Mercury waste to be removed

Solution in sight: The thermometer factory in Kodaikanal was closed after vociferous protests.

A special monitoring committee has decided to remove mercury waste from a thermometer factory in Kodaikanal from August 16.

The decision was taken at a special meeting convened by the Pollution Control Board, municipal and revenue officials here on Friday. Reliable sources told The Hindu that to begin with, removal of waste would be done for next three months on a trial basis. Subsequently, as a next move, depending on the success of the trial, they would remove the entire waste from the factory using modern machinery and equipment.

The factory was closed after vociferous protests by environmentalists and various NGOs here.