Pithampur: The burning of the chemical waste of the Union Carbide factory is all set to begin in Pithampur on Friday, close to 39 years after the Bhopal gas tragedy. While over 350 metric tonnes of waste have been brought, authorities have also tightened security due to protests by locals.
They have also arranged a special, whose temperature can be increased to 850 degrees Celsius. The entire operation will be monitored by officials of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) as well as the Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board (MPPCB).
Officials taking special precautions
Notably, officials are taking special precautions to burn the toxic waste of Union Carbide. The waste has been packed in small bags of 9 kg each. Apart from this, 4.5 kg of waste and 4.5 kg of lime have also been mixed in each bag. Importantly, it takes 12 hours to heat the incinerator. In this case, the same was started last night. It will also consume 400 litres of diesel every hour to keep the incinerator burning.
Earlier on Thursday, the Supreme Court refused to intervene in the MP High Court’s order asking the government to transfer and dispose of waste at a private company-operated plant at Pithampur. A bench of Justices B R Gavai and A G Masih also refused to stay trial disposal.
The testing process has started: Official
Speaking to news agency PTI, a senior official said, “The testing process has started before burning the Union Carbide factory waste in the waste disposal unit in Pithampur. The waste containers are being opened and the waste is being transported to the plant as per the set parameters,”
He added, “The plant is being readied to burn the waste and I think that probably from Friday morning, 10 tonnes of waste will start burning as a test in the presence of scientists from the central and state pollution control boards. The plant has a system that will shut down immediately if the emission of any gas exceeds the prescribed limit during burning.”
