Nearly 27 toxic gases, of which three can cause cancer, are
emitted from the burning of garbage in Pallikaranai in the vicinity of
Chennai's much-touted IT corridor, a survey said.
Released on the eve of the Bhopal disaster anniversary, "Choking in
Garbage" is a review of garbage disposal at Pallikaranai by Community
Environmental Monitoring Program of The Other Media, a Chennai-based
NGO.
"Most of the chemicals found target the central nervous system and the
respiratory system ," the report said.
The presence of benzene, which can cause leukaemia among children, was
found to be 2,000 times higher than levels thought to be safe.
Pallikaranai is the largest natural rainwater harvesting systems in the
region, linked to the Bay of Bengal through a network of backwaters and
rivulets.
The study sample was taken from the Perungudi area of the IT corridor,
barely 500m from the dumping site, and analysed for 69 volatile organic
chemicals and 20 sulphur compounds.
The sample was analysed at the Columbia Analytical Services in Simi
Valley, California, according to established procedures of the US
Environmental Protection Agency. At least 15 out of 27 chemicals found
in the sample exceeded US EPA's regulatory levels.
The area has offices of premier IT companies, educational institutions
and government resettlement colonies, besides being home to several
species of birds, fishes and reptiles.
According to two Madras University researchers - Dipankar C Patnaik and
Priya Narayanan - about 18,00 tonnes of garbage from six zones are
dumped daily by city authorities in the Perungudi dumpyard, on
Pallikaranai marshland.
Chennai generates 3,500 tonnes of garbage - organic waste, plastic,
packaging waste, paper, metal, glass, construction debris ash, sand and
grit - everyday.
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