RTI reply shows release of highly toxic wastes in Union Carbide case
9 Feb, 2013The reply to an application under the Right to Information (RTI) Act has revealed that highly toxic chemicals were released during the disposal of industrial waste of now-defunct Union Carbide by a private firm at Pithampur in Madhya Pradesh.
According to the documents received in the reply provided by the Gas Relief Department of Madhya Pradesh, the levels of Dioxins and Furans in Pithampur were 68 to 267 times higher than the permissible limit. Based on the RTI reply, five organisations, working for the survivors of 1984 Bhopal gas disaster, have accused the state government of ignoring the release of high levels of Dioxins and Furans from the Ramky waste incinerator during four trial runs conducted between July 2010 and June 2012 at Pithampur-based Treatment Storage Disposal Facility (TSDF).
The organisations also alleged that the Ramky waste treatment facility violates the Hazardous Waste Management Rules of 1989 stipulated by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) which states that a waste treatment facility has to be at least 500m away from a human settlement whereas the Ramky incinerator is situated less than 200 metres away from the village Tarpura.