Uranium Corporation of India’s track record: 4 leakages in Jadugoda in last 20 months

On 16th August, 2008, pipes carrying uranium tailings in Jadugoda (Jharkhand) burst again, spewing the village of Dungridih in Jadugoda with radioactive waste for the third time since Dec 2006. Records obtained from UCIL (Uranium Corporation of India Ltd, which owns and operates the mines and operations in Jadugoda) through RTI filings reveal that there have been three previous tailing pipe leakages in recent months, where radioactive material was released into the environment- - on 24th December 2006, 10th April 2007, and 22nd February 2008. In an additional incident in July this year, excessive rains caused the tailing ponds to overflow and contaminate the village ponds and canals.

Incident 1: December 2006

In the first instance of tailing pipe leakage in Dec 2006, the radioactive waste contaminated the local water canal in Dungridih, killing all acquatic life in the channel. UCIL officials only reached the site after the villages blockaded the road, after the waste had been spilling for 9-10 hours. A report of this incident is available here: http://www.jadugoda.net/Accidents/index.html

Incident 2: April 2007

In the second instance, 4 months later, we know that 1.5 tonnes of solid radioactive waste and 20,000 liters of liquid radioactive waste was leaked (this is the smallest of the recorded leaks) but more information is lacking.

Incident 3: February 2008

In Feb 2008, tailing pipes burst again in Dungridih and radioactive sludge entered the streets and houses of the local villagers. After a sustained campaign by local activists, the UCIL CMD, Mr Ramendra Gupta informed villagers that they would be relocated to safer places and all protective measures will be taken to ensure that no further leakages happen from the tailing pipes. However, no such steps have been taken so far.

Incident 4: July 2008

In July 2008, Jadugoda received record rainfall, which caused tailing ponds at Turamdih to spill over into the village ponds and lakes. UCIL acknowledged this spill but claimed that there was nothing they could do to prevent it. (”Radioactive waste flows into village” http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=9dcc11cc-d424-4900-95a1-41310e6daffe )

Incident 5: August 2008

In August 2008, the tailing pipes have burst again in Dungridih, and the radioactive sludge flowing through them at high pressure has been sprayed over 10-12 houses.

In the replies received through RTI filings, the UCIL admits that the previous accidents were caused by poor maintenance and negligence (”Damage to rubber lining and metal due to prolonged use” and “Damage to rubber linings by wooden log left inside the pipes during replacement”). It is appalling that the UCIL is endangering the lives of all these villagers through sheer carelessness, but what is even more sinister are the recent pronouncements of the CMD Ramendra Gupta suggesting that the latest leakage is due to sabotage by the villagers (even though there are CISF jawans patroling the area all the time).

In face of collective organizing by the affected villagers, the UCIL has renewed its promises of transferring them to a safer location. It should be recalled that these villagers in Dungridih are those who have already been displaced once due to the construction of two of the three tailing ponds in the area. As such, they are technically “illegal” settlers on UCIL land and their settlements are all “unauthorized”, and the UCIL has maintained that it is under no compulsion to resettle these villagers–but will do so out of compassion. Having thus systematically illegitimized these original inhabitants of the land and put their lives and livelihoods at danger, the UCIL is now conferring a favor on these communities by now displacing them once more and resettling them at safer locations.

The local media has been covering the spills though the news did not make it to the national media.