Survivors’ Orgs Charge Deputy Secretary of BGTRR of False Representations in the High Court Regarding Waste Trial Runs

Press Conference
May 07, 2025

At a Press Conference today, leaders of four organizations of the survivors of the Union Carbide disaster in the city charged the Deputy Secretary of the Department of Bhopal Tragedy with making false representations before the state high court. According to them, the official, KK Dubey, in his affidavit omitted critical information on the release of toxic chemicals during the recent incineration trial runs of Union Carbide’s hazardous waste at Pithampur.

Said Bano Bee of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmchari Sangh, “The Madhya Pradesh high court’s green light to continue with incineration of Union Carbide’s hazardous waste was obtained falsely. Expert opinion on the 300-page Report on the trial incinerations makes it clear that the high court was deliberately kept unaware of the leakage of anywhere between 5 to 20 kilograms of metallic mercury during the trial runs. As we know exposure to mercury damages the brain and it is so poisonous that according to the WHO there are no safe limits of exposure to mercury.”

According to Rachna Dhingra of the Bhopal Group for Information and Action, “Professor Asif Qureshi from IIT Hyderabad carried out a simple exercise of mass balance for mercury on the basis of the information provided in the report and found that the incineration of 10 tonnes of hazardous waste caused the emission of 1.53 to 6.88 kgs of mercury. It is shocking that Mr. Dubey has not included this information in the affidavit he submitted to the high court.”

Balkrishna Namdeo, President of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Nirashrit Pensionbhogee Sangharsh Morcha said, ”As Professor Qureshi has pointed out, well over 40 to 200 kg of mercury will be released due to the incineration of the 300 tonnes of Union Carbide’s hazardous waste. This toxic disaster of unprecedented scale has already begun in Pithampur..”

President of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha, Nawab Khan said, ”We have written to the central Minister of Environment calling for an end to the ongoing disaster in Pithampur. This can be done by making Union Carbide’s owner Dow Chemical carry the hazardous waste to USA for safe disposal as had been done for the mercury waste from Kodaikanal in Tamilnadu in 2003. We are yet to know whether the Minister will indeed take any steps but hope the high court will realize how it has been conned by Mr. Dube in to allowing the incineration of Union Carbide’s hazardous waste to proceed at Pithampur.”

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