Tonnes of toxic waste removed decades after Bhopal tradegy

After 40 years, authorities in India have finally removed hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste from a chemical factory at the heart of the Bhopal tragedy. 

Thousands of people died in the central city of Bhopal in December 1984 after breathing a poisonous gas leaked from the factory. On 1 January 2025, around 337 tonnes of toxic waste was taken from the Union Carbide plant to an incinerator facility around 230km away. This was finally done due to a court last month setting a four-week deadline for it to be disposed of. The waste cleared included five types of hazardous materials - including pesticide residue and "forever chemicals" left from its manufacturing process. 

The chemicals have been slowly seeping into the surrounding environment for four decades, and have contaminated groundwater across 42 residential areas near the factory. Officials have said it will take three to nine months to treat and destroy the waste, and activists have raised concerns about potential damage to people's health at the new location.

According to government estimates, around 3,500 people died within days of the gas leak and more than 15,000 in the years since. But activists say that the death toll is much higher, and victims continue to suffer from the side-effects of being poisoned even today.