The government on Thursday said it was looking at "bio-remediation method" to "clean up" 350 tonnes of toxic waste lying in the now defunct Union carbide factory in Bhopal.
"The potential for bio-remediation at the Bhopal site has not been systematically done so far. We hope that we will do as part of the next exercise," environment minister Jairam Ramesh said after releasing a state-of-the-art report on "Bio-remediation, its applications to contaminated sites in India" here.
Bio-remediation is a branch of biotechnology that uses biological processes and biodiversity for environmental clean up. Bio-remediation operates through vegetation to sequester, extract, or degrade hazardous waste present in soils, sediments, groundwater, surface water and air.
According to Dr M.N.V. Prasad, who brought out the report, "once you take the toxic material to a landfill the landfill can to be cleaned up through the bio-remediation."
Ramesh said in Bhopal, bio-remediation — the most costeffective and the most visible method of environmental remediation — has a very considerable scope.
He said the government has to deal with two issues in Bhopal.
"One is disposal of 350 tonnes of toxic waste that has accumulated over the years. That is now lying in the former Union carbide factory complex. The original plan was to take it to Pithampur. That plan has been shelved. So we will have to find a way of disposing of 350 tonnes," the minister said.
He said the second issue is "taking off the entire structure" apart from "looking at the ground water issue and soil contamination issue."
Ramesh said the ministry has taken up five projects across the country on which bio remediation is use.
"It is a cost effective and a relatively quick way of environmental remediation," he said.