141 forgotten drums,the oldest a ’97 import

The procedure requires such cargo to be transferred to a separate warehouse before disposing of it,either by auction or by destroying it with safeguards against hazards. Port officials say they had written to the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board in 2008 seeking permission for disposal and procedural guidelines. Board officials,however,said they got no such letter.

“They told us about this letter when we went to the spot. We checked our records and there is no such letter. If they had sent the letter they would have followed it up,which they haven’t,” said a board official. MPCB officials said chlorine cylinders can be immersed in water or made to pass through caustic soda water,neither of which needs special permission from the board.

Later,a Port Trust spokesperson admitted,“The incident has shown we could have taken action. It has shown that the system needs to be made foolproof.”

The police say they will probe the procedures that the port should have used in processing such cargo and if it was implemented. They will also examine the role of Customs authorities,“who are partly responsible as they were the ones to confiscate the goods”,an official said. “The port too needs to explain its inaction after having hazardous cargo listed in its records for 13 years.”