Chemicals ministry joins hands with MoEF, MP
The government has swung into action with the ministry of chemicals and fertilisers (MCF) having filed an affidavit in the Jabalpur high court demanding that DOW Chemicals bear the cost of remediation in and around the Union Carbide India Ltd (UCIL) factory in Bhopal.
The MCF has also made it clear that it plans to work closely with both, the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) and the Madhya Pradesh state government to ensure that detoxification and decommissioning of the UCIL plant is completed by 2012.
This follows the latest NEERI study, commissioned by the state government, was submitted to the MoEF last week. The study pointed out that the soil within the UCIL factory was contaminated and needed immediate remediation.
The NEERI had suggested several long-term measures to facilitate the remediation process.
These include a secured landfill technology for toxic waste treatment and the pump-and-treat method for decontamination of ground water. Besides, decontamination and decommissioning of the plant, machinery and buildings should be done prior to remediation of the contaminated soil and ground water.
The NEERI had recommended that the wastes must be burnt at the Pithampur facility, while the 1.1 million tonnes of contaminated soil be buried in a landfill at the site itself. The five contaminated wells should treated and sealed and the company premises secured to ensure unauthorised access comes to an end.
Post new comment