German firm dumps Bhopal waste

(Sept. 19, 2012) In central India’s Madhya Pradesh State, a German company has pulled out of a deal to dispose of toxic waste left at the now defunct Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, scene of the world’s worst industrial disaster 27 years ago. The German Society for International Cooperation, GIZ, which undertakes waste management among other tasks, had earlier offered to incinerate 350 metric tons of packaged chemical waste left at the plant, at a cost of US$ 4.5 million. Under the terms of the offer, the GIZ had agreed to transport the waste to Germany and dispose of it there. The waste has been lying at the plant in Bhopal, capital of Madhya Pradesh state, since the 1984 gas tragedy in which 5,295 people died immediately and more than 25,000 later, following an accidental methyl isocyanate leak. Dow Chemical bought the Union Carbide plant in 2001 but has refused to dispose of the waste, prompting a petition in the Supreme Court. Hoping the problem would be solved, the federal government in July gave GIZ permission to go ahead with the disposal, after getting approval from the Supreme Court, which has yet to rule on who is responsible for the waste. However, in a letter to federal finance minister P. Chidambaram on Monday, GIZ said it could not carry out the agreement. “We have made an assessment of the situation in Germany and decided that it would be in the best interests for strong Indo-German cooperation not to pursue this project further,” the letter said. “Since the matter of determining liability for the disposal of toxic waste is still pending in the Supreme Court, the state government can’t do anything unilaterally yet, Babulal Gaur, state minister for gas relief and rehabilitation, told ucanews on Tuesday. The petition demanding its safe disposal is due to be heard in the top court on October 15. This hearing will also establish who is responsible for the disposal.