The 377-metric tonnes of hazardous waste from the inoperative Union Carbide factory in Madhya Pradesh’s Bhopal, which was the epicentre of the gas leak tragedy of 1984 which killed over 5,000 people, is being moved 250 kilometres to an area in Indore for disposal.
The work to move the hazardous waste began on Sunday, December 29, weeks after the Madhya Pradesh high court pulled up the authorities for not taking action despite repeated directions, including that of the Supreme Court, to clear the site in the MP capital.
The “state of inertia” may cause “another tragedy”, the Madhya Pradesh high court had said.
On the intervening night of December 2-3 in 1984, highly toxic gas methyl isocyanate (MIC) leaked from the Union Carbide pesticides factory killing 5,479 people and leaving more than five lakh others with health effects and long-term disabilities.
Where is the waste being disposed
As per the plan, the toxic waste is being moved to an incineration site in Pithampur near Indore, around 250 km from Bhopal, official sources said.
About half a dozen GPS-enabled trucks with specially reinforced containers reached the factory site on Sunday morning, news agency PTI reported. Several workers wearing special PPE kits and officials of the Bhopal Municipal Corporation, environmental agencies, doctors and incineration experts were seen working at the site.
Policemen were also deployed around the factory.
Pithampur, an industrial town about 30 km from Indore and 45 km from the district headquarters Dhar, has about 1,250 small and big units, the PTI report mentioned.
Swatantra Kumar Singh, director of the state’s Gas Relief and Rehabilitation Department told PTI that a “green corridor” of about 250 km will be created by managing traffic to transport the waste from Bhopal to Pithampur in the shortest possible time.
While Singh refused to give a specific date for the transportation of the waste and its subsequent disposal at Pithampur, sources cited in the report said this process can start soon and the waste might reach its destination by January 3, that in view of the high court direction. The high court on December 3 had set a four-week deadline to shift the toxic waste from the factory.
Singh said that initially some part of the waste will be burnt at the waste disposal unit of Pithampur and the residue (ash) will be scientifically examined to find out whether any harmful element is left in it.
“If everything is found to be fine, then the waste will be burnt to ashes within three months. Otherwise, the speed of burning will be slowed down and it might take up to nine months,” the report quoted Singh as saying.
How will the smoke be restricted
The official said that the smoke emitted from the incinerator will be passed through four-layer special filters so that the surrounding air is not polluted and a record of this process would be kept every moment.
Once the waste is incinerated and freed from harmful elements, the ash will be covered with a two-layer strong “membrane” and buried at the “landfill” to ensure that it does not come in contact with soil and water in any way.
He said that the waste would be destroyed by a team of experts under the supervision of the officials from the Central Pollution Control Board and State Pollution Control Board and a detailed report would be submitted to the High Court.
Protests in Indore
The Madhya Pradesh high court on December 3 had set a four-week deadline to shift the toxic waste from the factory, observing that even 40 years after the gas disaster, the authorities were in a “state of inertia” that may cause “another tragedy”.
Describing it as a “sorry state of affairs”, the high court had warned the government of contempt proceedings if its directive was not followed. The court will hear the matter next on January 6.
Amid reports of this waste reaching Indore’s Pithampur, which has a population of about 1.75 lakh, a large number of people on Sunday took out a protest rally wearing black bands on their hands.
Led by a group named ‘Pithampur Kshetra Raksha Manch’, they held placards with slogans like “We will not let Pithampur become Bhopal” and “Save Pithampur, remove toxic waste”.
Also Read: Bhopal gas survivors’ groups, Pithampur locals protest over Union Carbide waste
“We want the air quality of Pithampur to be re-examined by scientists before the Union Carbide factory waste is destroyed. We will also try our best to present our case in the court,” the report quoted protester Rajesh Chaudhary as saying.
Goutam Kothari, president of Pithampur Industrial Organisation, said, “We are satisfied with the arrangements made for burning down the Union Carbide waste at the industrial waste disposal unit of Pithampur.”
“The disposal of this waste should not be made a bogey on the basis of baseless apprehensions and the local people should not be scared,” he added.
A group of locals and activists have claimed that after 10 tonnes of Union Carbide waste was destroyed on a trial basis in Pithampur in 2015. After this, the soil, underground water and water sources of the surrounding villages have become polluted, they claim.
The director of the state’s Gas Relief and Rehabilitation Department, however, rejected the claim.
“It has been decided to destroy 337 metric tonnes of Union Carbide waste in Pithampur’s waste disposal unit only after examining the report of this test of 2015 and all the objections,” he said.
“This unit has all the arrangements to dispose of the waste safely and there is nothing to worry about,” he added.
