India: Panel to spot toxic waste at ports

News was prepared under the information support of Online Daily Newspaper on Hellenic and international Shipping "Hellenic Shipping News".

31 Aug 2010

The Environment Ministry has set up a committee to identify and dispose of all unclaimed hazardous waste lying in ports across the country. “A committee headed by Joint Secretary from the Environment Ministry has been formed to identify and dispose of all the hazardous waste material lying at various ports,” said Mr N.C.Vij, Vice-Chairman of the National Disaster Management Authority, at a FICCI conference on emergency planning in industries and transportation of petroleum products.
Stating that the manmade disasters were on the rise with the rapid industrialisation, Mr Vij said that they can be prevented if adequate steps were taken.
The NDMA has set up a disaster response team of about 10,000 people, of whom half of them have been trained to deal with manmade disasters, including chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear disasters, he said.
The FICCI Secretary General, Mr Amit Mitra, said the industry body will set up a disaster management centre to offer consultancy services to its members. The proposed centre would also create awareness among industries in sectors such as chemical, pharmaceutical and petroleum on the need to formulate and implement a disaster management plan.

Source: Hindu Business Line