‘No proof emissions from Sterlite unit cause cancer’

Chennai: The Chemical Industries Association, a consortium of chemical manufacturers in the state, has written to the government in support of Sterlite Copper that’s under fire, saying that the company is being targeted unreasonably. The association, in a letter to the Tamil Nadu Industries department, stated that there is no scientific proof that asserts that emissions from the Tuticorin-based unit causes cancer among residents and that they are just rumours.

The association further asserted that it has become fashionable to protest against industries in recent times and called for the government to take measures. Due to Sterlite’s closure, prices of sulphuric acid, a by-product of copper smelting process, have tripled, the association noted.

The association’s stance is wide off target from the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB), which refused to renew consent to operate to the unit in March this year. Of the five grounds under which the CTO was not renewed, the regulator had noted that the unit had not analysed parameters of heavy metals such as arsenic in the ambient air through board’s accredited laboratory. “Long term exposure to arsenic in drinking water can cause cancer in the skin, lungs, bladder and kidney. It can also cause other skin changes such as thickening and pigmentation. Increased risks of lung and bladder cancer and skin changes have been reported in people ingesting arsenic in drinking water,” the regulator had submitted.

Sterlite Tuticorin is shut for over a month now. The company has already appealed to the appellate authority and the next hearing on the case is on May 17.