(a) whether the water in the surrounding areas of the Union Carbide
factory in Bhopal is still poisonous and harmful; and
(b) if so, the steps being taken by the Union Government in this regard ?
(a) whether the water in the surrounding areas of the Union Carbide
factory in Bhopal is still poisonous and harmful; and
(b) if so, the steps being taken by the Union Government in this regard ?
MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF STATISTICS AND
PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF CHEMICALS
AND FERTILIZERS (SHRI SRIKANT KUMAR JENA )
(a) & (b) :National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI),
Nagpur in its report in June,2010 had mentioned that monitoring of groundwater
from the borewells dug by National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) within
UCIL premises and the existing wells around UCIL premises indicated that
groundwater in general was not contaminated due to seepage of contaminants
from the UCIL dumps. However, isolated contamination in terms of pesticides
and/or dichlorobenzene was observed in 5 wells in the immediate vicinity of
UCIL premises. An Oversight Committee constituted by the Government of India
in July, 2010 under the Chairmanship of MOS(IC), Environment & Forests and
Co-chairmanship of Minister, Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation Department,
Government of Madhya Pradesh,for providing oversight & support to the remediation
actions, in its meeting on 24th March,2011 had decided that Central Pollution Control
Board (CPCB) would undertake the task of revalidation of data on ground water
contamination levels as brought out by NEERI through independent measurements by
engaging internationally accredited laboratories. CPCB has commissioned a study
through Indian Institute of Toxicology Research (IITR), Lucknow for the said purpose.
IITR has analysed 27 samples of the ground water. The analysis report indicates
that the levels of Chlorides and Nitrates in groundwater exceeded the values
mentioned in the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)- IS 10500: 2004 guidelines
for drinking water in 4 and 15 samples, respectively. The levels of Nickel, a
heavy metal, though exceeded the BIS guidelines (0.02 mg/l) in 12 out of 27
samples analysed but are well below the World Health Organization (WHO)
guidelines (0.07 mg/l) for drinking water. The levels of Lead and Cadmium,
other heavy metals, exceeded the BIS guidelines in 4 and 1 sample, respectively.
Levels of the organic toxicants in all samples have been found to be below the
BIS guidelines.