The Hindu : National : Problem will be in India, not in France, says Technopure

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Saturday, Jan 07, 2006

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Problem will be in India, not in France, says Technopure

Kalpana Sharma

No response by Indian companies on how exactly the remaining waste will be removed

MUMBAI: "We realised that the problem will not be in France but in India," Eric Baudon of the French company, Technopure, told The Hindu after deposing before the Supreme Court Monitoring Committee on Hazardous Wastes Management (SCMC) on Friday against allowing the asbestos-contaminated warship, Clemenceau, into India.

The committee wanted to know whether more asbestos could have been removed from the decommissioned ship before it left France and whether Technopure had been asked to do so. "We told them that more could have been removed but we were not asked to do so," Mr. Baudon said. He had heard that a demolition company, not trained in removing hazardous materials, was employed to decontaminate the ship. The company reportedly removed another 45 tonnes of waste, in addition to the 70 tonnes removed by Technopure.

Mr. Baudon said he and Jean-Claude Giannino came to India to give more information because of the differing statements made by French authorities and SDIC, the French company that bought the ship. "We only want to be considered professionals," he said. No one from the Indian companies that were supposed to handle the waste on the ship contacted Technopure.

No answer

Despite questions it raised how exactly the remaining waste would be removed in India, Technopure received no answer from SDIC. "It was not morally possible for us to accept that workers in such poor conditions would be handling the waste," Mr. Baudon said. This was one of the reasons why Technopure terminated its contract with SDIC.

The SCMC used the opportunity of the hearing to press the Environment Ministry to declare on June 6, World Environment Day, that India would stand for "No import, No export, No exception" on hazardous wastes.

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