Bhopal tragedy: Protests against toxic waste disposal

40 years after the disaster that still continues to impact the health of the local population, the Indian government has implemented a local court order, transferring the toxic waste to the industrial city of Pithampur, where it should be disposed of in the coming months. But the authorities are meeting resistance from the local population.

Bhopal (AsiaNews) - The Indian authorities have announced that they have removed the 337 tons of toxic waste still lying in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, the scene of the worst industrial disaster in history. But the disposal of the substances, which could take up to nine months, risks causing further damage to health and the environment.

Yesterday, a convoy finished transferring the toxic substances to a waste disposal plant in the industrial town of Pithampur, 230 km from Bhopal. The local population called for a demonstration because they fear the consequences that people still face in Bhopal, where hundreds of thousands of inhabitants suffer from health problems due to soil and groundwater contamination.

Swatantra Kumar Singh, director of the Bhopal Care and Rehabilitation Department, told the Reuters news agency that the waste will be disposed of in a way that is safe for the local ecosystem. In a statement, the Indian government also said that a disposal trial in 2015 with 10 tonnes of toxic substances had shown emission levels in line with national standards. Claims with which local residents do not agree: according to Rachna Dhingra, an activist for the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal, the relocation of the waste would ‘create a slow-motion Bhopal’ even at the disposal site.

‘Our hearts tremble when we remember the horrible Bhopal gas tragedy. The toxic waste from the Union Carbide plant must be disposed of. However, it should be done after thorough discussions with scientists, experts and local residents as it is a matter of people's health,’ commented former Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, who belongs to the Bharatiya Janata Party, the party from which Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also hails.

'The disposal of this waste is not a political issue at all. The discussion should be about whether there will be any negative effects on the environment, land and water sources after the destruction of waste in Pithampur. The people of Bhopal have been suffering from the negative effects of the gas tragedy for generations. So this waste should be disposed of with utmost care,’ Mahajan added.

On the night of 2 to 3 December 1984, a toxic cloud of methyl isocyanate, a chemical compound used in the production of pesticides, leaked from the plant of the US company Union Carbide, killing thousands of people immediately.

According to various estimates, at least another 560,000 have since suffered irreversible health damage. Despite numerous investigations, the company never faced a proper trial.

For some of the victims, the only compensation was 0 paid by Union Carbide in 1989, out of a total of 0 million paid by the company to the Indian government under an out-of-court settlement.

Among the materials that have been removed from the contaminated site in recent days are pesticide residues and ‘eternal chemicals’, so called because they retain toxic properties indefinitely.

Jitu Patwar, Congress MP, the party representing the opposition, pointed out that the incineration of toxic waste at Pithampur could generate new health problems, as well as serious damage to the environment. He also pointed out that although the Madhya Pradesh High Court had issued directives and set a deadline of four weeks for the transfer of the waste, the court order did not stipulate that it should all be disposed of in Pithampur alone.

Over the years, the authorities had already tried several times to transfer the waste from the Bhopal factory, but always met resistance from activists and local residents.

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