This is the adverse health effect seen of the pesticide due to exposure to the toxic substance in a short span of time, with the effects/symptoms showing up immediately or within a couple of weeks of exposure. Signs and symptoms of systemic poisoning include headaches, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, cramping, breathing difficulties and blurred vision. If the poisoning is severe and proper treatment is not available, death can occur.

There is a widely accepted classification given by World Health Organisation since 1975, based on the acute toxicity level of various pesticides, based on experiments with rats for the purposes of this classification (here, the less it takes to kill, the more toxic in this classification).

Class Ia Extremely Hazardous (red triangle)

Class Ib Highly Hazardous (yellow triangle)

Class II Moderately Hazardous (blue triangle)

Class III Slightly Hazardous (green triangle)

O Hazard unlikely if used safely

Pesticide consumption and subsequent death due to acute poisoning is recorded as a major method of committing suicide, especially of farmers around the country. However, accidental inhalation related to occupational exposure to pesticide is also a major cause for acute poisoning and subsequent illnesses and even death. Agri-chemicals pose the greatest occupational hazard in the field of agriculture and annually, millions of agricultural workers are estimated to be poisoned by pesticides across the globe.

It was estimated that three million reported cases of pesticide-associated acute poisoning occur annually resulting in 220,000 deaths ("Public Health Impacts of Pesticides Used in Agriculture" - WHO/UNEP working group, 1990). 99% of these were estimated to occur in the developing world in spite of these countries accounting for only 20% of global pesticide use. In 1990, the World Health Statistics Quarterly reported that an estimated 25 million agricultural workers are poisoned by pesticides every year ("Acute Pesticide Poisoning: a major global health problem", Jeyaratnam, J.World Health Statistics Quarterly 43: 139- 144, 1990). According to estimates made in 1994, there were 2 to 5 million annual occupational cases of poisoning across the world, with 40,000 fatalities ("Chemicals in the working environment", World Labour Report, ILO, 1994). According to Pesticides Action Network Asia and the Pacific, the numbers are higher. It is estimated that around 200,000 people are killed worldwide every year from pesticide poisoning. Daily, 68,000 farmers and workers are poisoned by pesticides and yearly, an estimated 25 million workers suffer pesticide poisoning around the world.

The extent of incidence of poisoning through occupational exposure is unclear and there are no efforts from the government to monitor and assess the problem. There are no mechanisms in place to provide financial and other support to the victims and their families in all such cases or to fix liability on the pesticide industry.

There is very little India-specific data on the annual incidence of acute poisoning amongst agricultural workers and fatal cases amongst them.

A fact-finding report in January 2002 called "Killing Fields of Warangal: Farmer deaths due to exposure to pesticides in Warangal district" estimated that there could be more than 500 deaths in Warangal district (due to pesticide poisoning) and more than 1000 exposed in the period between August and December 2001. The widespread poisonings in that year were also documented by the Andhra Pradesh Rythu Sangam, a farmers - union in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Through their documentation, they also got the office of the Joint Director of Agriculture to collect records of such poisonings in that year.

In 2003, Greenpeace India had collected acute pesticide poisoning data from three villages of Atmakur mandal of Warangal district and found that in a 3-year period, nearly 45 cases of accidental exposure-related poisonings happened in these villages. 71% of these cases were from Organophosphorus pesticides. This data, when extrapolated to the whole block of Atmakur and the whole district of Warangal presents a shocking picture of hundreds of cases of acute poisoning every year.

In 2004, Centre for Sustainable Agriculture and Modern Architects for Rural India documented acute poisoning cases that have reached 6 government hospitals and one private hospital in a small area of Warangal district of Andhra Pradesh, during Kharif 2004. There were 202 cases of acute poisoning through occupational exposure (inhalation poisoning) that were documented in just this small number of hospitals. In eight cases, death due to exposure was reported.

(You can download the full report on acute poisoning called "Killing and Poisoning Pests or Human Beings?" here).

It is important to note that India continues to produce and market Class 1a and Class 1b pesticides in the country. These include methyl parathion, phorate and phosphamidon in Class Ia (Extremely Hazardous), Oxydemeton-methyl, edifenphos, methamidophos, methomyl, monocrotophos etc., in Class Ib. In addition, many moderately hazardous (WHO Class II) pesticides are also implicated in earlier studies and reports of acute poisoning: these include, carbaryl, cypermethrin, endosulfan, fenvalerate, profenophos, quinalphos etc.

Here, it should also be added that some of these pesticides are so dangerous that there is no situation where they could be safely used in agriculture. The only way to deal with them is to eliminate their production and use. The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN (FAO) recommends that WHO Ia and Ib pesticides should not be used in developing countries, and if possible class II should also be avoided.

Class Ia (Extremely Hazardous denoted by the red triangle) in India consists of:

– Aldicarb,

– Bromadiolone,

– Captafol [carcinogen and also part of the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) list of the Rotterdam Convention],

– Methyl Parathion [part of the PIC list],

– Phorate,

– Phosphamidon [in the PIC list]

Class Ib (Highly Hazardous, denoted by the yellow triangle) in India consists of

– Carbofuran,

– Chlorfenvinphos,

– Coumatetralyl,

– Dichlorvos,

– Edifenphos,

– Methomyl,

– Monocrotophos (in the PIC list),

– Oxydemeton-methyl,

– Propetamphos,

– Sodium Cyanide,

– Triazophos,

– Warfarin and

– Zinc Phosphide