Manual scavenging is manual removal of excreta (night soil) from “dry toilets”, i.e., toilets without the modern flush system. Manual scavenging involves the removal of human excreta using brooms and tin plates. The excreta are piled into baskets which scavengers carry on their heads to locations sometimes several kilometers from the latrines.

In 2001, taking cognizance of reports in the media that the aerial spraying of the pesticide endosulfan in the District of Kasaragod in Kerala had led to severe health hazards, the Commission asked the Indian Council of Medical Research for a report which was submitted in July, 2002 by one of its constituent institutions, the National Institute of Occupational Health (NIOH), after a thorough envir