CHENNAI: The Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) has begun remediation works at the mercury-contaminated site in Kodaikanal, while civil society activists claim the company has violated the order of National Green Tribunal (NGT) and don’t have some of the statutory approvals. The activists petitioned Environment Minister Siva V Meyyanathan to stop the ongoing illegal handling of mercury wastes by the company.
Refuting the allegations, a HUL spokesperson told Express that the soil remediation was being conducted after both the NGT and the Supreme Court agreed with the company to carry out the remediation. “All activities at the site are being carried out in full compliance with all guidelines, applicable standards, and permissions as issued by the NGT, Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) and Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). Further, all the required statutory clearances have been obtained. At present, commissioning trials are being carried out after receipt of the Consent to Operate. Full-scale remediation will begin once commissioning is completed, and Covid-related restrictions are lifted.”
In 2018, the NGT issued two directions saying the clean-up should be done only after obtaining all authorisations from TNPCB, and that an extensive site assessment and ecological risk assessment study should be done. Activists allege that, so far, no study has been carried out, and that HUL has been allowed to excavate highly toxic soil, and process and handle mercury wastes without a valid authorisation under Hazardous and Other Wastes Rules, 2016. The work has been ongoing since December 2020.
Chennai-based activist Nityanand Jayaraman said photographs sent by residents show what appears to be excavated soil stored in the open exposed to the monsoon rains. The Consent to Operate issued by TNPCB stipulates that soil should be stored on an impervious surface inside a closed room. Such open dumping is a certain recipe for disaster. Mercury is a potent neurotoxin, and is particularly dangerous in its organic form.
“The factory shares a boundary with Kodaikanal Wildlife Sanctuary, and drains into the Pambar Shola through the Pambar stream which feeds the Vaigai. Soil-bound mercury is continuously draining into the Pambar shola, and will build up along the aquatic food chain and to dangerous levels in fish-eating and insectivorous birds and animals. Samples of fish caught from a pond in the Periakulam plains fed by Pambar stream were analysed by IIT-Hyderabad over two years. All samples had mercury at levels of concern, especially for pregnant women as mercury could cause harm to the developing fetus,” Jayaraman said.
HUL spokesperson said the utmost care was being taken to prevent any release of soil outside of the factory boundary supported by the retaining walls and silt traps that have been set-up. Any hazardous waste generated during remediation will be disposed of only after receiving the Hazardous Waste Authorisation. Following the NGT order to conduct a site assessment study, National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) initiated the study in 2019. However, the study got delayed due to the nationwide lockdown because of Covid. “ The site assessment study report is in the final stages of processing by NEERI. HUL is committed to completing full-scale remediation in accordance with the standards and norms approved by TNPCB and the Courts.”
HUL said the experts’ studies quoted by the complainants were placed before the NGT and the Supreme Court. In March 2019, the Supreme Court dismissed the petition and allowed the soil remediation to proceed at the approved remediation standard of 20mg/kg.
Navroz Mody, a Kodaikanal resident and member of the Supreme Court Monitoring Committee-appointed Local Area Environment Committee, and other activists have urged the State government to take urgent action to stop the illegal excavation, revoke the Consent to Operate, commission an extensive study as stipulated by the NGT and prosecute Unilever and its executives for continuing to disrespect the laws of the land.
In March 2001, after residents exposed Unilever’s illegal mercury dumpsite in the town, TNPCB shut down the factory citing violation of Hazardous Waste Rules. Twenty years on, the company continues to violate Hazardous Waste rules. Sources told Express that a TNPCB team has inspected the remediation site based on instructions by Environment Secretary Supriya Sahu.
Recipe for disaster?
The Consent to Operate stipulates that soil should be stored on an impervious surface inside a closed room. This is because mercury, a neurotoxin, is particularly dangerous when it enters the aquatic environment