Unwanted gift of quicksilver to Kodaikanal – Express News Service
THE issue of mercury leak in the eco-sensitive Pambar Shola forest in Kodaikanal from Hindustan Lever’s thermometer factory was first brought to notice in 2001 by factory workers and environmental groups. The company later admitted on record to have discharged more than 1.3 tons of toxic mercury into the Pambar Shola and that the soil […]
Tamil Nadu’s “Bhopal in waiting” – Express News Service
MORE skeletons have tumbled out of Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board’s (TNPCB) closet relating to its actions on the Kodaikanal mercury leak cleanup, this time in the form of false claims in its status note to the Union environment ministry and specifying cleanup standards that have not been scientifically validated. Following an alarm raised by […]
Current cleanup can’t protect Pambar Shola – Express News Service
A site-specific target level of 25mg/kg for cleanup of mercury in Kodaikanal is grossly inadequate to save the eco-sensitive Pambar Shola forest, according to Mark Chernaik, toxicologist and staff scientist at the US-based ‘environment law alliance worldwide’. Chernaik made the remark after conducting a critical assessment of the four major reports on the proposed cleanup […]
RTI Papers Reveal Dilution in Remediation Stand – Express News Service
CHENNAI: Environmental organisations and activists have called for an inquiry into the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) and the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), based on RTI documents that indicate their alleged collusion with Hindustan Unilever in downgrading remediation standards for mercury contaminated sites in Kodaikanal. “TNPCB and NEERI colluded with HUL to […]