Mercury level high in Kodai lake: Activist

Releasing the study, Nityanand Jayaraman, an activist, who addressed the media along with members of People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) at Madurai on Monday, insisted that locals need to be sensitised to the hazards of mercury poisoning.

Nityanand said that Asif Qureshi, a scientist at IIT-H had carried out a detailed study of Kodaikanal lake and ponds fed by rivers in Periyakulam in Theni district, which brought to light the condition of these water bodies.

According to the US Environment Protection Agency, the permissible level of mercury is 30 micrograms/kg, but the tests conducted at Kodaikanal revealed that the levels have were over 41 micrograms. This amounted to poisoning and Hindustan Unilever (HUL) plant was responsible for it, claimed Nityanand.

Mercury is a bio-magnifier and a potent neurotoxin. It can damage the brain and also cause kidney failure. In pregnant women, it can harm the foetus.

Though the full details of the study have been submitted by the IIT scientist to the Dindigul and Theni district administration three months back, so far, no action has been taken. The government should sensitise the locals about mercury poisoning and advise them to stop eating fish caught from these water bodies, appealed Nityanand.

Another major issue that the study exposed was the shoddy mercury clean-up work undertaken by HUL. It was to satisfactory levels and 20 times weaker than the soil guideline value for mercury in Unilever’s headquarters in the United Kingdom. Despite the double standards, Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board had given permission for remediation works.

At the end of remediation work, the HUL had planned to leave 20 micrograms/kg back in the soil. If this was done, mercury would again seep into the ground during rain in the Pambar catchment area situated below the HUL plant.

From there, mercury might flow into the Kodaikanal lake and then mix with the Varaha river in Periyakulam. From the Varaha river it might flow to Vaigai and pollute the river. Even before it reaches the Varaha river, it might enter ponds, lakes and other waterbodies on the way and spoil them.