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| India:
Dumping Ground Of The New century? |
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Most Indians
are well aware of the fact that their country is
on the brink of environmental disaster as |
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| pollution, lack
of waste disposal infrastructure, rapid industrialization
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. |
| According to Greenpeace
more than 100,000 tons of potentially toxic waste entered
India in 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. 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. |
| 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. 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. |
| More
on Toxic Waste.... |
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