Lanka a “Killing field” full of toxins where people die of chronic disease?"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Chandre Dharmawardana, Canada. (chandre.dharma@yahoo.ca)<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n
The claim that Sri Lankan soils and its agricultural produce are full of toxins, and that it is a “killing field”\u00a0 is an attractive slogan for those foreign agents who compete with Sri Lanka’s\u00a0 agricultural products. It is also a useful cry for those who want to destroy the rural landscape and replace it by an urban Megalopolis. Tea, rice and most leafy vegetables and grains accumulate toxins from the soil during the plant’s period of growth, and the toxin accumulation\u00a0 in the\u00a0 rice grains or tea leaves, can be as much as a hundred times larger than in the soil. The straw and leaves can also have high toxin levels and using such matter for composting also becomes problematic, if we indeed have “killing fields” full of toxins.\u00a0 Fortunately, Sr Lanka\u00a0 does not\u00a0 have such “killing fields”.<\/div>\n

Some of our own\u00a0 writers have unwittingly embraced the popular\u00a0 view of a toxin-filled “killing field”, without comparing the toxicity data for\u00a0 Sri Lanka with data for other countries like UK,\u00a0 Belgium, Malta,\u00a0 New Zealand, or India\u00a0 etc, before making a strong pronouncement condemning Sri Lanka. In 2013 Dr. Asoka Bandarage wrote a blog to Huffington Post reporting the extreme views popular with the public, also articulated by Venerable Ratana and after 2015 by the Presidential Secretariat.\u00a0 They\u00a0 launched the “Toxin-free Nation” slogan and wrought havoc with the agricultural sector of the country.\u00a0 More recently, Dr. Amarasiri de Silva, an anthropologist now based in the USA also wrote\u00a0 similar\u00a0 articles, but here invoking the “authority” of a young Swedish\u00a0 student studying the Veddas (“Vanniye Aeththo”), to claim that Sri Lanka is awash with toxins. Drs. Ashly de Vos and Prassana Cooray have expressed similar, but more measured\u00a0 sentiments in the Island newspaper. Nothing is more far from reality.<\/p>\n

The X-ray Radiograph given in Dr. Bandarage’s 2013 blog has little to do with Kidney disease and\u00a0 seems to be an investigatory pyelogram. Perhaps it was not Dr. Bandarage, but Huff Post who placed a file photo without any thought, but designed to emphasize the alleged “killing fields” aspect. Here is the link to Dr. Bandagae’s 2013 article.<\/p>\n

Killing Fields: Agrochemicals and Kidney Disease<\/a><\/div>\n

Cadmium is probably the most dangerous heavy-metal toxin that may be present in the soil, water, diet, tobacco etc.\u00a0 Below are some figures from advanced countries for the amount of cadmium found in the soil, and for Sri Lankan soils.<\/p>\n

(Data from FAO soil bulletin 65,\u00a0 the Wolfson British Geochemical map, and other sources.)<\/p>\n

location\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cd in mg\/Kg of soil
\nShipham, (in Somerset) UK\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 9 -360 mg\/kg
\nUK average\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 about\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 1
\nBelgium av.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 3.5
\nMalta av.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 2.5
\nSri Lanka av.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 less than 0.05 mg\/kg<\/p>\n

These countries have acquired a lot of pollution from 200 years of industry, mining, use of coal, and since\u00a0 the 20th century, use of gasoline (petrol) and diesel. The pollution has NOT come from agrochemicals. When scientists\u00a0 point out these facts, they are accused of defending the agrochemical companies and scientists are labeled\u00a0 “paid agents of agri-business”.\u00a0 Some academic scientists may be consultants to\u00a0 agrochemical companies who may ask them to solve problems that the company scientists do not want to engage in. Then the scientist is paid for the job he\/she does. For instance, Monsanto or Bayer may consult a scientist’s views\u00a0 to reduce and evaluate the toxicity of a new product line. However,\u00a0 such companies have their own\u00a0 well equipped in-house research units far excelling university installations.\u00a0 If a “contract” is given to an academic institution, then it is usually to study some rather fundamental aspect with no short-term or market implications. These contracts do not in most cases vitiate what that scientist may write in the peer-reviewed literature. Furthermore, full disclosure of “conflict of interest” is the norm, unlike with NGO’s who are answerable to none.<\/p>\n

Let us look at the data instead of\u00a0 hurling accusations. The use of agrochemicals and disease ANTI-CORRELATE\u00a0 with each other as seen from the following comparison.<\/p>\n

Country\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Use of Agrochemicals per annum
\nEl Savador (has CKDu)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 71 kg\/hectare
\nSri Lanka\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 250 kg\/hectare (mostly in the Tea estates)
\nNCP in Sri Lanka (CKDu)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 50-100 kg\/hectare per year
\nNew Zealand\u00a0\u00a0 (no CKDu)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 1200 kg\/hectare
\nQatar\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (no CKDu)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 11,000 kg\/hectare<\/p>\n

Significant progress has occurred in understanding the cause of CKDu, even in the face of the constant vilification that scientists and doctors have had to face from the public, led by environmental advocacy groups espousing ideology-based explanations of the disease\u00a0 unsupported by any research. The\u00a0 book “Wakugadu Hatana”, written by Dr. Jayasumana, and carrying\u00a0 a forward by\u00a0 Dr.\u00a0 Gunadasa Amarasekera is an example of how such advocacy groups unfairly\u00a0 accuse leading researchers\u00a0 of being in the “pocket of agrochemical companies”,\u00a0 with no evidence to support\u00a0 such claims.<\/p>\n

Scientists who apply for research grants without implicating\u00a0 agrochemicals allegedly get no grant money in the prevailing ethos of Sri Lanka. Nevertheless,\u00a0 a tentative mainstream scientific consensus has\u00a0 emerged from the multi-disciplinary studies\u00a0 undertaken by CERTKID,\u00a0 a joint effort including Peradeniya University, the Kandy Hospital and other scientists.<\/p>\n

Dr.\u00a0 Tilak Abesekera, a leading Nephrologist of the Kandy Hospital and Peradeniya University presented\u00a0 the current scientific view on chronic kidney disease in the Daily News in early 2017. That was written prior to an\u00a0 important study\u00a0\u00a0 on CKDu published\u00a0 in the renowned journal Nature by Dr. Wasana et al. Nevertheless Dr. Abesekera’s article\u00a0 gives the right picture.<\/p>\n

The mainstream view of the cause of CKDu\u00a0 in Sri Lanka is that those who regularly consume water from wells contaminated with fluoride (and having hard water) contract CKDu.\u00a0 This was proved by feeding such water to laboratory mice. A more general perspective on the matter, taken in the context of the Kangaroo Court held in the Hague by the so-called\u00a0 “citizen-led” trial, the banning of glyphosate etc., may be read in<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.dh-web.org\/green\/NatuNewsFake.html<\/a><\/div>\n
Dr. Jayasumana and Ven. Ratana formed the “Sri Lankan delegation” at this Gilbertian Nanki-Poo trial,\u00a0 to implicate glyphosate for CKDu even though 97% of the CKDu patients have no significant glyphosate found in their biopsies.<\/div>\n

CKDu can be prevented by providing clean drinking water to\u00a0 the affected villages. Even in the affected villages, those\u00a0 who drink water from tanks, agricultural canals etc., do NOT contract the disease. The affected people live\u00a0 away from the irrigation water and use their own wells in the higher ground. Dr. Manthrithileke et al of the International Water Board showed (using tracer isotopes) that these suspicious wells were isolated from the agricultural water table. The endangered parts of the villages are not too far from the irrigation canals water can be piped in from the canals. Many of these house holds\u00a0 now collect rainwater from their roofs using large tanks that store the monsoon water. This program was began by many concerned individuals including the late Mr. Ranjith Mulleriyawa who lived among the people and focused on the water problem of the affected parts of the villages. Unfortunately, instead of such simple solutions, the Government and some influential officials pushed the\u00a0 purchasing of expensive “Reverse-Osmosis” (RO) plants from the USA etc.. They sell bottled water to poor farmers at as much as Rs 2-3 a bottle! Such plants may have been an understandable initial knee-jerk solution in the face of public fear mongering (“killing fields”), but it is no longer justified today. Furthermore, RO plants are a constant drain on foreign exchange as the necessary filters and electronic parts etc., have to be imported, and the machines themselves will have to be replaced in about 5 or 6 years.
\nby
\nChandre Dharmawardana, Canada. (chandre.dharma@yahoo.ca)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Chandre Dharmawardana, Canada. (chandre.dharma@yahoo.ca) The claim that Sri Lankan soils and its agricultural produce are full of toxins, and that it is a “killing field”\u00a0 is an attractive slogan for those foreign agents who compete with Sri Lanka’s\u00a0 agricultural products. It is also a useful cry for those who want to destroy the rural […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-73775","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chandre-dharmawardana"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73775","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73775"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73775\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73775"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73775"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}