After 41 years of legal battles, administrative delays, and public outcry, the incineration of 337 metric tons of toxic waste from the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy has been completed. The waste, originating from the now-defunct Union Carbide factory, was incinerated at a Treatment Storage Disposal Facility in Pithampur, Madhya Pradesh. This marks a significant step in addressing the environmental legacy of what is considered one of the world's worst industrial disasters.
The Bhopal gas tragedy occurred on the night of December 2-3, 1984, when a leak of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas from the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant exposed over 500,000 people to the deadly toxin. A government affidavit in 2006 stated that the leak caused 558,125 injuries, including 38,478 temporary partial injuries and approximately 3,900 severely and permanently disabling injuries. Estimates vary, but the official number of immediate deaths was 2,259. However, it is estimated that 8,000 died within two weeks, and another 8,000 or more have since died from gas-related diseases.
The road to incinerating the waste was fraught with challenges. The first petition for waste removal was filed in the Madhya Pradesh High Court in August 2004, two decades after the disaster. However, due to a sluggish legal process and administrative delays, it took another two decades for the process to be completed. In December 2008, the Madhya Pradesh High Court initially decided that the toxic waste should be incinerated at Ankleshwar in Gujarat, but this was met with protests from activists across India. The Madhya Pradesh High Court finally took a firm stance in December 2024, directing the state government to shift the waste within four weeks, which marked the beginning of the historic relocation process.
The 337 metric tons of waste were securely packed into 12 large containers and transported to Pithampur on January 1, 2025, via a specially created green corridor. The incineration process itself was carried out under the supervision of technical experts from the Central Pollution Control Board and the State Pollution Control Board, following the High Court’s directive issued on March 27. The incineration began around 7:45 pm on May 5, 2025, and concluded on the intervening night of June 29-30, 2025. The waste was incinerated at a maximum rate of 270 kg per hour.
The waste from the Union Carbide factory included soil from the premises of the closed unit, reactor residue, Sevin (pesticide) residue, naphthal residue, and "semi-processed" residue. According to the State Pollution Control Board, scientific evidence indicated that the effect of Sevin and naphthal chemicals in this waste had become "almost negligible". The waste reportedly did not contain methyl isocyanate gas or any radioactive particles.
Following the completion of the incineration, the ash and other residue were being safely packed in sacks and kept in a leak-proof storage shed at the plant. Special landfill cells were being constructed as per the scientific process to bury the residue, with the work expected to be completed by November 2025. The residue will be treated scientifically before burial to prevent any harm to the environment.
Despite the government's assurances that the incineration process was carried out in an environmentally safe manner, some activists have raised concerns about potential water contamination from the buried residue. There were also protests by local citizen groups concerned about the incineration in Pithampur.
The completion of the incineration marks the end of a dark chapter in Bhopal's history and a step towards healing from its toxic legacy. However, questions remain about the long-term environmental impact of the buried residue and the ongoing health issues faced by the survivors of the gas tragedy.
