A great concern over genotoxic potential of environmental chemicals has been expressed in recent years. Endosulfan a polycyclic chlorinated hydrocarbon of cyclodien group, is a well known insecticide. It is widely used in agriculture and, in some countries, in public health.

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The insecticide endosulfan, has been widely used for the control of crop pests in the field of agriculture. Although no mutagenic, teratogenic or carcinogenicity information is available on this insecticide, there are several reports concerning its toxicity after oral as well as from repeated administration in mice, rats and rabbits.

Methods of digestion of fish samples for mercury determination by flameless atomic absorption spectrophotometry have been investigated. Digestion in Teflon bombs, Kjeldahl flasks, or borosilicate test tubes gives comparable precisions and mercury recoveries. Because of their cost and effect in limiting productivity, Teflon bombs were considered unnecessary for analysis of fish samples. Experiments with cooked and uncooked fish samples have confirmed that no appreciable loss of mercury occurs during baking 30 min at 170 degrees C.

Exposure to environmental chemicals and drugs may have a negative effect on human health. An essential step towards understanding the effect of chemicals on human health is to identify all possible molecular targets of a given chemical. Recently, various network-oriented chemical pharmacology approaches have been published.

Mumbai Smokeless tobacco products that are manufactured in India contain heavy metal, reveals a study report published in The Scientific World Journal.

The study

The latest CSE study found high levels of phthalates, a chemical used to soften plastic, in all samples of children

Delhi NGO Centre for Science and Environment tested 24 toy samples of major brands for the presence of phthalates. In October 2008, it randomly purchased toy samples from markets in Delhi. Fifteen were soft toys and nine hard toys made in four countries.

Shubhlakshmi Shukla

In a major exercise, all toys

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