Bhopal Gas Tragedy: Toxic Waste Shifted From Union Carbide Premises After 40 Years

As the Bhopal gas tragedy has completed 40 years recently, the Madhya Pradesh administration finally shifted the toxic waste from the accident location through the green corridor on Wednesday.

Notably, thousands had lost lives to gas leaking occurred at Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) plant in Bhopal, however toxic waste that arose from the devastating incident remained there.

A convoy of 12 container trucks carrying 337 metric tonnes of chemical waste moved from Bhopal to the Pithampur. The convoy went to the dumping site through a green corridor. The 250-kilometre-long green corridor covered the distance between UCIL premises in Bhopal and the dumping site in the Dhar district.

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Observing that authorities were in a ‘state of inertia,’ the Madhya Pradesh High Court on December 3 set a four-week deadline to remove waste lying on the accident site. The HC reprimanded the state government for not shifting the poisonous byproduct even after 40 years of the accidents.

Moreover, workers, responsible for packing the hazardous waste worked in 30-minute shifts. They underwent health checkups and were given breaks every 30 minutes as they had been working since Sunday.

The containers carrying the waste were built as per the standards of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). All 12 containers were leak-proof, fire-resistant, and equipped with GPS tracking for real-time monitoring.

Toxic Waste Of Bhopal Gas Tragedy Dumped At ‘Pithampur’ Plant

“Pithampur’s plant is specifically designed for the safe incineration of waste generated by industrial units across the state. In 2015, a trial run for disposing of 10 metric tonnes of waste of UCIL as conducted under CPCB supervision, adhering to all prescribed safety parameters,” Director of Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation Department, Swatantra Kumar Singh said.

A highly toxic gas leak at Union Carbide pesticide factory in Bhopal on December 2-3, 1984, killed at least 5,479.  The accident left thousands with serious and long-lasting health issues.