A report on the alarmingly high levels of heavy metal contamination and other violations by the waste incinerator In Manali, Chennai.
An incinerator is basically a furnace for burning waste. The “green” incinerator in Manali, Chennai installed by the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) claims to burn 10 tons of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) in an “eco-friendly” way by adopting “zero waste disposal technology”. However, the communities living in the vicinity of the plant have complained of severe pollution and health impacts since its inception in 2019. Some of the complaints raised by the communities living beside it include deposition of black soot from the incinerator on their terrace (Fig 1), contamination of surface and groundwater, breathing issues and other related health issues. The NEWS Minute had also done a ground story recently on the impacts of the pollution caused by the plant installed by the GCC.
To assess the impacts of the incineration plant, our fact-finding team, with expertise in environmental pollution, public health, and community engagement, visited the affected area and with great difficulty and risk collected soil samples. The results of the soil sampling is only the tip of the iceberg and testing of the flue gas, leachate and groundwater contamination could reveal the real impact which could be several times higher. We also interacted with the impacted community to understand the health issues faced by them.
The lab results of the samples taken near the vicinity of the plant have revealed that heavy metals such as Lead, Chromium and Cadmium are much higher than the WHO standards. Particularly, the concentration of Cadmium which is toxic to the respiratory, renal and skeletal system and a carcinogen is 24 times higher than the prescribed limits. Repeated Right To Information (RTI) applications to the GCC by our fact-finding team have failed to yield any information regarding the legal permits obtained by these facilities from various regulatory bodies.
Despite strong opposition to the plant and complaints to the concerned officials by the residents, the plant continues to operate with impunity. This report also throws light on the environmental, health, legal and financial issues of the incinerator plant in Chennai which should be a strong caution against establishing two new incinerators in Chennai which will be 360 times bigger than the current incinerator and could potentially impact the health of close to 1.8 million people of Chennai.
Read and Download the report here: Waste Incineration-Zero Pollution or Zero Truth.
Read the Report in Tamil here: குப்பை எரிவுலை_ அம்பலமாகும் பொய்கள்! REPORT
A joint fact-finding report by:
- Visai
- Poovulagin Nanbargal
- Kodungaiyur Thozhargal
- Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA)
- Foundation for Friendly Environment and Medical Awareness (FEMA)
- Chennai Climate Action Group (CCAG)
- Centre for Financial Accountability (CFA)
- Madhuvanthi Rajkumar – Lawyer