Toxic waste still poisoning Bhopal water
While controversy rages over the method and agency to be involved in clearing up the stockpile of toxic waste lying inside the abandoned Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, the hazardous material continues to pollute ground water on a massive scale as the soil inside the factory premises, particularly in its northern and north-eastern side, remains contaminated by toxic chemicals.
The group of ministers on Bhopal has recommended complete decommissioning and dismantling of the hazardous plant. This is to be done by the state government and the process supervised by an oversight committee to be created by the Central government. The question that remains to be addressed is how to clean up the polluted soil.
The source of the contaminants near the Carbide factory is the chemical waste generated ever since the factory started operations in Bhopal. The wastes are highly toxic in nature and contain chlorobenzenes, dichlorobenzenes, lindane and PCBs — chemicals that can cause cancer, birth defects and an entire range of systemic damage. These wastes were dumped both inside the factory premises and outside, in a landfill which has been leaking from 1981 onwards.
Besides the huge stockpile of toxic waste collected and stored in a warehouse on the factory premises, what also needs to be removed is hundreds of tons of chemicals that are persistent in nature — chemicals that retain their toxicity for hundreds of years in some cases.
Besides, heavy metals like mercury, chromium and nickel have been found in high concentration in samples drawn from places even three km from the now closed pesticide plant.
“The sad fact today is that the killer factory continues to leach poisons into the ground water,” said Satinath Sarangi, the founder of Sambhavana Trust Clinic and Bhopal Group for Information and Action.
Comments
Thinking of cleaning up the
Dr.G.Srinivasan
28 Jun 2010 - 04:35
Thinking of cleaning up the place after 26 years of misrule? What does the congress think it is? just by putting a EGoM and recommendations they can make people forget what they did to us?First they colluded with the offenders and now they are throwing the ball in to the court of the state government?Again politics plays a major part in this dirty nation with dirty politicians who have no regard for their own human lives.? This will be unheard of in any other country. They should apologise before not only the people of Bhopal but also the people of India in mishandling the issue and not paying any attention to cleaning up the area for 26 bloody years.
This is a very grave and
Shyam Chhabra
27 Jun 2010 - 13:31
This is a very grave and alarming news published after 25 years of the mishap. Is there any policy of the government to regulate the poisonous waste drained out by such industries. How many industries of such nature are still existing in India which are functioning and what precautions have been taken by the owners of such industries? Does government has any check on this aspect? The situation in my opinion is that we first give licence to start/commission the factory and its repercussions on human society are not forecasted in detail and when something untoward happens, only then the measures are explored to save the adverse situation but in the meanwhile we loose some lives and lost to the health of comman man.
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