Pesticides fueling Kashmir’s cancer catastrophe

Srinagar, Jul 1: From the apple orchards of south Kashmirís Anantnag district to the cornfields of California, pesticides are the life of crops and livelihoods.However, a growing body of research worldwide, a significant proportion of these from India, confirms that pesticides like glyphosate, chlorpyrifos, and mancozeb used heavily in a variety of horticulture and agriculture settings, are strongly linked to cancers, including leukaemia, non-Hodgkinís lymphoma, brain tumours, and breast cancer.

The past decade has seen significant attention on cancer risk given the chemicals used worldwide. In India, where agriculture is the occupation of a majority, pesticides blamed globally for cancers, such as chlorpyrifos, atrazine, and mancozeb, are widely used, and mostly without any protection for the sprayer and fogger. In Jammu and Kashmir, apple orchards rely heavily on fungicides like mancozeb and organophosphates like chlorpyrifos, following the global pattern of pesticide use, but allegedly with a more severe intensity.

Experts world over have called for more research into pesticides and how these affect human bodies, DNA and their disease-causing profile.

In J&K, except for one study, and one review, no major research has been carried out on the link between pesticide exposure and cancers.

This seems atrocious given that many areas in Kashmir are heavily exposed to pesticides, being dense in orchards and with residential and horticulture areas close to each other. A 2010 study from the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) in Srinagar, published in the Indian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, studied 432 patients with primary malignant brain tumours and 457 controls.

It found that J&K orchard farmers exposed to mancozeb, chlorpyrifos, dimethoate, and captan for over 10 years faced a tenfold increased risk of brain tumours. Mancozeb, a fungicide sprayed heavily in Kashmirís apple fields, was linked to high-grade gliomas, a type of brain tumour.

Familial clusters were also identified.

However, the study is yet to be followed up, underscoring the gaps in understanding that could prove catastrophic for the community. Many studies have been carried out about pesticides and cancers in India and globally. A 2023 study in Scientific Reports from South India examined 251 breast cancer patients and 204 controls, finding that women exposed to atrazine, dichlorvos, and endosulfan for over 15 years had significant DNA damage and elevated cancer risk. Importantly, it is not just the pesticides that are sprayed in neighbourhood orchards but a significant risk is also posed by the pesticide residues in our food chain.

A 2022 study in the Journal of Environmental Science and Health tested food samples in India and noted that 40 percent had more organophosphates and carbamates than the Maximum Residue Limit (MRL). Crops like spinach and grapes, common in J&K markets like elsewhere, carried residues linked to breast, prostate, and stomach cancers. Glyphosate, used in non-orchard crops, and chlorpyrifos, sprayed in J&K orchards, are among the chemicals blamed globally for several malignancies.

A 2024 study in ëFrontiers in Cancer Control and Society’ analysed 69 pesticides across US counties, concluding that pesticide exposure is similar to the risk posed by smoking. A ìprobable carcinogenî Glyphosate as defined by International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), and atrazine, an endocrine disruptor, were found to be major culprits. ìThe combined effect of pesticide cocktails is far deadlier than any single one,î the lead author Isain Zapata noted. A review of 63 global studies published in the International Journal of Cancer in 2023 confirmed a strong association between occupational pesticide exposure and non-Hodgkinís lymphoma, leukaemia, and prostate cancer.

Organophosphates like chlorpyrifos, organochlorines like DDT, and phenoxy herbicides like 2 and 4-D were shown to cause DNA damage and oxidative stress, triggering cancer. The review noted that people directly involved in agriculture and horticulture and communities living near farms face the highest risks due to long-term exposure. Children are perhaps the most affected age group, their exposure starting early.

A 2017 meta-analysis published in Pediatrics (Childhood Cancer and Environmental Exposure: A Review of Epidemiological Literature) found a 30 to 50 percent increased risk of childhood brain tumours and leukaemia from prenatal or early-life exposure to insecticides like chlorpyrifos.

While global studies often highlight herbicides like glyphosate, J&Kís apple orchards rely on fungicides like mancozeb and captan, which are less studied globally but equally dangerous. The 2010 SKIMS study noted that mancozebís massive use in Kashmir, often without protective gear, increased the cancer risks. Mancozeb was banned in Europe in 2021. Similarly, Chlorpyrifos is sprayed widely in J&K, exposing farmers to a chemical linked to leukaemia and brain tumours. It was banned in the USA in 2021 but since 2023, states have been permitted to regulate its use. The case is clear but needs more details ñ pesticides like glyphosate, chlorpyrifos, and mancozeb, used globally and in Indiaís fields, are fueling a cancer epidemic. In J&K, where fungicides dominate, the risks are acute.

The need of the hour is creating more awareness about the harmful effects of pesticides, better monitoring of pesticide residues in water and food chains and more research in the local context. Banning the globally banned chemicals could also reduce the burden of disease in J&K.