PESHAWAR, May 31: Experts at a seminar on Thursday urged the government to declare the site of a defunct DDT pesticide factory in Nowshera district ‘dangerous’ and ban its sale and use for any human activity.

The land containing hazardous materials should be fenced and a ‘Danger’ sign along with inscriptions in local languages should be displayed all around the place to caution children and sheperds against entering it, said a press release issued here on Thursday by an Islamabad-based research institute, Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI).

The study, jointly conducted by the Institute of Chemical Sciences (ICS), University of Peshawar and SDPI, stated that the soil report of 81 samples taken from the area in and around the demolished factory showed high levels of contamination, particularly in residential areas surrounding it, Dr Mahmood A. Khwaja said.

Its toxicity, persistency, accumulative nature, transportation and adverse environmental and health impacts are high even if present in extremely small amounts, Dr Khwaja said at the awareness seminar titled “Hazardous Health and Environment Affects of Demolished DDT Factory Land”.

The seminar was organised by SDPI at a local school. Maj Liaqat Gillani, Nazim UC Amangarh and Siyar Mohammad, principal of the school also addressed the seminar.

Dr Khwaja maintained that a large area of the soil around the factory could be highly contaminated with DDT.

During field visits, residential areas were found to be highly contaminated and the demolished factory’s old compound had already become a playground for children and a grazing/feeding place for stray cattle and chickens.

He said it was unfortunate that the residential areas were the most contaminated. Contamination in and around the abolished factory areas in Amangarh may cause serious consequences for food safety and human health, especially for children, the expert added.

Amangarh Nazim Maj Liaqat Gillani said that the government should not allow the land owners to utilise the factory site until the contaminated soil was properly cleared from the after effects of DDT.

The speakers also demanded the ratification of Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs).