unilever mercury dump

Conceding to the demands of citizens groups and Greenpeace, the Anglo-Dutch multinational Unilever has agreed to permanently close its polluting mercury thermometer factory in India, the largest in the world. The company has also agreed to undertake a clean-up of 5.3 tons of mercury wastes it illegally dumped at a local scrapyard, but it is still refusing to accept that local people and workers at the factory in Kodiakanal may have been exposed to the highly toxic metal.

On 7th March 2001, when Greenpeace, Unilever ex-workers and Kodaikanal community groups first exposed and cordoned off one of Unilever's illegal dumpsites in a crowded part of the Southern Indian tourist town, the company denied that it was dumping the wastes or guilty of environmental double-standards.

"Unilever's agreement to close the factory and to clean up the scrapyard is a clear admission of its guilt. That it will not accept people may have been exposed to the mercury as a result of its bad practices is scandalous,"
said Greenpeace toxics campaigner Navroz Mody.

"This case represents only a small portion of Unilever's toxic liabilities. Its shoddy handling and disposal of mercury wastes at this plant exposes its scant regard for the environment in countries like India where environmental regulation is lax," he added.

Ex-workers from Hindustan Lever, Unilever's Indian subsidiary that runs the mercury thermometer factory, say that the company's double-standards were also evident in their casual attitude towards mercury exposure in the workplace, and in the company's continuing and unscientific denials that any such exposure occurred.

The company claims that none of the 140 current workers, or any of the 250 or so ex-workers, (many of who resigned in the past due to health reasons), are at all affected by mercury. Ten workers below the age of 40 have died while employed at the plant. No investigations were performed at the time of death. Ex-workers report kidney problems, chronic stomachaches, blood vomiting, infertility, and women suffering a variety of gynaecological disorders. The company has neither conducted a comprehensive and scientific epidemiological study, nor published the basis of its claims that no workers have ever been affected.

"Unilever has placed the burden of proof of impact on health on poor workers who are paid a meagre $75 per month after 10 to 15 years of service,"
said Raja Mohammed, an ex-worker of the company.

"We have already proven that the company's bad housekeeping has exposed us to toxic mercury. Now, let Unilever prove that the exposure is not causing all these health problems we face. Only that would justify their claims that they are treating their Indian workers at par with their Dutch or English workforce," he added.

A conservative environmental audit conducted by Unilever's consultant indicates that hundreds of tons of mercury-bearing toxic wastes have been sold to unsuspecting recyclers and end users in several southern Indian states. Several tons of wastes, that the ex-workers claim are severely contaminated with mercury, were also buried by the company in unlined pits at the factory site, which borders a protected nature reserve of Pambar Shola. To date, the company has failed to fully disclose to the Pollution Control Board the raw data it used to calculate the amount of toxic mercury it released from its factory.

Greenpeace is demanding that, aside from assessing and remediating the damage to the environment and workers' health, Unilever should apologise for deceiving the public and endangering worker and community health and the environment by its careless handling of toxic mercury. The environmental organisation is also calling on the Ministry of Environment (India) to acknowledge that it has failed to protect the environment and workers from toxic pollution and to fulfil its responsibilities now by initiating an action plan to rapidly phase in safe, non-toxic alternatives to mercury use.

Notes for editors:
In a report presented to the Pollution Control Board, Unilever assess the amount of mercury released into the environment from its factory site at Kodaikanal at 539 kg, (with a statistical variance "of between 43 kg minimum and 1,075 kg maximum"). Another 284 kg of mercury has been dispersed through "off site disposal". It has produced 165 million thermometers with 125,000 kg of mercury, with a breakage rate documented at around 30-40 %.

Mercury is highly poisonous and exposure to even a small amount through air, water or skin contact exerts severe effects on the central nervous system (brain) and kidneys. Foetuses and young children are particularly vulnerable to poisoning by mercury.

Although its Indian subsidiary, Hindustan Lever, initially denied responsibility for the 5.3 tonnes of wastes lying at the Munjikal scrapyard in Kodaikanal, it finally closed its factory pending an investigation and has said it will assess the environmental consequences of the dump.

"Mercury production and trade is banned in The Netherlands, where Unilever is based, because it's so toxic yet the company continues to use mercury in its operations in India. It's time Unilever implemented the same standards worldwide and stopped using and trading mercury and mercury products," said Navroz Mody, Campaigns Director of Greenpeace India.

Hindustan Lever claims to have employed an international consultant, Dames & Moore to advise it on assessing and remediating the environmental consequences of its waste dumping. The Indian representatives of this company have submitted guidelines for clearing the mercury-contaminated wastes lying in Munjikal.

Although Greenpeace and the Tamilnadu Alliance Against Mercury (TAAM) consider Hindustan Lever's admission of responsibility to be a good first good step, they are aware that the company has still not apologised to the people and workers of Kodiakanal. They are also concerned that it is downplaying the extent of its bad practices as over its17 years of operation, several batches of wastes, potentially contaminated with mercury, were dispatched from the factory and may now be untraceable and spread out over various parts of Tamilnadu and beyond.

Despite the company's assurances that its production practices poses no risk to the workers, statements from workers and ex-workers recorded by the Alliance indicate that mercury was handled casually in the factory shop-floor lending weight to allegations by many workers of occupational exposure to mercury and associated health effects.

"Workers tell us that mercury spillage on the floor, and intentional and accidental handling of mercury is routine within the factory. Workers were certainly exposed to mercury vapours, more in some sections than others," said Dr. Kolhatkar, a medical doctor and member of the Kodaikanal Consumer Action Group.

At a press conference held in Chennai, India today, TAAM stated:

• In a letter to Greenpeace India, Hindustan Lever agreed to track and retrieve other batches of waste that have been sent to various locations outside the factory, and to clearing up the wastes that have been dumped in the watershed forests behind the factory wall.
  
• That its concern extends beyond the Munjikal dump. The fact that this company, which vehemently denied all charges of wrongdoing, now admits that such wastes may be lying in various locations outside the factory fuels our concern of the long-term impact to the water bodies in those areas.
  
• The Alliance issued an appeal to the Tamilnadu public and to the Government to look out for any stockpiles or dumps of glass or thermometer wastes and report the same to the Alliance and/or the Tamilnadu Pollution Control Board.

Note's to Editors:

• On March 7, residents of Kodaikanal, HLL's ex-workers and Greenpeace exposed HLL's recently discovered 15-tonne mercury waste dumpsite and demonstrated at the factory gates, demanding an immediate end to the mercury pollution. Mercury, in the presence of water, readily converts into methyl mercury, a deadly poison, which is persistent in the environment and moves through the food chain magnifying up to 100,000 times in quantity by the time it reaches the top predators in aquatic ecosystems.
  
• The Tamilnadu Alliance Against Mercury comprises local, national and international environmental, worker and human rights organisations.
  
• Owing to the extreme toxicity of some of the mercury compounds and the practical difficulty in keeping pollution to harmless levels has resulted in various national and regional initiatives to eliminate all releases of mercury into the environment. In India, mercury is still classified as a low-level hazard according to the Ministry of Environment.

For more information please contact Greenpeace Press Office: Tel: 020 7865 8255/6/7/8

Greenpeace activists and concerned residents cordoned off a contaminated dump site in the centre of Kodaikanal to protect people from the mercury wastes that have been recklessly discarded in open or torn sacks by Hindustan Lever which manufactures mercury thermometers for export, mainly to the United States. According to Hindustan Lever, from there, the thermometers are sold to Germany, UK, Spain, USA, Australia and Canada. The factory, set up in 1977, was second-hand plant imported from the United States, after the US factory was shutdown for unknown reasons.

Mercury is highly poisonous and exposure to even a small amount through air, water or skin, exerts severe effects on the central nervous system (brain) and kidneys. Foetuses and young children are particularly at risk of poisoning by mercury.

Unilever states (2) that its policy is to "exercise the same concern for the environment wherever [it] operate[s]", "ensure the safety of its products and operations for the environment" and "provide whatever information and advice is necessary on the safe use and disposal of [its] products". Yet workers at the Indian factory are offered no protection from the mercury spills and several workers have complained of health problems which, they allege, is caused by their exposure to mercury in the workplace.

Navroz Mody, Greenpeace's Toxics Campaigner in India and a long-time resident of Kodaikanal said: "Unilever claims to be concerned for the safety of its operations and the environment but this attitude clearly does not stretch to India. As the major shareholder (1), it has a duty to ensure the health and safety of the workers, residents and environment around this plant. Unilever's customers world-wide should bring immediate pressure to bear to put a stop to this negligent operation and dangerous trade."

Today, thermometer waste contaminated with mercury is dumped as crushed or broken glass with unsuspecting recycling merchants. Greenpeace and the Palni Hills Conservation Council (PHCC) also warned that contaminated waste has been dumped behind the factory wall onto the slopes leading to Pambar Shola, an important and protected nature sanctuary.

Mody continued, "Unilever is taking advantage of lax environmental controls in a developing country. It would not be tolerated outside their factories or in their nature reserves in rich nations, so why should we accept their double standards and their pollution. Unilever must take responsibility for this negligence, stop production and make an immediate assessment of the damage it's caused to both current and ex-workers as well as the local environment."

Notes to Editors:

1. http://www.unilever.com
2. Unilever owns a 51% share of Hindustan Lever.
3. Dumping mercury contaminated wastes violates Indian law under the Hazardous Waste Rules (Management and Handling), 1989.

1. It stops the use of mercury in the Hindustan Lever Thermometer factory immediately and ensures that the livelihoods of workers are not jeopardised by the company's negligent behaviour;
2. Conducts a full investigation into the extent and nature of mercury pollution caused by the factory within its premises, at the scrap yard and in the surrounding environment.
3. Clean up the Munjikal dump site as it poses an immediate and ongoing threat to children at an adjacent school and densely populated community. Hindustan Lever must account for all past waste shipments to other parts of Tamilnadu.
4. Conduct a full investigation to assess the damage to health among Lever's current and ex-workers, and compensate them for the loss of quality of life;
5. Accept responsibility and financial liability for the damage done to workers, community and environment of Kodaikanal and the Palni Hills.