Oft-repeated claims of the government and various other institutes that toxic wastes present in the closed unit of Union Carbide India Limited premises in Bhopal are no reason for water contamination in gas-affected localities, seem a big lie. The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has said that ground water is not only contaminated above human consumption limits but also that there is no other source of water contamination in the level than the toxic wastes present in the UCIL premises. Reacting to the report, the state government has stuck to its stand and has said a third party investigation is required to check the claims of both the sides.
The CSE has not only recommended immediate measures to decontaminate the ground water and clean up the premises, but also fixed this responsibility on Dow Chemical. “It will be a very costly exercise, say Rs 1,000 crore, if one hazards a guess,” director of the CSE, Sunita Narain, said, adding, “The factory site in Bhopal is leading to chronic toxicity and the contamination can trigger various diseases in the human body.”
The report may trigger a new debate as it has established that the carcinogenic compounds found in ground water have the only source in the toxic waste present in the Union Carbide India Limited’s (UCIL) premises.
“We have found toxins in the groundwater up to three kilometer from the factory,” said associated director CSE and in-charge of CSE laboratory Chandra Bhushan.
“The profile of chemicals found within the factory and in the waste disposal site of the factory are similar to those found in ground water samples in the localities outside. There is no other source of these chlorinated benzene compounds and pesticides than the factory site where tonnes of toxic waste are present,” he said.
The CSE has said chlorinated benzene compounds can affect and damage the liver and blood cells, while organochlorine pesticides can lead to cancers and bone defects. The other toxins like carbaryl and aldicarb were as deadly, which are detected in the ground water.
On Neeri and DRDE findings which say the water issafe for human consumptionshe clarified, “A regulator will testify which is in the regulations. This is different from the acute toxicity which they talk about, the problem is that the chemicals present in the soil of the factory are leaching into the groundwater and leading to slow and deliberate poisoning of residents.”
The question is who will clean up the premise and decontaminate the ground water, “If entire site of the factory be checked up and cleaned up it will be very costly. The responsibility should be fixed on Dow Chemical. But the company has filed an affidavit in the court and wants its name to be deleted from the respondents. Based on letters accessed by RTI activists, it is also clear that there is pressure to dilute the liability of Dow Chemical, arguing that the company had nothing to do with Union Carbide India Limited, which operated the plant,” Narain added.
To collect 20 samples with latest techniques and equipment the CSE exhausted its all lab budget. “It was a very costly exercise,” Narain said, “the people living around the site continue to suffer from chronic ailments to abnormalities and none is sure if it is related to gas exposure or continuous exposure to toxins,”
Meanwhile, speaking to Business Standard minister for Bhopal Gas Relief and Rehabilitation Babulal Gaur said, “The government of India has given us the reports, their scientists are not fake, they are responsible and accountable to Parliament, to Supreme Court and to the public. If the CSE report is true, it means Government of India is misleading us. The best option is that an independent agency should testify both the sides.”
The CSE went further from other studies and tests conducted earlier and entered into the product history of UCIL; Carbaryl (trade name Savin), Aldicarb (trade name Temik) and a formulation of carbaryl and gamma-hexachlorocyclohexane (trade name sevidol). The plant also used heavy metals like mercury and chromium.
