In August 2001, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) asked the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to submit a report on the health hazards due to the spraying of endosulfan in cashew plantations in Kasaragod district within four months. ICMR in turn asked the National Institute of Occupational Health (NIOH), Ahmedabad, to send a team to Kerala.

A three-member NIOH team