IF YOU are here to set up a health camp, labourers from the plant will come in droves to get tested. There are many who suffer from skin and respiratory ailments," says Rafeeq (name changed on request). Rafeeq has worked at the naphtha terminal of Indian Oil Corporation refinery in Haryana's Panipat district for over a decade. Naphtha is a by-product of the petroleum refining process from which nearly all of the world's plastic is made. "Over the past couple of years, I have developed an acute respiratory infection. As per the doctor, the likely reason is inhalation of toxic substances," Rafeeq says.
Rafeeq's is not an isolated case. In 2020, Satpal Singh, sarpanch of Singhpura Sithana village that houses the refinery, filed a case against the plant with the National Green Tribunal (NGT) for polluting the groundwater, deteriorating the air quality and negatively impacting the health of people in nearby villages. A report submitted by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute to NGT found the refinery to have affected health of more than 8,500 people between 2015 and 2019. Satnam Singh, the current sarpanch of the village, says the plant is an asset for the state and there was a lot of political pressure from the state government and the Centre to withdraw the case, which the village did in 2021.
Though the case stands withdrawn, it has brought attention to toxins associated with plastic throughout the material’s life cycle.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة April 16, 2024 من Down To Earth.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة April 16, 2024 من Down To Earth.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
In leading role again
MOVIES AND WEB SERIES ARE ONCE AGAIN BEING SET IN RUSTIC BACKGROUNDS, INDICATING A RECONNECT BETWEEN CINEMA AND THE COUNTRYSIDE
One Nation One Subscription comes at a huge cost
As top US universities scrap big deals with top scientific publishers, India’s ONOS scheme seems flawed and outdated
Return of Rambhog
Bid to revive and sell the aromatic indigenous paddy variety has led to substantial profits for farmers in Uttar Pradesh's Terai region
Scarred by mining
Natural springs of Kashmir drying up due to illegal riverbed mining
Human-to-human spread a mutation away
CANADA IN mid-November confirmed its first human case of avian influenza, with a teenager in the British Columbia being hospitalised after contracting the H5N1 virus that causes the disease. The patient developed a severe form of the disease, also called bird flu, and had respiratory issues. There was no known cause of transmission.
True rehabilitation
Residents of Madhya Pradesh's Kakdi village take relocation as an opportunity to undertake afforestation, develop sustainable practices
INESCAPABLE THREAT
Chemical pollution is the most underrated and underreported risk of the 21st century that threatens all species and regions
THAT NIGHT, 40 YEARS AGO
Bhopal gas disaster is a tragedy that people continue to face
A JOKE, INDEED
A CONFERENCE OF IRRESPONSIBLE PARTIES THAT CREATED AN OPTICAL ILLUSION TO THE REALITY OF A NEW CLIMATE
THINGS FALL APART
THE WORLD HAS MADE PROGRESS IN MITIGATING EMISSIONS AND ADAPTING TO CLIMATE IMPACTS. BUT THE PROGRESS REMAINS GROSSLY INADEQUATE
