[Reader-list] A Policy? Rubbish

[Jeebesh]

Hindustan Times, May 4, 2010
Op Ed


A Policy? Rubbish
There is no data on how much waste is produced in India and how it is  
disposed. The Cobolt 60 incident was waiting to happen.
Customs data reveals imports of even prohibited wastes like clinical  
waste, incineration ash, municipal waste and e-waste, all of which  
exceed 50 lakh tonnes annually

writes RAVI AGARWAL


The Cobalt-60 radiation tragedy at Mayapuri in Delhi has unearthed  
many skeletons, which some seem to be desperate to hide. There is  
already a life lost, and maybe others irrevocably damaged, while  
everyone is busy hurling accusations at each other. This is a typical  
response. Instead, we need to examine the systemic problems that this  
incident has indicated. While those who were negligent must be  
punished, there are many questions that need to be answered. These  
relate to why this radioactive waste source was not on the regulatory  
radar. It is no secret that the nuclear establishment works in a garb  
of secrecy, and information is very restricted.
However, where public health is concerned, more assurance is needed.  
It has also become evident that our ports are porous to all kinds of  
waste, and there are no scanners to detect what comes in, nuclear or  
otherwise. Alongside, there seems to be no mechanism to track the  
illegal move- ment of radioactive materials through our transport sys-  
tems. The dealers at the scrapyards have little information on how to  
detect such waste, or what to do in case of an accident. At the very  
least this inci- dent calls for re-evaluating the tracking and  
monitoring of such disused radioactive materials and improving public  
communication.

Moreover, it is impor- tant to understand the larger issue of  
hazardous waste. It is well-known that we are one of the largest  
waste- importing economies in the world. All types of wastes are  
imported into India, in the garb of cheap raw materials, including  
hazardous, toxic wastes. Waste recyclers abroad take pride in sending  
used plastics and electronics to India, believing they are doing us a  
favour. Data released by the Customs department reveal imports of even  
prohibited wastes like clinical waste, incineration ash, municipal  
waste and e-waste, all of which exceed 50 lakh tonnes annually. This  
is common knowledge in the recycling markets of Delhi, Mumbai and  
Chennai. The government, however, says it has no idea about this. On  
the contrary, environment ministry officials have publicly stated that  
they wish to make India the waste recycling capital of the world. Real  
concerns about the inherent toxicity in the waste contaminating our  
water and land, or the disastrous implications of becoming a `waste  
economy,' are not being addressed.

The manufacturing sector in India is growing at over 8 per cent  
annually, making India one of the largest hubs of chemical,  
petrochemical and textile industries in the world. However, the  
government's manpower or budgets to track and monitor the disposal of  
waste from over 36,000 autho- rised industrial units and over 3  
million small scale units, have not increased over the years. Look at  
the estimates of waste generation. According to the Comptroller and  
Auditor General's (CAG) report and other sources, over 7 million  
tonnes of industrial hazardous waste, 4 lakh tonnes of elec- tronic  
waste, 1.5 million tonnes of plastic waste, 1.7 lakh tonnes of medical  
waste, 48 million tonnes of municipal waste laced with mercury lamps,  
batteries and pesticides are generated in the country annually, in  
addition to the imports.
These are conservative figures and growing. However, there is no  
official data on this, simply because there has never been any attempt  
to collect it.

The impact is there for all to see. The Central Pollution Control  
Board has identified over 88 critically polluted industrial zones,  
most of which are clustered in the most-indus- trialised states like  
Gujarat and Maharashtra. Several of them are beyond repair. All of our  
14 river systems are polluted. Groundwater in many places contains  
toxins like the deadly hexavalent chromium and heavy metals, and  
studies have shown contamination of crops through industrial  
effluents. Again there is no data or any study ever commis- sioned to  
identify the scale of such impact.

The states have notified a set of hazardous waste laws over the past  
10 years and built 25-odd hazardous waste dis- posal facilities after  
the Supreme Court directed them to do so. However, the CAG report lays  
bare the real ground sit- uation. It found that over 75 per cent of  
state bodies were not implementing these laws. In fact, there is no  
single responsible person anywhere in the government who is routinely  
monitoring the situation. Unfortunately, there is more attention given  
towards granting authorisations and licences for imports and  
clearances, rather than to develop a system of monitoring and  
accountability.

Implementation is said to be India's Achilles heel. Is it really so?  
Implementation is left to the vagaries of the sys- tem, rather than  
any efforts made to enable it. For example, none of our waste laws  
demand implementation targets, or maintain a database about progress  
made, or have any accompanying plans about how the required  
infrastructure will be built. Public information about levels of  
compliance is also not available.

With all this missing, lamenting the lack of implementation becomes  
merely a way of passing the buck. In hindsight, the Cobalt-60 incident  
may have been no accident, it may only have been waiting to happen.

Ravi Agarwal is Director, Toxics Link The views expressed by the  
author are personal