Bhopal gas tragedy: How govt plans to safely dispose of 337MT of hazardous Union Carbide waste

BHOPAL: Gas tragedy relief department director Swatantra Kumar Singh on Sunday allayed fears that incineration of toxic waste from the Union Carbide plant in Pithampur may have an adverse impact on the land and soil of villages in the vicinity of the disposal plant.

Singh said that the chemical waste being disposed of in Pithampur is "residue material of the pesticide" made at the Union Carbide factory and suggested it's not as lethal as methyl isocyanate (MIC) used to produce pesticide, which leaked in the intervening night of Dec 2-3, 1984, with devastating effect on Bhopal city.

Still, landfill has been created so that the waste doesn't come into contact with either water or soil during incineration, he assured. He pointed out disposal of 10 tonnes of waste has already been carried out at the behest of the high court, under the supervision of experts, and no harmful effect was found in the area.

Around 337 metric tonnes of packaged toxic waste from the 1984 tragedy will be transported to Pithampur for safe disposal. A 350km green corridor will be created from the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal to the chemical waste disposal facility at Pithampur, said Singh.
Carbide waste begins descent to Dhar

Around 337 metric tonnes of packaged toxic waste from the 1984 tragedy will be transported to Pithampur for safe disposal. A 350km green corridor will be created from the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal to the chemical waste disposal facility at Pithampur, said Singh.

Actual timelines cannot be revealed as of now, but an affidavit has to be presented in MP high court on Jan 3 regarding disposal of the packaged waste and efforts would be made to ensure that the waste reaches the facility at Pithampur before that, he added.

Singh said that the packing, loading, transportation and unloading of the toxic waste would be carried out according to guidelines laid down by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the toxic waste would be safely transported to its destination for incineration.