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Landfill emissions poison breastmilk

  • 14/01/2004
  • WHO

Landfill emissions poison breastmilk after finding high levels of dioxin-related compounds in breast milk of women living near landfills, a Vadodara-based non-governmental organisation intends to file a public interest litigation (pil) against the Gujarat Pollution Control Board and the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (vmc). Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti (pss), the ngo, alleges that people's health is being affected in most parts of Gujarat due to the toxic emissions of landfills, illegally constructed by vmc in residential areas. A research, conducted by the us-based Texas a & m University, shows that emissions of municipal landfills contain more than 113 toxic chemicals that easily accumulate in the human body.

The pss researchers compared breast milk samples from India with those from Cambodia and the Philippines. The samples were tested for the presence of three toxic compounds