Pithampur Residents Oppose Union Carbide Waste Disposal

Pithampur (MP), Dec 3 (PTI) For the residents of Tarpura, the toxic legacy of the 1984 Bhopal Gas Tragedy is not just a dark chapter in history but a live threat sitting less than 500 metres from their homes.

On the 41st anniversary of the disaster, the fear in this village is palpable, centered around 900 tons of 'white ash' which is the final residue of the Union Carbide disaster.

According to officials, the ash is safely stored in a leak-proof shed at a private plant in Pithampur where 358 tons of toxic waste, including 19 tons of contaminated soil from the defunct Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, was incinerated using a scientific process.

The government had planned to dispose of the ash by dumping it in a special multi-layered landfill cell being constructed at the same plant. But in October, the Madhya Pradesh High Court said it cannot be allowed, as the site is close to human habitation.

The people are now expressing apprehension that any leakage of the ash from the landfill cell could cause serious harm to the local population and environment, and demand that it be buried somewhere else.

Prakash Sarkate, who lives in Tarpura village having a population of about 20,000 people for the last three decades, is an anxious man today as his home is practically in the shadow of the private plant where the ash is now sealed in a leak-proof shed.

"We demand that the government address public concerns and relocate the Union Carbide waste ash," Sarkate told PTI here.

Locals had strongly opposed the burning of Union Carbide waste at the plant, but to no avail, he noted.
When the government decided to incinerate the toxic waste at Pithampur, 250 km from Bhopal, the plan had faced considerable opposition from local residents.
Nirmala Panwar, who also lives in Tarpura, claimed on Wednesday that villagers frequently suffer from colds, fevers and eye irritation. "We do not drink water from the sources near our homes. The water looks dirty and makes one's throat sore," she said.

State Pollution Control Board officials had claimed that emissions of particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide, hydrogen fluoride and nitrogen oxides as well as levels of mercury, cadmium and other heavy metals were found to be within standard limits during the incineration.
They also stated that the incineration did not cause any adverse health effects among the plant employees or residents of the surrounding areas.
The matter of disposal of Union Carbide waste at the Pithampur plant is pending in the Madhya Pradesh High Court, and the disposal process is being carried out under the court's supervision.
On October 8, the High Court's principal bench at Jabalpur rejected a proposal to dispose of the waste ash in a landfill cell being constructed on the plant's premises, saying its disposal near human habitation is "unacceptable". It directed the state government to find an alternative site and submit a report.

In its order, the court referred to an interim application filed by an intervener, stating that investigations had found mercury levels in the ash to be higher than the permissible limit.

So far, government officials are mum about their plans for an alternative site in the light of the high court order.
Anil Dwivedi, a social activist from Pithampur, said, "We want the state government to comply with the court's direction. The Union Carbide waste ash should be disposed of at a location where there is no risk of harm to humans and the environment, rather than at the Pithampur plant."

On the night of December 2 and 3, 1984, highly toxic methyl isocyanate gas leaked from the Union Carbide factory in Bhopal. The gas leak killed at least 5,479 people and maimed thousands. It is considered one of the world's worst industrial disasters.