Toxic gas leaked from the Union Carbide factory in December 1984, killing 5,479 people
Container trucks carry toxic waste for disposal. Pic/PTI
Forty years after the Bhopal gas tragedy, 377 tonnes of hazardous waste has been shifted from the defunct Union Carbide factory for its disposal at a unit in Dhar district, officials said on Thursday. The toxic waste was transported at around 9 pm on Wednesday in 12 sealed container trucks via a ‘green corridor’ from Madhya Pradesh capital Bhopal to Pithampur industrial area in Dhar district, located 250 km away.
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“A green corridor was created for the nearly seven-hour journey of the vehicles to the Pithampur industrial area in Dhar district,” Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation Department Director Swatantra Kumar Singh said. Initially, some of the waste will be burnt at the disposal unit in Pithampur and the residue (ash) will be examined to find whether any harmful elements are left, he said.
The highly toxic methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas leaked from the Union Carbide pesticide factory in Bhopal on the intervening night of December 2-3, 1984, killing at least 5,479 and leaving thousands with serious and long-lasting health issues. The Madhya Pradesh High Court had on December 3 rebuked authorities for not clearing the site despite directions from even the Supreme Court.
Waste not poisonous, says CM
Amid protests over the shifting of waste to Dhar, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Thursday said it was not poisonous and there should be no politics over it. Yadav said scientific studies have been carried out and a safe technology will be used in the incineration process. Dhar guardian minister Kailash Vijayvargiya said he will speak with people of Dhar and share information that the waste was “not at all poisonous” or harmful.
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