The first trial of union carbide waste treatment

As part of the first trial, ten tons of waste will be incinerated in Fort Pierthermond. |Photo source: PTI

The process started Thursday at an incineration facility in Madhya Pradesh Pithampur, an official said, with the first trial of disposing of the union’s 40-year-old toxic waste. These steps begin after the Supreme Court refused to intervene in the matter.

Dhar Police Chief Manoj Kumar Singh told Hindu Ten tons of waste were removed from the container and the bag was carefully opened. He said the incineration process could begin on Friday after all the necessary safety measures were taken.

The process began shortly after the Supreme Court rejected a petition challenging the Madhya Pradesh government’s plan to dispose of 358 tons of combined carbide waste in Pesspur. The High Court also refused to maintain three trials of 10 tons, allowing it on February 18.

Chemical waste that has been living in the UCIL plant, which has been in business for more than 40 years since the gas tragedy that killed thousands of people in December 1984, has been transported to a private waste disposal facility in the industrial town of Pithampur near Indore on January 2.

The preliminary work of the trial was completed in advance, and the process was initiated after the Supreme Court decided not to intervene.

“It’s a long process before the waste burning begins. “Unpacking has begun and after that the waste will be loaded into the device with great care,” Singh said. “Singh said, adding that the incinerator will be run on the dry incinerator at night so that the waste will be fully heated before it is loaded.

“These machines take about 8-10 hours to heat up and prepare for incineration,” he added.

Mr Singh, at Pithampur, also said that proper safety arrangements have been made with security personnel deployed throughout the town.

“We are constantly evaluating the situation on the ground. We also give the public confidence.” He added that the government has issued any consultation on any rumors about waste disposal.

Swatantra Kumar Singh, director of the Department of Relief and Rehabilitation of Bhopal Gas Tragedy, welcomed the Supreme Court’s position that the trial was conducted under the supervision of relevant departments and scientific experts.

“It’s a big day. We’re starting [first] Trial in TSDF [Treatment, Storage, and Disposal Facility] In Pithampur, it will be done under the supervision of CPCB [Central Pollution Control Board] and Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Commission. ” he said.

Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court rejected a petition filed by Indiana resident Chinmay Mishra, noting that the state’s plan to dispose of waste in Pithampur was based on observations and approval from scientific experts.

The Supreme Court also said petitioners and other interveners could approach the High Court of Congress with their complaints.

On February 18, the High Court agreed to the government’s plan to conduct three trials at different burn rates and directed it to introduce the trial report on March 27.

The second and third trials are scheduled for March 4 and 10, respectively.

Massive protests broke out in the first week of January as waste moved from Bhopal’s United Carbide Factory to Pisspur. Two people try to be self-immune.

According to the state government, the uproar was caused by rumors and misinformation spread around the issue. The state government sought six weeks from the High Court to build consensus among the public. The authorities then used various awareness to point out that the waste will be disposed of in a scientific way and various safety measures will be taken.

However, activists have long questioned government claims and claimed that the process could be harmful to the environment and water bodies.

According to the Alliance Government’s 2022 estimates, a total of 5,479 people were killed in the tragedy caused by the leak of toxic methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas from the United Carbide Plant. Various government estimates also show that despite the fact that thousands of people suffered physical disabilities after the accident, it has also had a health impact on more than half a million people over the past few decades.