Greenpeace for closure of Kerala Coca-Cola plant

International environment campaigner Greenpeace has demanded closure of the Coca-Cola plant at Plachimada in Palakkad district claiming that...

International environment campaigner Greenpeace has demanded closure of the Coca-Cola plant at Plachimada in Palakkad district claiming that the sludge from the plant was found to contain hazardous heavy metal contents and for violation of ground water and land utilisation rules by the unit.

Citing results of an analysis conducted by Greenpeace in its laboratory at University of Exeter in United Kingdom, of the samples provided by some BBC journalists, Greenpeace India representative Ameer Shahul told a news conference here yesterday that the levels of hazardous material in the effluent far exceeded the permissible limits.

The analysis of the water collected from the wells near the Coca-Cola factory showed that the ground water contained lead, chromium and cadmium besides several other toxic metals which were hazardous to life and also affected agricultural land. Shahul also said that the extraction of ground water by the plant involved violation of the Kerala Land Utilisation Act, the Kerala Pollution Control Act and the Central Ground Water Authority Rules and hence demanded the State Pollution Control Board to take steps to close down the plant.

He said Greenpeace would provide legal and technical support to the ongoing local campaign against the plant.

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