In March 2001, residents of Kodaikanal uncovered a dumpsite with toxic mercury-laced waste from a thermometer factory run by Unilever’s Indian subsidiary, Hindustan Lever. The 7.4 ton stockpile of crushed mercury-laden glass was found in torn sacks, spilling onto the ground in a busy scrap yard located near a school. Despite the visible evidence, Subramaniam, Hindustan Lever’s export marketing manager, dismissed charges of indiscriminate dumping. “No hazardous wastes have left the factory site,” he said.
The exposure, which spurred 400 area residents as well as members of Greenpeace India to protest at the factory gates, marked the beginning of an ongoing saga of dishonesty and botched cover-up efforts by Unilever.
“It’s been a learning experience that a reputed multinational could behave this way,” says Minoo Awari, a Kodaikanal resident. “As a host community we feel cheated.”
Mercury, which Unilever is accused of handling without taking environmental or worker safety precautions, is a toxic metal that converts to deadlier forms such as methyl mercury when released into the environment. Mercury accumulates in the liver, kidneys, brain and blood and can cause birth defects and serious disorders of the nervous system and kidneys.
Responding to public pressure and the weight of the evidence, the company announced the closure of the factory on June 21, 2001. But residents, workers and environmental groups like Greenpeace say that Unilever still has a lot of work to do. Health care and financial compensation for workers, environmental clean-up, and an apology to the community are key among their demands to Unilever.
Unilever maintains that their operations have damaged neither the environment outside the factory, nor their workers’ health.
The Unilever factory, which is said to be the largest thermometer plant in the world, is located on a ridge whose slopes form the highly biodiverse Sholas forest ecosystem. The Sholas also form part of a watershed that drains into the Pambar river.
Last year, Unilever sold between 7.4 tons and 15 tons of broken thermometers containing mercury to a local scrap yard dealer.
In June, 2001, Unilever was made to clean up the toxic wastes at the scrap yard under supervision of the community and the authorities under a protocol designed to US standards. A company statement dated June 21 stated that: “Hindustan Lever Limited has retrieved, for secure storage at the site, the 5.3 tons of mercury containing glass scrap currently stored on a scrap dealers premises in Kodaikanal, which had been inadvertently removed from the factory in breach of established procedures.”
In January 2001, an investigation team discovered yet another dump where Unilever had discarded mercury-containing waste. This dump was in the part of the Shola forests within the company’s property. An environmental audit commissioned by the company in response to the controversy found that the “estimated offsite discharge to the Pambar Shola forests is approximately 300 kg.” Additionally, the consultants also say that 70 kg were released through airborne emissions.
Immediately after the controversy became public in March 2001, Unilever also had its workers unearth more than 40 tons of waste from unlined pits within the factory compound.
Workers engaged in the unearthing operation say that contrary to Unilever’s claims that only “non-mercury glass wastes had been buried,” the waste unearthed had visible quantities of mercury. If this is true, the fact that none of the workers engaged in unearthing the wastes wore any protective clothing constitutes a serious violation of worker safety norms. Unilever claims that its environmental and worker safety standards are applied uniformly in all their facilities worldwide.
However, current and former factory workers say that Unilever’s casual attitude towards the toxic mercury extended to worker safety at the shop floor.
“When I worked there, they used to suck up the mercury from the floor using a vacuum cleaner once a day. In another section, where they heat thermometers in an oven, workers are exposed to gusts of mercury vapor every time the oven door is opened,” says Mahendra Babu, an ex-worker who has been active in organizing the workers against the company’s lax occupational safety practices.
“Most of those working there [at Unilever] get affected, mainly in the kidneys. I advise all of them that the only cure is to quit their jobs, and many do. Others suffer stomach pains, burning sensation while passing urine,” said a local doctor who spoke on condition of anonymity. Mercury exposure is known to cause kidney disorders. According to the doctor, the symptoms reported — stomach pains and urinary problems — can indicate kidney problems.
Responding to claims that mercury exposure in the workplace may have damaged workers’ health, the company conducted a medical check-up in March 2001. “No workers in the factory is (sic) suffering from any illness which could be attributed to mercury exposure,” according to the company. Based on the findings of that study, the company says that “no further tests are warranted since we believe that all necessary tests have been carried out as per the protocol.”
However, a preliminary health survey conducted in July by two occupational and community health specialists from Bangalore-based Community Health Cell tells a different story.
In their survey of 30 workers and ex-workers, the specialists found many people with “gum and skin allergy related problems which appeared to be due to exposure to mercury.” Another significant finding, the survey reports, is the high rate of absenteeism and resignations from the job due to health problems. “The preliminary assessment... indicates that there is a need to assess all the exposed workers in greater detail for health effects of mercury,” the experts conclude.
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