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Toxic waste leaves Union Carbide site for disposal 40 years after tragedy
According to officials, the waste, packed in 12 sealed container trucks, left for the Pithampur industrial area in Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh at 9pm on Wednesday.
The movement of nearly 337 tonnes of toxic waste from the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal began on Wednesday night, officials familiar with the matter said.
According to officials, the waste, packed in 12 sealed container trucks, left for the Pithampur industrial area in Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh at 9pm on Wednesday. The trucks were scheduled to reach the industrial area, 250km away from Bhopal, at around 2am on Thursday, the officials said.
“Twelve container trucks carrying the waste set off on a non-stop journey around 9pm. A green corridor has been created for the vehicles...,” said Bhopal gas tragedy relief and rehabilitation department director Swatantra Kumar Singh.
The toxic waste was dumped in the Union Carbide plant after at least 30 tonnes of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas leaked on the intervening night of December 2-3 in 1984, killing at least 3,928 people and leaving thousands with long-lasting health issues in one of the worst industrial disasters.
The process of packing and loading the toxic waste in trucks began on Sunday. Officials said the process to fill 30 metric tonnes of waste into each truck took more than 36 hours. It required the services of 250 workers in PPE kits, who worked in 30-minute shifts every two-three hours.
The waste will be stored at Common Hazardous Waste Treatment, Storage, and Disposal Facility (CHW-TSDF) at Pithampur. Singh said it is a leading-edge facility “designed to handle and dispose of hazardous waste with precision and safety”. He said the facility includes a state-of-the-art secured landfill facility (SLF), which will help dispose of the non-incinerable hazardous waste.
The shifting took place on Wednesday amid protests by locals in Pithampur, who fear the toxic waste could pose health risks. The residents have called for a bandh on Friday to protest against the project.
BJP leaders, including state urban development minister Kailash Vijayvargiya and Indore mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava, have demanded that the waste must be only be disposed once the locals are satisfied that the move poses no threats. “Until the public representatives are satisfied that this garbage is not harmful... it shouldn’t be transferred...” Vijayvargiya said.
