Date:16/05/2005 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2005/05/16/stories/2005051609480400.htm

Kerala

Hazardous waste: units observing PCB norms

Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A majority of the industrial units in Kerala served with closure notice under the rules pertaining to hazardous waste has by now complied with the conditions set by the Kerala State Pollution Control Board (PCB) for continuing operations.

With the Supreme Court Monitoring Committee (SCMC) on Hazardous Waste cracking the whip, the Board had, six months ago, issued closure notice to 198 industrial units in the State for flouting the norms with respect to handling hazardous waste.

The list included several large units such as the Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore, Kerala Minerals and Metals Limited and Travancore Titanium Products.

Of these, 108 units have fully complied with the conditions set for escaping action.

The chairman of the SCMC, G. Thyagarajan, told presspersons on Friday that Kerala was "responding admirably" to the directives of the Supreme Court. Dr. Thyagarajan discussed the seriousness of the issue of pollution caused by the industries in the State with the Chief Minister, Oommen Chandy, on Friday. "The Chief Minister sought some more time to tackle the problem in some of the units such as Travancore Titanium Products," he said.

The chairman of the Board, G. Rajmohan, who too attended the press conference, said that, of the units that were yet to comply with the directives on managing the hazardous waste generated by them, 12 would have their own waste disposal facility by June.

Thirty-seven units in Udyogamandal in Ernakulam district have teamed up to have a common Treatment-Storage-Disposal-Facility, which will become a reality soon.

Of the remaining units, 17 have stopped operations and eight are under closure orders.

No big industrial unit is in the list of companies either closed down or under closure orders, Mr. Rajmohan said.