TAKE PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES WHILE WASHING PESTICIDE CONTAMINATED CLOTHES: PAU HOME SCIENTISTS

LUDHIANA, JUNE 12:-----



In view of the Punjab state indebted to new technologies and lack of awareness among rural population with regard to use of new agricultural interventions, the home scientists of the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) have urged the rural families to take precautionary measures for washing pesticide contaminated clothes. They disclosed, "In Punjab, on an average, the annual use of pesticide by a farmer is 923 g/ha whereas the national average is 570 g/ha." Pesticides can cause acute and delayed health effects ranging from simple irritation of the skin and eyes to more severe effects including damage to the lungs and central nervous system, failure of reproductive organs and dysfunctions of the immune endocrine and exocrine systems, they observed.



Discussing about the washing practices, Dr Sandeep Bains of Department of Clothing and Textiles advised that regardless of any type of pesticide used, the pesticide contaminated clothes should be washed separately and regularly with 2% heavy duty detergent at 80 ˚C (near boil) . To prepare 2% heavy duty detergent, add 2 gm of heavy duty detergent in one litre of water, she suggested, while asking to wash the garment in this solution at 80 ˚C. She stressed that pesticide containers should be kept away from the reach of the family members.



Elaborating further, the home scientist Dr Rajdeep Kaur emphasised that barrier treatment should be given to the garments to be used by the pesticide applicators. This can be done by applying starch solution which would reduce the penetration of the pesticide in the worn garment. She suggested, "To prepare 30% starch solution, mix 30 gm of locally available starch in one litre of water for 100 gm of fabric. If the weight of the fabric is 500 gm, mix 150 gm of starch in five litres of water. Steep the garments in this starch solution for ten minutes and after that, take out the garments, squeeze them a little and dry." Dr Kaur noted that this starched garment becomes safe when worn and used for spraying crop, as the starch solution acts as a barrier to the penetration of pesticide.



Stressing that the pesticide contaminated clothes should be laundered after use; the PAU home scientists told that the method helps to decrease the pesticide residue in garment.
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