Soil containing Bhopal gas tragedy waste destroyed after 4 decades

Methyl isocyanate leak astatine mill killed 5,400 successful 1984

Survivors of the 1984 Bhopal state calamity protestation successful Bhopal. File

After much than 4 decades of the deadly 1984 Bhopal state tragedy, the Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board destroyed astir 19 tonnes of contaminated ungraded from the defunct Union Carbide mill astatine a hazardous discarded installation successful Pithampur, officials said connected Thursday.

The latest disposal follows the earlier incineration of 337 tonnes of chemic discarded from the aforesaid site.

The mill was the epicentre of the Bhopal state tragedy, which killed implicit 5,400 radical and near thousands with chronic wellness conditions aft a monolithic leak of methyl isocyanate gas.

Shrinivas Dwivedi, Regional Officer of the Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board (MPPCB), said the latest batch of soil, containing remnants of toxic substances, had been afloat destroyed done high-temperature incineration.

Additionally, 2.2 tonnes of packaging waste, mostly robust drums utilized for transport, is besides being dismantled and burnt, with disposal expected to beryllium completed soon.

Before incineration, the discarded was mixed with lime and different neutralising materials, producing implicit 800 tonnes of ash. The ash has been sealed successful leak-proof bags and stored securely. A dedicated landfill compartment is being constructed to permanently dispose it of, pursuing technological guidelines.

The discarded was transported successful January amid protests by Pithampur residents implicit biology and wellness concerns, which were dismissed by the authorities government. Trial incineration of 30 tonnes was conducted earlier, with emissions reportedly recovered wrong harmless limits astatine each pain rates tested.

The MPPCB said the discarded included reactor residues, pesticide remnants and contaminated soil. No traces of methyl isocyanate oregon radioactive substances were detected successful the incinerated material, the committee confirmed.