Massive fire burns down endosulfan plant in India

Photo: Nityanand Jayaratman, Thanal

A fire in the Hindustan Insecticides Limited (HIL) factory on the outskirts of the city of Kochi, Kerala, on 6 July led to a whole endosulfan plant being burnt out within hours. Toxic gases and smoke spread to all over Eloor, Pallipurachal and Chowka North end as well as to Varapuzha Panchayath area and affected hundreds of people. People living in the Pallipurachal area rushed to the Eloor Ferry and crossed the river in fear to escape the toxic smoke. The HIL management said that plant has not been badly affected and that only a small quantity of toluene, a little bit of endosulfan and some rubber sheets were burnt. 

Immediate and future health risks
Whatever company officials say, in the community people suffered serious health problems. An eight member doctors team came to assess the situation and gave immediate medical help accompanied by the Additional District Magistrate, who was the first senior official to reach the site, nearly eight hours after the incident. About 200 people were given initial medical assistance. One 16-year old girl was admitted to hospital after she developed convulsions, chest pain and dizziness. Doctors are expecting serious long-term health problems due to this disaster. Besides the airborne deposit of persistent pollution at least along the path of the plume, the mode of fire fighting and the lack of containment procedures after the fire was put out, means that water bodies and wetlands in the area many have received substantial loads of toxic run-off from the factory site. Given the persistence of these chemicals and their ability to travel through the food chain, it can be safely assumed that the contamination will spread from the originally deposited areas, and will travel from the source over time.

Poor track record continues
The Eloor Industrial Area hosts about 250 industries of which there are more than a dozen large chemical factories. The HIL factory has been in the eye of the storm for quite some time now. In 1999, Greenpeace surveyed and sampled the factory outskirts, especially a stream coming out of the factory into the community water body and the river and found 111 chemicals of which 39 were hazardous organochlorine compounds including DDT and metabolites, endosulfan and metabolites and their degradation products. This plant is the only one in India that produces DDT. 
    In 2003, Greenpeace again conducted a study in the area and found that the community living in the area were badly affected and that the probabilities of falling for various diseases were much higher that normal control values. The community under the banner of the PMVS had been demanding Right to Information on the hazardous chemicals used, processed and manufactured by the factories in the area and has also been demanding that factories implement a disaster management plan and an emergency response system. All these demands have fallen on the deaf ears of the Kerala State Pollution Control Board, the Factories and Boilers Department and the State Health and Industries Department, as well the industries in the area who know that the community is dependent on the factories for jobs and income. In the last three years there has been quite frequent gas leaks and accidents, especially from Merchem, a privately owned factory producing some fungicides and FACT, a major fertilizer company. 

History repeating itself?
No action has been initiated against the company for negligence. A Fact Finding Report on the fire was undertaken by personnel from two organisations – Thiruvananthapuran-based Thanal and new Delhi-based The Other Media. They conclude that ‘the absence of emergency response procedures, the casual attitude of district authorities and the industry, and the lack of appreciation of the accident is a reminder that no lessons have been learnt from the 1984 Union Carbide disaster at Bhopal.’

Fact finding report 7-8 July 2004. Industrial Fire at Hindustan Insecticides Ltd, Udyogmandal, Kerala on 6 July 2004. Visit: http://www.thani.org

[This article first appeared in Pesticides News No. 65, September 2004, page 18]