Egg sampling for by-product POPs: identification of a POPs hotspot in Lucknow.
This report documents Toxics Link India's participation in a "Global Egg Study" undertaken by IPEN in 17 countries. Toxics Link focused on Lucknow City in Uttar Pradesh as a POPs hotspot, using the area near a medical waste incinerator as a test location as a source for POPs. Eggs collected from free-range chickens near the medical waste incinerator near Queen Mary's Hospital Lucknow were tested for presence of by-product POPs (dioxins, furans, PCBs and HCB). Eggs collected showed high levels of dioxins and PCBs. Dioxin levels were 16 times the background levels and five times higher than European Union (EU) dioxin limits for eggs. Levels of PCBs were 4.7 times higher than proposed regulatory limits. Potential POPs sources were cited as six medical waste incinerators in Lucknow City, imported and in-hospital waste incineration sites, a pesticides factory 25 km away, pottery manufacturing, PVC recycling, landfills and the local pulp and paper industry. The study provides the first data on POPs in chicken eggs in India. Findings were widely disseminated among stakeholders, gained major media coverage, and led to an increase in public awareness and concern by the State Pollution Control Board.
Outputs:
Production of a Lucknow POPs hotspot report
Collection of vital data on medical incinerator-generated POPs' impact on food chain