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Journalism of Courage
Nearly 40 years after Bhopal gas tragedy, the Madhya Pradesh state government will finally move ahead with its plan to incinerate 337 Metric Tons (MT) of toxic waste from the Union Carbide facility. On March 4, the central government earmarked Rs 126 crore for the purpose.
One of the biggest industrial disasters ever unfolded on the night of December 2, 1984, in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. Highly toxic Methyl Isocyanate (MIC) gas leaked from a pesticide plant owned by Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) located on the outskirts of the city, killing around 5,000 people.
The survivors have been afflicted by ailments ranging from skin disease to detrimental reproductive health in women and congenital health issues in children born to those exposed to the gas.
The scale of the environmental pollution has been massive — water sources surrounding the factory were contaminated and many hand pumps were sealed.
The company at the centre of it all, UCIL, a subsidiary of the US-based Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) and now a part of Dow Chemicals, has been held responsible by the survivors who have demanded just compensation for their suffering. The Supreme Court in 2023 dismissed a curative petition by the central government seeking additional compensation from UCC’s successor firms.
A PIL was filed by activist Alok Pratap Singh in the Madhya Pradesh High Court in 2004 to hold Dow Chemicals responsible for the pollution at the site and seek immediate action on the clean-up. The court instituted a task force chaired by the Secretary, Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals, Government of India.
Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) experts in 2005 identified a world-class incinerator owned by Bharuch Enviro-Infrastructure Limited (BEIL) in Ankleshwar, Gujarat, for safely disposing of the waste. Following protests in Gujarat in 2007 and the eventual intervention of the Supreme Court in 2009, this was dropped.
The task force identified other Treatment, Storage, and Disposal Facility (TSDF) sites including Dungigal in Hyderabad and Taloja in Mumbai. In 2010, the Supreme Court authorised the incineration of 346MT of waste at the TSDF in Pithampur, Madhya Pradesh after a successful trial run.
This decision was challenged two years later by the state, and it filed a Special Leave Petition in the Supreme Court in 2012 arguing that the “facility is not technically sound for incineration of the Bhopal gas toxic waste which is more hazardous in comparison to industrial waste.”
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ), which had submitted a proposal costing Rs 24.56 crores to dispose of the waste in Germany, withdrew the same in 2012 following widespread opposition from their citizens.
In 2015, the centre conducted a trial run at the Pithampur TSDF but had to suspend further plans following opposition from residents. Without consensus between the centre and the state, no action was taken for seven years.
On March 4, 2024, the central government disbursed Rs 126 crore to dispose of the waste after much prodding from the courts.
The project is expected to be executed in 180 days. In the first 20 days, the waste will be transported from the contaminated site to the disposal site in packed drums. Later, this waste is shifted from storage to a blending shed where it is mixed with regents and then packed into small bags weighing 3-9 kg.
The actual incineration will happen only on the 76th day after all the reports related to the incineration is sent to multiple departments for heir approval before the actual disposal begins to ensure the air quality doesn’t deteriorate and the incineration takes place as per standard operating procedures.
The procedure will cost Rs. 126 crore, about five times the offer of Rs. 24.56 crore made by GIZ in 2012.
In 2010, National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) Nagpur along with National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) Hyderabad submitted its study report to BGTRR entitled “Assessment and Remediation of Hazardous Waste Contaminated Areas in and around Union Carbide India Ltd., Bhopal.”
A 2021 National Green Tribunal (NGT) report directed the remediation of the Solar Evaporation Ponds (SEPs) located north of the factory. Traces of heavy metals like manganese and nickel, as well as physicochemical parameters like chlorine and total hardness reportedly exceeded the acceptable limits in the borewell water sampled around the site of the tragedy.
The test report from the 2015 trial stated that no fugitive emissions were released from the incinerator.
“Ambient air quality around the incinerator was within the National Ambient Air Quality standards for monitored parameters namely PM10, SOx, NOx, arsenic, lead and benzene. Nickel in ambient air was also complied except in samples collected in TSDF premises,” the report said.
This claim has been refuted by social groups working for the rehabilitation of the gas tragedy victims. A 2022 CPCB report revealed that residents had been exposed during six out of the seven trial runs to a high level of Dioxins and Furans, chemical pollutants formed as a by-product of incineration, which can gravely harm human health, causing skin disorders, liver issues and impairing the immune system.
