Bhopal gas tragedy: Completion of toxic waste disposal closes macabre chapter

Bhopal: After decades of lingering uncertainty, the disposal of 307 tonnes of toxic waste (earlier 347 tonnes) from the infamous Union Carbide factory responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy, has now been disposed. The Madhya Pradesh High Court had issued directives in this regard earlier to dispose it in maximum 72 days.

“The process, which began from the evening of May 5 was completed on June 29 evening,” a senior officer in the MP Pollution Control Board told IANS.

It was burnt at a private facility in Pithampur in Dhar district near Indore, amid protests by locals.

“The incineration proceeded at a steady rate of 270 kilograms per hour at the facility, with environmental safeguards firmly in place. A continuous online monitoring system had been installed to track emissions, ensuring compliance with pollution control regulations. The total process took 50 days,” the officer said.

To further mitigate environmental risks, experts closely observed four key pollutants — particulate mercury, heavy matter, hydrogen chloride, sulfur dioxide, and carbon monoxide — emitted during the burning process.

Additionally, air quality monitoring stations had been deployed at three locations across Pithampur (near Indore). Alongside the existing station in Tarpura, new sites in Chirakhan and Bajrangpura were operationalised on May 4 to reinforce oversight.

In fact, a total of four monitoring system had been installed, the officer said.

The 1984 Bhopal gas disaster claimed the lives of thousands of people and left several others injured when a poisonous gas, methyl-isocyanate, leaked from the factory on the intervening night of December 2-3, 1984.

The toxic waste, which had remained abandoned at the former Union Carbide facility for nearly 40 years, was finally transported to Pithampur from Bhopal in January 2025.

In compliance with judicial directives, a phased trial run was conducted before full-scale disposal began marking a significant step in the decades-long struggle to address industrial contamination.

After a trial run of the incineration, the Madhya Pradesh government had submitted a status report to the High Court in Jabalpur, detailing the successful completion.

The officials had told the court that the incineration process — expected to last 72 days — would proceed under strict guidelines set forth by the Central Pollution Control Board to prevent any harm to the public.

Despite these assurances, activists advocating for the Bhopal gas tragedy survivors had raised concerns over secondary pollution. They argue that burning 300 metric tonnes of toxic waste could result in nearly 900 metric tonnes of residue, potentially exacerbating environmental hazards if dumped in a landfill.

With the hearing scheduled on Monday, discussions on the long-term ecological impact of the waste disposal continue.

IANS