Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): In what has sparked another debate over the burning of the Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) chemical waste, reports of two separate pollution control bodies mention highly disparate numbers on the quantity of heavy metals, mercury in particular, after burning 350 MT of waste, which led to 900 MT of ash at Pithampur.
The state government affidavit filed in the High Court, Jabalpur, this month, is based on the report of the regional laboratory of the MP Pollution Control Board, Indore.
However, the joint affidavit of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the CSIR-NEERI indicates significantly higher levels of mercury.
According to the CPCB report on the trial, the mercury (Hg) content in the reactor residue ranged from 261 to 615mg/kg, while the excavated waste had a mercury level of 152-754 mg/kg. The state government affidavit claimed the mercury concentration to be significantly lower, at 0.09 to 1.5 mg/kg.
Rachna Dhingra of the Bhopal Group for Information and Action, an organisation that works with the victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy, said, “Both the reports are contradictory.
The government affidavit, which it filed in the middle of September this year, and the report of the CPCB after the UCC trial have a huge gap. Where did the mercury disappear? It is now up to the government to reply in the High Court.”
‘Mercury is toxic’
Hamidia Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Sumit Tandon said to the Free Press, “Mercury is poisonous and causes many medical issues. Basically, it is a heavy metal and exposure to it causes many problems to people.”
