Ask why diabetes is epidemic in the 21st century and most people will point the finger at bad diet, laziness and obesity. According to a small but growing group of scientists, though, the real culprit is a family of toxic chemicals known as persistent organic pollutants, or POPs.

Do we need another Silent Spring? The possibility that environmental pollutants are a major cause of diabetes should reinforce moves to outlaw them. (Editorial)

Lindane, a persistent, highly toxic, and bioaccumulative organochlorine insecticide, was used in agriculture and as a topical treatment for human head lice and scabies beginning in the 1940s. As its toxicity became better known, manufacture and use declined in the United States; in 2002, California banned the pharmaceutical use of lindane altogether. According to a new study, that ban appears to have resulted in steep drops in concentrations of lindane in Southern California's wastewater and a dramatic reduction in calls to the California Poison Control System. March 2008

Uttar Pradesh, India's largest state, is blessed with rivers. But what's the use? Each and every river and canal is filled with poisonous muck which seeps into groundwater. The Janhit Foundation in Meerut has carried out several studies which show that Uttar Pradesh's groundwater is loaded with dangerous carcinogenic chemicals. Towns and villages are becoming infamous for particular chemicals.