Dupont decried

FOR Thapar-Dupont Limited (TDi Ihas been opposition all the wav fnGoa to Gummidipoondi - 45 lcm frMadras. Even before the decisionrelocate the Rs 600 crore Nylonplant was finalised, some Tamil NaNGos had collected details aboutplant. Immediately after the mbetween the Tamil Nadu governin,and the TDL was signed on )one 8.Anti Dupont Nylon 6,6 Joint ActiCommittee (ADN-JAC) was formedJune 24.

The ADN-JAC and the newh, fmed Gummidipoonch EnvironmProtection Council (GEPC) carried ohectic campaign. But the TD[ OMits public relations officeGummidipoonch to "allay" the likefears. "The company acquired i5.48They are also planning to occithe adjoining 162 ha of Porambokku(common lands) lands which is nowused as grazing ground for cattle," complains local youth activistRadhakrishnan. In fact, the state industrial promotion corporation (SIPCOT)had promised another 60.75 ha for theplant.

There are no takers for the company's claim that there would be no effluent discharge. The company also claimsthat only 0.3 per cent of waste would begenerated from the additives used in theplant. This would yet result in hazardous waste of 50 tonne per year andseveral cubic metres of toxic liquid. Incase of waste incineration, there is nomention of the gases to be released.

The water requirement of the proposed plant would put the local peopleof Gummidipoondi - a dry area -under major constraints. Initially, theplant will be supplied 27 lakh litre perday from SIPCOT water supply scheme.An additional 45 litre per day had alsobeen assured by the government fromthe Araniyar river before the plantbecomes operational in mid 1997.

Already 24 steel plants operating inthe area were sourcing their waterrequirements from the wells in the adjacent villages. Small land holders wereaffected by this since the well ownersprefer to sell water to the steel plants.But revenue officials have alreadymarked borewell sites in the vicinity of avillage which will affect irrigation, comOains a GEPc activist.

The company has not obtaineddurance from the Central Governmient. It insists that nylon 6,6 comesowder'humanmade fibres' which doesaw figure in the list of 29 industrieslisted as hazardous for mandatoryclearance. But since the Nylon 6,6 plantuses adipic acid and other hazardonschemicals, it comes under petrochelmcal complex category.

The TDL has commissioned the TataConsultancy Services for an 'independent' Environment Impact Assessmentto obtain the permission of the statepollution control board, "For an EIA,public hearing is essential. And for anEIA one year period is mandatory. Buthere they have gone in for a 'rapid' EIA.The request from ADN-JAC for moredetails about the project is met withsilence," says an ADN-JAC researcher.

Besides the danger of acid rain fromthe sulphur dioxide emission from the8 mw captive power plant, the transportation of adipic and other acids fromMadras to the plant site through thicklypopulated areas is also enraging theactivists.