CHENNAI: : Following the April 22 gas leak from a foundry at Ponneri, all scrap yards, steel rolling mills and foundries have come under the scanner of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board.

Besides undertaking an audit of all licensed units, the Board has launched a crackdown on unlicensed ones. "We have written to all scrap and foundry units, asking them to detoxify the raw material they have stored. We have also asked the Collectors to immediately pass on information about unlicensed units or any untoward incidents," R. Ramachandran, Member-Secretary, TNPCB, told .

Residual chlorine gas leaked from a cylinder, which arrived as imported scrap at a foundry at Panjetty in Ponneri, leading to 63 people being hospitalised for nausea, vomiting and eye irritation. A Board investigation revealed that a worker tried to puncture the cylinder before smelting. The cylinder was detoxified and the premises cordoned off. Action was initiated against the foundry for storing contaminated scrap.

While there is no data on unlicensed units, the areas surrounding Chennai and Coimbatore have the largest number of licensed foundries. Nearly 30 such units operate at Gummidipoondi and Ponneri alone, mostly importing metallic scrap. Environmentalists say the problem occurs when unchecked hazardous waste, including used heavy machinery, is imported as scrap. Earlier this year, volunteers of Toxics Link, a non-governmental organisation, traced one such consignment, which arrived in a container at the Chennai port. "Most often, toxic waste, including e-waste, is mislabelled as scrap. The absence of proper monitoring and screening in major ports means they can pass through the Customs," says K. S. Sudhakar of Toxics Link.

Following an explosion of live shells in a scrap yard at Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, in September 2004, killing 10 workers, the Central Board of Excise and Customs tightened procedures for screening unshredded scrap entering ports. On October 15, the Home Ministry asked all States to ensure that all importer-manufacturers declared hazardous waste or explosives among the scrap lying on their premises.

Still, the sheer number defeats the task. Though India imports 3.8 tonnes of scrap a year from Malaysia, Panama and the Philippines, except Mumbai, none of the 31 other ports has equipment for detecting toxic scrap that arrive in sealed containers. With thousands of such containers arriving every day at the ports, the authorities find it impossible to examine each of them.

"Customs officials mostly go by the pre-shipment certificates issued by the loading port and do not insist on verification at the port of arrival. Such problems can be averted if technical groups independently assess the imported scrap at our ports," a Board official said.

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