The final process to incinerate the remaining 307 tonnes of waste from the defunct Union Carbide factory in Bhopal began at a private incineration facility at Pithampur Industrial Area near Indore in Madhya Pradesh late on Monday evening.

According to officials, the waste is expected to be completely incinerated in 50-55 days.

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The incineration process is being conducted on the directives of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, with officials of the Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board (MPPCB) monitoring the procedure.

MPPCB Regional Officer Shrinivas Dwivedi said on Tuesday that emissions, including nitrogen oxide, hydrogen chloride, carbon monoxide, hydrogen fluoride, sulphur dioxide, and others, are being monitored through an online system. He stated that all emissions are currently within the prescribed limits.

Dwivedi added that once the entire waste is burnt, the remaining ash will be disposed of safely, ensuring that no damage is caused to the environment.

The High Court has directed the state government to submit a status report on waste disposal on 30 June.

A total of 337 tonnes of waste from the Union Carbide factory in Bhopal was transported to the Pithampur facility on 2 January this year.

Out of this, 30 tonnes of waste have already been incinerated in three tests of 10 tonnes each in February and March.

The state government has told the High Court that the test incinerations were successful and safe.

According to the state government, the waste from the Union Carbide factory includes soil from the premises of the closed unit, reactor residue, Sevin (a pesticide) residue, naphthal residue, and ‘semi-processed’ residue.

The State Pollution Control Board has stated that according to scientific evidence, the effect of Sevin and naphthal chemicals in this waste has now become ‘almost negligible’.

According to the board, the waste contains no methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas and no radioactive particles of any kind.

The Bhopal Gas Tragedy was caused by a leak of MIC (methyl isocyanate) gas from the Union Carbide pesticide factory in Bhopal on the intervening night of 2 and 3 December 1984.

According to official figures, the mishap killed about 5,500 people and injured five lakh others.

Activists, however, claim that at least 15,000 lives were lost, with many more suffering from lifelong disabilities and long-term health issues due to exposure to the toxic gas.

The tragedy is regarded as one of the world’s worst industrial disasters.