India battles with hazardous waste problems

India is battling with hazardous waste problems as large quantities of products such as dead batteries, arms waste, toxic substances, waste oil and carcinogens land on their shores from Europe.

The toxic waste is posing a serious threat to hundreds of fragile ecosystems along Indian shores. Shipping containers full of these harmful substances have been found at eight major ports in the country, most of which were part of consignments declared as plastic or newsprint.

What makes matters worse is that most of the toxic waste is being sent aboard end-of-life vessels which go to the country to be dismantled. This raises some deeply troubling questions, and surely raises the problems of under-regulation in the shipping industry.

The shipping ministry says it will take "immediate steps" to deal with poisonous shipments to India's ports, but officials claim it could be several months before these consignments can be returned to the countries of their origin, if at all they can be returned.

India has been looking to forge a deal with Germany to transport around 350 tonnes of chemical waste from Bhopal to Germany for incineration. However, these plans have recently run into trouble after activists in the European country looked to block any such attempt.

The German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GIZ) had initially proposed to burn toxic waste from Bhopal in the northern German city of Hamburg, but local protests forced it to look for alternative sites.

Bhopal is one of India's most tragic toxic waste stories, after thousands died because of a gas leak in 1984. There had been plans to transport toxic waste from Union Carbide factory in Bhopal to Germany for incineration.

However, the move faced stiff resistance from German non-government organisations such as BUND (Bund fur Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland), who wanted the waste to be incinerated in India itself.

Posted by Lauren Steadman