40 years after Bhopal gas disaster, toxic waste leaves Union Carbide factory for disposal

Dhar: Forty years after the Bhopal gas tragedy, 377 tons of hazardous waste has been shifted from the defunct Union Carbide factory for its disposal at a unit in Dhar district, officials said on Thursday.

The toxic waste was transported at around 9 pm on Wednesday in 12 sealed container trucks via a 'green corridor' from Madhya Pradesh capital Bhopal to Pithampur industrial area in Dhar district, located 250 km away.

Amid tight security, the vehicles reached around 4.30 am on Thursday at a factory in Pithampur where the waste will be disposed of, Dhar Superintendent of Police Manoj Singh told PTI over phone.

The trucks were currently parked on the factory campus in Pithampur, he added.

"A green corridor was created for the nearly seven-hour journey of the vehicles to the Pithampur industrial area in Dhar district," Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation Department Director Swatantra Kumar Singh said on Wednesday.

Nearly 100 persons worked in 30-minute shifts since Sunday to pack and load the waste in trucks, he said.

"They underwent health check-ups and were given rest every 30 minutes," Singh added.

The 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 persons and leaving thousands with serious and long-lasting health issues.

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.

The HC 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 disposal unit in Pithampur and the residue (ash) will be examined to find whether any harmful elements are left, he 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 tons 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 the decision to dispose of the waste at Pithampur was taken only after a 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 on Sunday took out a protest march in Pithampur to oppose the disposal of Union Carbide waste in the city, which has a population of about 1.75 lakh.