Toxic waste shifted from Union Carbide factory for disposal after 40 years of Bhopal gas tragedy

Almost 40 years since the horrific gas tragedy in Bhopal, the authorities have now woken up to finally shift the toxic waste from Union Carbide after a strong rebuke from the Madhya Pradesh High Court

Bhopal: Forty years after the Bhopal gas tragedy, the shifting of some 377 tonnes of hazardous waste began from the defunct Union Carbide factory on Wednesday night for its disposal, an official said.

The toxic waste is being shifted in 12 sealed container trucks to the Pithampur industrial area in Dhar district, 250 km away from Bhopal. “Twelve container trucks carrying the waste were on a non-stop journey around 9 pm. A green corridor has been created for the vehicles expected to reach the Pithampur industrial area in Dhar district in seven hours,” said Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation Department Director Swatantra Kumar Singh.

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He said around 100 people have worked 30-minute shifts since Sunday to pack and load the waste in trucks. “They underwent health check-ups and were given rest every 30 minutes,” he added.

Highly toxic methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas leaked from the Union Carbide pesticide factory on the intervening night of December 2-3, 1984, killing at least 5,479 people and leaving thousands with serious and long-lasting health issues. It is considered to be among the worst industrial disasters in the world.

The Madhya Pradesh High Court on December 3 rebuked authorities for not clearing the Union Carbide site in Bhopal despite directions from even the Supreme Court and set a four-week deadline to shift the waste, observing that even 40 years after the gas tragedy, authorities were in a “state of inertia”.

The High Court Bench had warned the government of contempt proceedings if its directive was not followed. “If everything is found to be fine, the waste will be incinerated within three months. Otherwise, it might take up to nine months,” Singh said.

Initially, some of the waste will be burnt at the waste disposal unit in Pithampur and the residue (ash) will be examined to find whether any harmful elements are left, Singh said. The smoke from the incinerator will pass through special four-layer filters so that the surrounding air is not polluted, he added. Once it is confirmed that no traces of toxic elements are left, the ash will be covered by a two-layer membrane and buried to ensure it does not come in contact with soil and water in any way.

A team of experts under the supervision of officials of the Central Pollution Control Board and State Pollution Control Board will carry out the process, Singh said. Some local activists have claimed that 10 tonnes of Union Carbide waste was incinerated on a trial basis in Pithampur in 2015, after which the soil, underground water, and water sources in surrounding villages became polluted. But Singh rejected the claim, stating that the decision to dispose of the waste at Pithampur was taken only after the report of the 2015 test and all the objections were examined. There would be no reason to worry, he said.

A large number of people had on Sunday taken out a protest march in Pithampur to oppose the disposal of Union Carbide waste in the city which had a population of about 1.75 lakh.