May 01, 2007	Tuesday	Rabi-us-Sani 13, 1428

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ISLAMABAD, April 30: Pointing to hazardous effects of a demolished DDT factory in Amangarh in the district of Nowshera, experts have demanded that the factory area be declared as dangerous and called for a ban on its sale without comprehensive cleaning.

Speaking at the launching of a report called “Hotspot: demolished DDT factory land -- threat to human health and environment,” organised by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) on Monday, they also demanded fencing of the area and putting “Danger” signs in local languages so that children and animals would not enter the premises.

Prof Dr Ishtiaq Qazi, Principal of the Institute of Environment Science and Engineering (IESE), NUST, and Dr Mahmood A. Khwaja of the SDPI discussed the subject in detail and highlighted the health hazards posed by the demolished factory.

Sharing the findings of the study jointly carried out by the Institute of Chemical Sciences (ICS), University of Peshawar, and SDPI, Dr Khwaja said that the analytical data of 81 soil samples taken from around the demolished factory indicated high levels of contamination, particularly in residential areas around it, a press release issued by the SDPI said.

Describing the hazardous nature of the DDT, Dr Khwaja said its toxicity, persistency, accumulative nature, transportation and adverse environmental and health impacts are high even if present in extremely small amounts.

He said that the soil in a large area around the factory could be highly contaminated with DDT. During field visits, it was observed that residential areas in the south, south-west and south-east were highly contaminated.

He said the contamination might have serious implications for food safety and human health, especially of children.

Appreciating the study, Prof Dr Ishtiaq Qazi said he would focus his discussion on the rehabilitation of the contaminated soil.