Two units in Ambernath and Pune get closure notices for pollution

The Kurkumbh unit reportedly disposed of “hazardous high spent acid” through tankers, said officials. However, the company had no permission to produce or have as a byproduct or dispose of the particular spent acid, which was the same one found in the Ambernath drain.

Moreover, officials found that the tankers used for transportation of the chemical were not of the specifications authorised by MPCB for transportation of hazardous waste. Also, while this spent acid was to have been sent to the chemical factory in Ambernath, it never reached the latter factory.

At the Ambernath unit, officials found “highly acidic emission” in the premises and untreated effluent being released into a nullah through storm water drains instead of being treated. The unit was also found to be allegedly illegally importing hazardous waste from Vapi in Gujarat for processing chemicals, said Amar Suparte, Principal Scientific Officer, MPCB.

“We order you to safely close down your manufacturing activities,” read the closure notices to both companies, which meant 24 hours, explained officials.  “We have sent the tanker numbers provided by the Kurkumbh unit to the police for them to ascertain if these are indeed the companies involved in the Ambernath incident. Either way, we issued closure notices for the gross violations we found at the sites,” Suparte added.

Over 400 Ambernath residents took ill after they inhaled a poisonous gas released into a nullah near MIDC on November 30. A mixture of organic compound methyl ethyl ketone and spent acid was found in the drain, the results of the samples tested at Institute of Chemical Technology had revealed. The chemicals mixing with the sewer water and the winter fog released gases that affected the locals.