2nd phase trial of Union Carbide waste burning starts in Madhya Pradesh's Pithampur

Indore: The second round trial of incineration of Union Carbide factory's waste at a disposal plant in Madhya Pradesh's Pithampur has begun and a consignment of 10 tonnes will be burnt in this phase, an official said.

As part of the plan to dispose of 337 tonnes of waste from the defunct Union Carbide factory in Bhopal, the site of the 1984 industrial disaster, the hazardous material was transported on January 2 to the waste disposal plant operated by a private company at Pithampur industrial area in Dhar district, about 250 km from the state capital.

According to an order of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, the trial of disposal of this waste is to be done in three rounds while strictly following safety norms and a report is to be presented before the HC on March 27.

The first phase concluded on March 3.

"The second round of trial incineration of Union Carbide factory waste has started (late Wednesday night) at the Pithampur waste disposal plant," State Pollution Control Board regional officer Srinivas Dwivedi told reporters.

"Before dumping the waste in an incinerator, it will be run empty for about 12 hours and brought to a pre-set temperature," the official explained on Wednesday.

During the second round of trial, 180 kg of waste will be dumped in the incinerator every hour. A total of 10 tonnes of waste will be burnt in the second phase, he said.

The first round of incineration of 10 tonnes of Union Carbide factory waste began at the disposal site on February 28 and ended on March 3, Dwivedi said.

The first round of trial lasted for about 75 hours and during which 135 kg of waste was dumped in the plant's incinerator every hour.

In the first round of waste disposal, the emission of particulate matter (PM), sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide, hydrogen chloride, hydrogen fluoride and total organic carbon from the disposal plant was found to be within the standard limits, as per the State Pollution Control Board.

According to the state government, the waste from the Union Carbide factory included soil from the premises of the defunct unit, reactor residue, sevin (pesticide) residue and naphthalene. These include waste and "semi-processed" waste.

Scientific evidence has shown that the effect of chemicals like sevin and naphthal in the waste has now become "almost negligible", the board has said.

There is currently no trace of Methyl Isocyanate (MIC) gas in the waste and it does not contain any radioactive particles, according to the board.

On the intervening night of December 2 and 3, 1984, the highly toxic MIC gas leaked from the Union Carbide's insecticide factory. At least 5,479 persons were killed and thousands others suffered physical disabilities in the world's worst industrial disaster.

After the waste from the factory was brought to Pithampur, protests broke out in the industrial town, with people expressing apprehensions of damage to human population and the local environment due to the waste disposal.

However, the state government has allayed their fears and asserted that adequate arrangements have been made for safe disposal of the industrial waste in Pithampur.