Green study slams Coke's Kerala plant

Coca-Cola company's operations at its Plachimada plant at Palakkad in Kerala seem to be headed for fresh trouble.

The Hazards Centre and the People's Science Institute have come out with a report, based on the study of water samples, saying that Coca Cola has caused groundwater pollution in the area.

According to a statement from the two environmental groups, the study has tested nine water samples in a one kilometer radius of the Coca-Cola bottling plant in Kerala has shown that the total natural water resources surrounding the Coca-Cola plant in Plachimada are contaminated.

Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages (HCCBPL) on its part said that independent test results carried out over the last four years on more than 20 wells surrounding the plant by experts, government authorities and independent accredited laboratories such as Kerala State Ground Water Board, Central Ground Water Authority, Kerala State Pollution Control Board, have all confirmed that there is no contamination caused by the plant operations.

"A study conducted by an independent laboratory in Bangalore over the last one year on 92 samples of water collected from wells in the area has not linked any contamination in the groundwater to the plant operations," HCCBPL said in a statement.

However, The Hazards Centre and the People's Science Institute study points out that all water samples, collected from open wells, hand pumps and borewells in the area, failed to meet the safety standards for drinking water prescribed by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) - ensuring that the groundwater was no longer suitable for human consumption.

"All the samples showed excessive levels of chromium, eight samples showed excessive levels of cadmium and six samples showed excessive levels of lead. The water samples were collected in November 2005," The Hazards Centre and the People's Science Institute report said adding that agricultural production has been negatively affected in the area.