The Mumbai Port Trust will take criminal action against importers who have not claimed hazardous goods lying at its warehouses for seven or more years.
The Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) will take criminal action against importers who have not claimed hazardous goods lying at its warehouses for seven or more years.
An inventory check by the port authorities, after the chlorine leak at its Haji Bunder hazardous cargo warehouse on July 14, has revealed that at least 77 consignments containing 1,168 packages of hazardous goods are lying unclaimed. The MbPT now wants them disposed of as soon as possible, and has decided to issue notices to the importers of all the 77 consignments asking them to clear their cargo in ten days or face criminal action.
In the event that someone doesn’t comply, officials have sought expert opinion on ways to neutralise the hazardous material themselves. A senior official said that the packages comprise cylinders of hydrogen sulphide, nitrous oxide, apart from chlorine.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has already begun neutralising gas cylinders containing residual chlorine at the Haji Bunder site. “We have neutralised 16 of the 100 cylinders,” said SA Ahmad, assistant commandant, NDRF.
Meanwhile, the NDRF team admitted to dumping two chlorine-filled cylinders into the Arabian sea. The release valve in one of the cylinders had malfunctioned, necessitating the drilling of a hole for the neutralisation.
To avoid the risk of the gas spreading to residential areas, this was done offshore on July 17. The cylinders were loaded on a offshore supply vessel, situated 30km into the sea. However, when the effort failed, the toxic cylinders were dumped, raising pollution concerns. Ahmad said, “Windy conditions and rough seas made neutralisation difficult.” He defended the dumping by stating that it was done with public interest in mind.
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