India: Dumping Ground of the Millennium?

- Keerthi Reddy

Most Indians are well aware of the fact that their country is on the brink of environmental disaster as pollution, lack of waste disposal infrastructure, rapid industrialisation and the ever burgeoning paucity of space combine together in a vicious circle that has the country hurtling towards ruination. But many Indians are provided woefully inadequate information about an even more sinister and deadly threat that poses a vivid and real danger to their lives and the lives of their future generations. The generally shrill Indian media is shockingly muted and understated when it comes to describing an environmental danger that is bringing India alarmingly close to the threshold of ecological disaster. That threat stems from the role of nations such as the USA, Australia, European Union, Canada, and the Arab States in treating India as the dumping ground for all forms, and manner of extremely hazardous toxic waste.

The Indian Ministry of Environment's is the first and foremost culprit which must bear the blame for having transformed India over the years into the world's biggest toxic waste dump. Through their inaction and attempts to dilute the Supreme Court order by seeking entry of selected hazardous wastes, the government of India has brought India and many of its people to the brink of environmental disaster. And this isn't a new phenomenon either, the practice of dumping illegal and hazardous materials in India, has been happening since the 1970's. Sad to say, the practice still continues even as the year 2001 has come along, a situation which highlights the mockery of the ban on toxic waste imports which was imposed by the Indian Supreme Court in 1997. This article lists some of the most recent incidences of this horrifying new reality and explores some of the most troubling consequences.

Background

According to Greenpeace more than 100,000 tons of potentially toxic waste entered India in 1998-1999. Greenpeace has documented imports of more than 100,887 tons of hazardous and potentially hazardous wastes into India between 1998-1999. These include zinc ash and residues, used batteries, brass dross, copper cables--possibly coated with PVC, and wastes of toxic metals like lead, chromium, cadmium and thallium. And this quantity is just the veritable tip of the iceberg, it would seem, for these figures do not take into account the import of deadly toxins like asbestos, mercury, or recycled plastic resins.

The culprits besides the Government of India itself, are several countries, including OECD states like Germany, USA, Australia, Denmark, the Netherlands, UK, Belgium, Canada, Norway and the Arab States.

In 1996 Australia alone exported more than 8,500 tons of hazardous metal wastes and 1.3 million hazardous scrap batteries to non-OECD countries in Asia, the most popular of which was India, while the Philippines, China and Indonesia are also used as dumping grounds. But it is the United States which can claim the dubious distinction of being the leading exporter of hazardous substances to India.

Crime: Illegal export of hazardous waste oil
Culprit: United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iran
Description: 168 containers of waste oil were illegally imported via the Nhava Sheva container terminal near Mumbai. The oil was imported after being invoiced as "furnace oil" when in fact it was highly toxic recycled oil waste. Samples of the consignments were collected and sent to the Indian Institute of Petroleum, Dehradun, to verify their toxicity. The Arab importers of the consignments instead of admitting their wrongdoing filed a suit before the Bombay High Court demanding the release of the goods. The Mumbai customs authorities have seized the containers and are investigating the antecedents of the importers in India and the exporters of the contraband in the Middle East, where the shipments originated. According to customs officials the imports were part of 16 consignments from the Middle East particularly the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iran.

The import of waste oils into India is prohibited by a May 1997 Supreme Court order. In November 1997, Greenpeace had exposed a stockpile of illegally imported toxic wastes, including 28 containers of waste oil, lying in the Tughlaqabad Inland Container Depot near Delhi. Because many of the exporters and Indian importers were untraceable, the Supreme Court permitted the hazardous wastes to be auctioned on condition that mechanisms would be put in place to prevent any further imports.

Effects: Waste oil contains cancer-causing chemicals and can contaminate the environment in such a way that the poison travels through the food chain affecting various living organisms, including humans. These oils contain mixtures of hydrocarbons and water, emulsions and other toxic substances as they are subjected to different process and several chemicals are extracted. However, the entire quantity is never fully reused and hazardous by-products are generated.

Crime: Export of used and toxic mercury to India
Culprit: United States of America
Description: An118-tonne stockpile of highly toxic used mercury was exported to India under a veil of secrecy. A Maine-based chemical factory, HoltraChem, sold it to an Illinois-based trader, DF Goldsmith and Metal Corporation, which then decided to send the mercury to India as it was unable to find a taker in the United States. Maine, the US state where the mercury originated, did not want it. The state does not have storage facilities for such a toxic substance. After protests by NGOs in Maine, the governor specifically asked the US government to stop its export to India. He even suggested that the US defense department take over the cargo and add it to its stockpile. But obviously this plea fell on deaf ears.

Effects: Mercury, the only liquid among metals, is a deadly nerve poison and is known to be a global pollutant as it carried all over the world by wind and rain. The metal does not break down and accumulates in the fat of animals and keeps on moving up the food chain. Exposure to mercury could potentially inflict irreparable damage to the human brain, spinal cord, kidneys and liver. A recent warning by the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences states that 60,000 babies per year in the US are at a risk of brain damage as their mothers have eaten mercury contaminated food. With such findings, Boston, San Francisco and New Hampshire have even banned mercury thermometers. US hospitals have started outlawing mercury thermometers. In September 2000, a number of retailers and manufacturers announced that they will end the sale and manufacture of mercury based thermometers.

Crime: Export of defective and dangerous Junk Steel and Tin Plates
Culprit: European Union, United States of America, Australia
Description: Close to 90 per cent of the tin plates imported to India are comprised of seconds and defectives. A part of these consignments are even categorised as "tin plate waste.'' These defective items formed 71% of the total import of cold rolled steel coils in 1999-00. Similarly, the import of defective hot rolled coils has risen sharply from 1.1 lakh tons for the year, 1998-99, to over 1.2 lakh tons in the first six months of 1999 alone. The truth is that defectives and seconds are not even mentioned in the WTO list. In the case of regular steel goods such as hot rolled coils, even founding members of the WTO, such as the USA, have higher tariff barriers than India.

Effects: The import of these defective goods has the potential of being a health hazard since tin plates are widely used in the manufacture of containers for baby food and edible oils. Defective tin plates are more easily prone to rust and corrosion as a result of which it is dangerous to pack food items in them. It is for this reason that the sale of such goods is not allowed in the western countries. According to industry sources, the damage being done is three-fold. The flood of cheap imports depresses prices for the domestic industry, which is just showing signs of recovery. In addition, the defective items threaten Indian consumers. These imported defective cold rolled steel coils are being used in the manufacture of refrigerators, automobiles, auto components, and electrical goods. Consumer goods using these defective components face an increased risk of exposure to short-circuits, electrical fires and leakage of toxins such as inert gases and gasoline.

Crime: Export of deadly carcinogen asbestos
Culprit: Canada
Description: The asbestos industry in India is spread over in about 15 states - nearly 60 per cent of these industries are in operation. India imports raw asbestos worth around Rs 40-50 crore annually. The annual turnover of the industry is estimated to be around Rs 800 crore and it generates direct and indirect employment for more than1,00,000 workers who are affected by the element. Seventy per cent of asbestos is imported from Canada. In Canada, mining is done in a highly mechanised way. These are then sent to India for final finishing. The finished products are packaged and sent abroad with signs saying that it is a hazardous product. But when the raw material is sent to India, no precautions are taken. The global trend has been to either restrict or ban its use, but the Canadian government continues to resist the move to ban asbestos. It exports asbestos to primarily developing countries such as India. Seven of Canada's top markets are in developing countries.

Effects: Between 1967-1997, there were 171,500 cancer deaths from asbestos fibers in USA. In Western Europe, according to some estimates, it has been responsible for half-a-million cancer victims. Worse, in the next 30 years, it could claim another 1 million lives mostly in the developing world, according to a study conducted by USA Today. Exposure to asbestos particles can lead to many diseases. Some diseases are malignant or cancerous, such as mesothelioma and lung cancer. Others are non-malignant, such as asbestosis, pleural plaques, diffuse pleural fibrosis, and benign pleural effusions.

The three main diseases are asbestosis, peural mesothelioma and peritoneal mesothelioma. Asbestosis affects both lungs (it is bilateral) and, although it is mainly in the lower fields of the lungs, it is usually widespread (diffuse). There is no cure or effective treatment for asbestosis. People with asbestosis are also at high risk of developing lung cancer or mesothelioma. Peural Mesothelioma is a cancer of the thin membrane enclosing in the lungs, a rare form of cancer that is not associated with smoking. In cases of Peritoneal mesothelioma a thin membrane of mesothelial cells known as the peritoneum envelops many abdominal organs. This is a tumour of this membrane. This can develop many years after exposure and accounts for about one-fifth of all mesotheliomas. There is no known cure for peritoneal mesothelioma. Most cases of mesotheliomas are fatal.

Crime: Dumping and production of toxic used plastic
Culprit: United Sates of America
Description: Pepsi Co is involved in both producing and disposing of plastic waste in India. Under Pepsi's two-part scheme, plastic for single-use disposal bottles is manufactured in India and exported to the United States and Europe, while the toxic by-products of the plastic production process stay in India. Used plastic bottles are then returned from these countries to poison India's people and environment again. India bears the burden of environmental and health impacts from plastic production and plastic waste, while consumers in industrialised countries continue using and disposing of massive quantities of unsustainable and unnecessary beverage packaging without absorbing the true costs - financial, health and environmental. In short, India gets shafted at both ends, while industrialised country consumers receive all the benefits. Activists first learned of Pepsi's waste exports to India through U.S. Customs Department Data. Greenpeace researchers discovered records listing Pepsi as the exporter of about 4,500 tons of plastic scrap in 23 shipments during 1993.

The U.S. Customs records indicated that all of the waste exports were destined for the Southern Indian City of Madras. All of the shipments left from the U.S. West Coast: eight shipments from San Francisco, two shipments from Long Beach, 10 from Los Angeles, and three from Oakland. The most frequently used shipping lines for these waste shipments were OOCL and Presidential. Much of the waste was dumped at the site of a factory owned by Futura Industries in Tiruvallur, outside of Madras. Pepsi officials in the United States acknowledge the waste is exported to India, but claim it is all recycled. Futura officials also say the waste is imported, but they admit that much of it is not actually recycled. It is estimated that 60 to 70 percent of the waste can be processed, but the rest is either too contaminated with residual materials or other garbage that arrives mixed in with the shipment, or is the wrong type of plastic.

Workers in these factories are provided no protective clothing guard against painful hot-water washing, inhaling fumes or other exposure to contaminated plastics.

Effects: The major chemicals used to make plastic resins pose serious risks to public health and safety. Many of the chemicals used in large volumes to produce plastics are highly toxic. Some chemicals, like benzene and vinyl chloride, are known to cause cancer in humans; many tend to be gases and liquid hydrocarbons, which readily vaporise and pollute the air. Many are flammable and explosive. Even the plastic resins themselves are flammable and have contributed to numerous chemical accidents. The production of plastic emits substantial amounts of toxic chemicals (eg. ethylene oxide, benzene, and xylenes) to air and water. Many of the toxic chemicals released in plastic production can cause cancer and birth defects and damage the nervous system, blood, kidneys, and immune systems. These chemicals can also cause serious damage to ecosystems. Some of the harmful effects of plastic recycling include skin and respiratory problems resulting from exposure to or inhalation of toxic fumes, especially hydrocarbons, and residues released during recycling processes.

The people and the environment of India are as worthy of protection as the people and environment of industrialised nations which have banned or restricted the usage of these hazardous and highly toxic materials. It appears that India with its large coastline, lax laws and obliging corrupt bureaucrats has become a dumping yard where industrialised countries can offload poisonous wastes in the guise of recycling of uncontaminated or non-hazardous wastes. The countries, which offload their wastes on India, do so because disposal in their own countries is extremely expensive and poses a severe threat to their own environments.

How long will the people of India continue to willingly submit to the toxic imperialism of the West?

Even as you read this article, the billion dollar ship- breaking business continues in full swing at Alang port on the west coast state of Gujarat. At least one Indian worker dies every day at Alang alone due to mishaps and occupation-related ailments primarily because the worker has not even a shred of basic protection such as gloves or hard hats while he/she handles poisonous materials. On any given day, the workers at Alang and other ports of India are exposed to such hazardous materials as asbestos, poly chlorinated biphenyls (pcb), lead, toxic sludge, etc. Given that example, one can hardly imagine what grim toll this horrifying situation is effecting on the most vulnerable parts of Indian society.

If the government of India makes one new year's resolution in 2001, let it be its determined pledge to ban the dumping of all toxic and dangerous materials to India's shores. Otherwise, we will have no country left to give to our future generations.

This article was originally published at The Sword of Truth and is reproduced here with their kind permission.

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