In 40th year of Bhopal gas tragedy, demand for disposal of toxic waste from 1984 gains momentum

The issue of toxic waste at the Union Carbide Factory, notorious for the Bhopal Gas Tragedy (1984) is picking up momentum as the countdown begins to the 40th anniversary of independent India’s worst industrial disaster.

Alok Sharma, the newly elected Member of Parliament from the Bhopal constituency, raised the issue of delay in work to dispose of the waste in the Lok Sabha on July 30. 

Organisations fighting for Bhopal gas victims had recently met and updated him about the situation. 

Rachna Dhingra from the Bhopal Group for Information and Action welcomed the lawmaker’s initiative in a conversation with Down To Earth (DTE). She said it was significant that after decades, a Bhopal MP had at least asked questions about one of the world’s worst industrial disasters.

Magnitude of the crisis

Bhopal Gas Tragedy victims continue to suffer from the disaster’s long-term effects. 

Studies by various agencies have revealed that the toxic waste in the plant and the nearby solar evaporation ponds has contaminated the groundwater of 42 settlements around the factory with a set of chemicals known as ‘forever chemicals’ because they do not lose their potency with time.

The government is undertaking efforts to manage this waste. An Oversight Committee, appointed by the Supreme Court, has been established to monitor the disposal process.

On June 19, 2023, the Oversight Committee held a meeting regarding the disposal of 337 metric tons of waste at the site and instructed the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) to immediately transfer funds for the waste’s disposal. 

In March this year, a contract was also signed between the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation Department and Pithampur Industrial Waste Management Pvt Ltd near Indore.

The MoEFCC transferred Rs 126 crore for the project.

The work of burning the 337 metric tons and submitting the report is to be completed in a minimum of 185 days and a maximum of 377 days.

Dhingra pointed out that the 337 metric tons are only a fraction of the total waste, and it is this waste, both inside and outside the factory, that has led to the contamination of groundwater in 42 settlements with extremely hazardous chemicals.

If MP Sharma genuinely wants to clean up the factory, an assessment of the thousands of tons of toxic waste buried in 21 pits inside the factory and the toxic ponds of carbide behind the factory must be carried out, according to her. 

The activist also stated that the budget allocated for the disposal of this waste is taxpayers’ money, which should instead be recovered from the polluting companies, Dow Chemicals and Union Carbide. 

She emphasised that MP Sharma should question why, despite the central government’s demand for Rs 350 crore from Union Carbide and Dow Chemicals since 2010 for cleaning up the waste, no concrete steps have been taken to recover this amount.
Rashida Bee, president of the Bhopal Gas Victims’ Women Stationery Workers Union and a recipient of the international Goldman Prize in 2004, told DTE that while she welcomed MP Sharma for bringing the issue to Parliament, she would also urge him to address the waste buried inside the factory grounds and its impact on the surrounding groundwater.

In Indore, local residents and political parties have begun protesting the incineration of the waste. People from Pithampur and 50 nearby villages are concerned about the negative health and environmental impacts of burning the waste. Congress President Jitu Patwari has threatened to lead a movement against this. The local newspaper Patrika has launched a campaign against the initiative.

The issue of Bhopal Gas Tragedy waste disposal has been ongoing for a long time. According to departmental information, the first 40 metric tons of waste were landfilled in Pithampur in 2008. Later, in 2014, the Supreme Court directed the disposal of 10 metric tons of waste. Following this directive, 10 metric tons of waste were disposed of in 2015, and an assessment of its environmental impact was carried out.

The Scientific and Industrial Research Council of the Government of India estimated 1.1 metric tons of contaminated soil, 1 metric ton of mercury, 1,500 metric tons of corroded plant material, and 150 metric tons of underground chemical waste.

Bhopal Gas Tragedy memorial

The government has long been planning to build a memorial on the 67 acres of land where the Union Carbide factory stands. 

The memorial, which is expected to cost approximately Rs 380 crore, has had its design work assigned to an agency in Delhi. The department has approved Rs 10 crore for this project.