Children against Mercury in Kodaikanal, petition Dr. Jairam Ramesh

PETITION TO SHRI JAIRAM RAMESH, MINISTER OF STATE FOR ENVIRONMENT AND FORESTS, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA, NEW DELHI


Petition for proper remediation and transparent monitoring measures for removal and disposal of buried elemental mercury waste within the HUL factory at Kodaikanal

Dear Sir,

We wish to draw your attention to the once pristine hill town of Kodaikanal which has been poisoned with mercury for nearly 30 years. A mercury thermometer plant owned by Hindustan Unilever Ltd Had illegally sold more than 90 tons of mercury-bearing glass scrap to waste merchants in various parts of the country

Of the more than 1000 workers that have passed through the factory gates, more than 20 have died at abnormally young ages of ailments that are known to be caused by mercury exposure. Several hundred are ailing, and unable to work for a living. We learnt from them that they were neither provided with any protective equipment, nor with any instructions about safe handling of mercury. The company lax attitude with worker safety has extended to its environmental controls as well. That is why we are now faced with a massive off- and onsite contamination problem. . During the course of its operations from 1984 to 2001, it admits to having discharged more than 1300 kilograms of mercury into the ecosensitive Pambar Shola Reserve Forests.

We children support the future generations and community of Kodaikanal, one of Indias oldest most popular tourism and education destinations being well aware of the deadly long term effects on the ecology and the community which is inadvertently exposed to this mercury. Even today, the Kodaikanal Lake, the Pambar Shola and indeed each resident of Kodaikanal is facing the risk of long term poisoning through the slow release of mercury from the factory site and its surroundings. Several thousand children who have studied in this hill station have inadvertently been poisoned without their knowledge. This is the equivalent of a Bhopal in Slow Motion.

We the undersigned request you to order the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board to adhere to the Supreme Court order of 14.10.2003 in the matter of Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology v. Union of India. The order requires public agencies to ensure informed local participation in matters pertaining to hazardous wastes. This order of the Hon'ble apex court forms the basis for the Supreme Court Monitoring Committee's recommendation in September 2004 that a Local Area Environment Committee be formed by the TNPCB to oversee environmental remediation.

In addition we request you to order the immediate reinstatement of the Working Committee along with the citizens appointed to the SCMC,by the TNCPB. An urgent meeting needs to be held to arrive at a decision on the following issues:

Proper remediation and monitoring measures for the removal and disposal of buried elemental mercury waste within the factory. (existing waste is currently being surreptitiously removed by workers who are once again being directly exposed to the mercury)
Compensation packages to ailing ex- workers and their families, several of whom have no further chance of any occupation or livelihood.