Bhopal Gas Tragedy(Bhopal)

Dhar/Indore: The first round of burning 10 tonnes of waste from the 337 tonnes of Union Carbide factory waste in Bhopal (Bhopal)  has started in a ‘waste disposal plant’ in Pithampur industrial area of ​​Madhya Pradesh. Giving information about this, officials said that strict security arrangements have been made for this process which started on Thursday. Earlier, the Supreme Court refused to interfere in the order of the Madhya Pradesh High Court to transfer and dispose of the waste related to the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy to a plant operated by a private company in Pithampur of Dhar district.

SC refused to stop the test

The bench of Justice BR Gavai and Justice AG Masih also refused to stop the test to be conducted on Thursday for the disposal of the waste from the ‘Union Carbide India Limited’ plant. According to the state government, the waste from the Union Carbide factory includes soil from the premises of this closed unit, reactor residues, Sevin (pesticide) residues, naphthal residues and ‘semi-processed’ residues. The State Pollution Control Board says that according to scientific evidence, the effect of Sevin and Naphthal chemicals in this waste has now become ‘almost negligible’.

‘It will take 72 hours to destroy the waste by burning it’

According to the board, at present there is no presence of Methyl Isocyanate (MIC) gas in this waste and it also does not contain any kind of radioactive particles. Regional officer of the board Srinivas Dwivedi said, ‘5 types of waste from the Union Carbide factory will be mixed in proper proportion using a mixer in the ‘Waste Disposal Plant’ of Pithampur and 10 tonnes of it will be put into the incinerator. Before this, the incinerator will be run empty and its temperature will be raised to 850 degrees Celsius.’ He said that the process of putting the waste in the burning incinerator is expected to start from 10-11 am on Friday and it will take about 72 hours to burn 10 tonnes of waste on a trial basis.

‘Security has been increased in Pithampur industrial area’

Dwivedi said that the solid residue, water and gases emitted during the entire disposal process will also be properly disposed of. He said that for the safety of the employees involved in the disposal of Union Carbide’s waste, they have been given masks, goggles, gloves and other equipment. A police officer said that security has been increased in Pithampur industrial area amid the start of the process of disposal of this waste. He said that about 500 policemen from 24 police stations have been deployed in this area and senior police and administration officials are also present on the spot.

At least 5479 people died in Bhopal

Let us tell you that on the intervening night of 2 and 3 December 1984, highly toxic methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas leaked from the Union Carbide factory in Bhopal. At least 5,479 people were killed and thousands were crippled. It is considered one of the world’s biggest industrial disasters. As part of the plan to dispose of 337 tonnes of waste from the closed Union Carbide factory in Bhopal, it was transported to an industrial waste disposal plant in Pithampur, about 250 km from the state capital, on January 2.