If activists are to be believed then the Cauvery River could well be a receptacle for a cocktail of chemicals allegedly discharged through untreated effluents by a PVC manufacturer.The West Gonur Farmers’ Welfare Association, representing some Mettur farmers, has demanded immediate action and called for Mettur to be declared as a “critically polluted area” by the Central Pollution Control Board.A study conducted by Dr Mark Chernaik, a staff scientist of the US-based Environmental Law Alliance, and Ruth Stringer, an independent scientist, claims high levels of dioxins and furans in the soil samples taken from two rainwater drains emptying into a stream that ends up in the Cauvery. “The samples were found to contain 6.7 nanograms/kg of total dioxins and furans, which is at least eight times higher than Canadian interim sediment quality standards of 0.85ng/kg,” says the study. Dioxins and furans belong to a category of chemicals known to contain some of the most toxic chemicals.Releasing the report, Nityanand Jayaraman, representing the Community Environmental Monitoring, an NGO, said Mettur farmers claim about 500 acres of farm lands and more than 300 farmers had been affected by the pollution. “The farmers say the factory uses streams to discharge its untreated effluents which then join the Cauvery. And, this contamination has been taking place since 1966 when the factory began functioning,” he said.“The possible combined effect of exposure to 52 chemicals points to nothing less than a public health disaster,” said Dr Rakhal Gaitonde, a public health activist. He claimed to have clinically examined a few farmers in Mettur. “There were patients with cancer, defective livers, nervous system disorders, skin disorders and loss of memory,” he said, adding that such ailments warranted a detailed examination.But, Sanmar Group’s executive director (corporate affairs) S B Prabhakar Rao dismissed the study as a “smear campaign” and said the state Pollution Control Board had no complaints against the plant. He said the chemical levels in the effluents were at acceptable levels.
