Safe Disposal of Bhopal Gas Tragedy’s Residues May Begin in October
MPPCB says site is safe for 30 years; heavy metals found in tiny amounts in ashes
Bhopal: Ashes, generated by incineration of toxic remains of the defunct Union Carbide factory of Bhopal at the waste disposal facility in Pithampur in Madhya Pradesh’s Dhar district, will be buried scientifically in a leak-proof landfill site, being developed, in the area, officials said on Monday.
The incineration of 358 tons of toxic waste of Union Carbide has generated 850 tons of ashes which are sealed in leak-proof bags for their safe burial in the landfill site, being developed near the waste disposal facility in Pithampur, a senior officer said.
The landfill site, measuring 2500 sq meters, may be built by October this year, regional officer of Indore branch of Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board (MPPCB) Srinivas Dwivedy told this newspaper.
The landfill site is designed in such a way that the burnt residues of toxic waste will never leak into the ground under any circumstances, official sources said.
The ashes will be preserved safely in a chamber site which will be covered by layers of plastic cover, sand, native soil and grass in the landfill site. The chamber will be built over a layer of pebbles inside the landfill site.
“The landfill site in which the ashes of the toxic waste will be preserved will be under observation for 30 years to ensure that there will be no pollution issue”, officials said.
Sources said the chemical analysis of the ashes have found traces of heavy metals such as nickel, zinc, chromium, lead, cobalt, copper, manganese and mercury, but they are in very small quantity indicating that the disposal of toxic waste in the incineration facility is pollution-free, sources said.
Last week, the Madhya Pradesh high court had granted four weeks to the MPPCB to present a plan for disposal of ashes generated by incineration of toxic waste of Union Carbide at the Pithampur facility.
Nearly four decades after the Bhopal gas tragedy, the toxic waste of the now-defunct Union Carbide plant was shifted in ten sealed containers from Bhopal to Pithampur incineration facility on January two this year.
It took weeks to burn down the entire lot of 358 tons of toxic waste in the incineration facility and the process ended at one in the morning on June 30 this year.
At least 5,479 people were killed and thousands were maimed after highly toxic methyl isocyanate gas leaked from the Union Carbide’s pesticide plant on the intervening night of December two-three, 1984.
