1984 Bhopal gas tragedy: Union Carbide waste containers unloaded at waste disposal site

Dhar: Four decades after the Bhopal gas tragedy, a dozen containers filled with 337 tonnes of chemical waste from the defunct Union Carbide factory were unloaded from trucks at an incineration unit in an industrial area in Madhya Pradesh's Dhar district on Thursday, an official said.

With protests by local residents preceding the hazardous waste disposal plan in Pithampur industrial area, the exercise to unload the trucks was carried out in the presence of local representatives and administration while adhering to all safety standards, he said.

The move comes 40 years after the world's worst industrial disaster which occurred when a highly toxic gas leaked from Union Carbide's pesticide plant in Bhopal.

Only the containers packed with chemical waste had been unloaded, and no burning process is being carried out as of now, the official maintained.

Protests had rocked Pithampur, around 50 km from Dhar district headquarters, after the waste was brought to a private facility for incineration on January 2. Those objecting to the move claimed it would harm the local residents' health and the environment.

In a press release, Indore divisional commissioner Deepak Singh, said, "The containers have been unloaded from trucks in Pithampur while adhering to all safety standards." He said all concerned parties are being taken into confidence before proceeding with the disposal plan for Union Carbide's waste.

Singh mentioned that a report on the disposal process of this waste will be submitted to the Madhya Pradesh High Court.

On January 6, the HC granted six weeks to the MP government to deal with the waste. Then, the government sought three days for unloading the waste to which the HC stated that it was the state's prerogative to take a call on it.

"..we direct the respondents/State of Madhya Pradesh to take into consideration all safety measures and comply the order dated December 3, 2024," a division bench of Chief Justice SK Kait and Justice Vivek Jain had observed.

The next court hearing is scheduled on February 18.

Meanwhile, Dhar District Collector Priyank Mishra visited the incineration centre in Pithampur, located around 250km from Bhopal from where the chemical waste was brought in early January.

Mishra said the containers filled with the Union Carbide waste were placed on the ground and this task was carried out with complete transparency after the consent of public representatives.

The district magistrate appealed to people not to spread any misleading information regarding the waste disposal.

He said, "The waste disposal unit at Pithampur is being monitored round the clock. CCTV cameras were in place, and any public representative can access the footage." Mishra assured that any decision made by the government and administration regarding the disposal of the waste will be taken with complete transparency.

On Wednesday, a group of people performed 'shavasana' (corpse pose) to protest against the disposal of the waste in Dhar district.

According to the state government, the waste transported from the Union Carbide factory in Bhopal comprises soil, reactor residues, sevin (pesticide) residues, naphthol and semi-processed remnants.

The Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board has said scientific evidence suggests the chemical effects of sevin and naphthol in the waste have now become "almost negligible".

According to the board, at present there was no presence of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas in this waste and it does not contain any radioactive particles.

After the protests, the local administration has launched an intense public awareness campaign to allay apprehensions about the waste disposal.

Intermittent protests have been going on in Pithampur ever since the waste was transported to the industrial town.

A dozen people, including members of the Pithampur Bachao Samiti, Pithampur Raksha Samiti and yoga exponent Pradeep Dubey, performed "shavasana" at the Pithampur bus stand at around noon as part of their protest on Wednesday.

The state government recently organized programmes in Pithampur and its surrounding areas to spread awareness about the process of waste disposal.

On the intervening night of December 2-3, 1984, highly toxic methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas leaked from the Union Carbide factory in Bhopal, killing at least 5,479 people and leaving thousands with serious health problems and long-term disabilities.