Toxic Waste from Bhopal’s Union Carbide Factory Moved for Disposal After Four Decades
Bhopal – Forty years after the Bhopal gas tragedy, 377 tons of hazardous waste have been removed from the abandoned Union Carbide factory for proper disposal, an official confirmed. On Wednesday night, the toxic waste was transported in 12 sealed container trucks from Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh, to the Pithampur industrial area in Dhar district, located 250 km away.
“The trucks began their non-stop journey around 9 p.m. with a green corridor established for the nearly seven-hour journey to Pithampur,” said Swatantra Kumar Singh, Director of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation Department.
Nearly 100 workers operated in 30-minute shifts since Sunday to pack and load the waste, undergoing health check-ups and taking breaks every half hour.
The catastrophic leak of highly toxic methyl isocyanate gas from the Union Carbide pesticide factory on the night of December 2-3, 1984, killed at least 5,479 people and caused lasting health issues for thousands more.
Regarded as one of the worst industrial disasters in history, the Bhopal tragedy has left a lasting impact. On December 3, the Madhya Pradesh High Court criticized authorities for failing to clear the Union Carbide site in Bhopal, despite orders from the Supreme Court.
The High Court set a four-week deadline for the removal of the waste, criticizing authorities for remaining in a “state of inertia” even 40 years after the gas tragedy. The bench warned the government of contempt proceedings if its orders were not followed.
“If everything is found to be in order, the waste will be incinerated within three months; otherwise, it could take up to nine months,” said Singh in a statement to PTI on Wednesday morning. Initially, some of the waste will be incinerated at the disposal unit in Pithampur, and the residue will be analyzed to ensure no harmful elements remain.
The incinerator smoke will pass through special four-layer filters to prevent air pollution, Singh added. Once it’s confirmed that no toxic elements are present, the remaining ash will be sealed with a two-layer membrane and buried to prevent contact with soil or water. A team of experts, supervised by officials from the Central and State Pollution Control Boards, will oversee the process.
Some local activists have claimed that 10 tons of Union Carbide waste was incinerated in Pithampur on a trial basis in 2015, which allegedly led to contamination of the surrounding soil, underground water, and water sources. However, Singh dismissed the claim, stating that the decision to dispose of the waste in Pithampur was made only after reviewing a report from the 2015 trial and addressing all concerns. “There is no reason to worry,” he assured.
On Sunday, a large group of local residents organized a protest march in Pithampur, opposing the disposal of Union Carbide waste in the city, which has a population of about 175,000.
