M.P. govt. begins disposal of toxic waste from Union Carbide factory

Sub: Env

Sec: Pollution

Context:

The Madhya Pradesh government has started the process of disposing of 337 tonnes of toxic waste accumulated at the Union Carbide India Ltd. (UCIL) site in Bhopal, 40 years after the infamous Bhopal gas tragedy.

Environmental Cleanup:

There has been ongoing pressure for a comprehensive cleanup of the UCIL plant site to remove toxic residues, which continue to pose a threat to the local environment and the health of the nearby population.
Earlier, the Madhya Pradesh High Court had set a four-week deadline for the authorities for the disposal of the toxic waste.
The waste is expected to be transported to the Treatment, Storage, and Disposal Facility (TSDF) in Pithampur, near Indore.

Bhopal gas tragedy:

The Bhopal gas tragedy was one of the worst industrial accidents in history that occurred on the night of 2nd December 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal, MP.
It exposed people and animals to the highly toxic gas methyl isocyanate (MIC), causing immediate and long-term health effects and deaths.
Methyl isocyanate is extremely toxic gas and if its concentration in the air touches 21ppm (parts per million), it can cause death within minutes of inhaling the gas.
National Pollution Control Day is observed on December 2 every year to remember the devastating incident.