Greenpeace and community groups have been vigorously pursuing a "Return to Sender" campaign after they exposed the dumping of mercury waste at a local scrap yard and on the sensitive forest watershed adjoining the thermometer plant. The plant is owned by Hindustan Lever Ltd (HLL), Indian subsidiary of the Anglo-Dutch company, Unilever.

"Greenpeace will be keeping a close watch on all future remedial actions by the company. We are concerned about the variations in the mercury material balance submitted to the pollution control board authorities by the company. Besides, several thousand tons of toxic wastes and contaminated soil are still to be properly identified and contained," said Ananthapadmanabhan, Executive Director of Greenpeace India.

On March 13, 2003, following persistent campaigning by Greenpeace and local environmental groups, the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board had ordered that the waste material from the plant be safely contained and dispatched to the United States. Earlier the special Hazardous Waste Management Committee set up by it had recommended removal of broken thermometers that contain elemental mercury, crushed glass and effluent sludge from the defunct plant. 1416 drums of glass cullets, finished and unfinished thermometers and sludge have now left Indian shores on board the marine vessel, Indamex Chesapeake.

The Indamex Chesapeake is scheduled to dock at the New York port on May 29. The mercury-laden waste will be sent ahead from there to Bethlehem Apparatus, a mercury recycling plant in Pennsylvania for recycling and permanent disposal. The containers carrying mercury waste were stored at the container yard of Tuticorin port for about a month. Greenpeace had expressed concern over warehousing the dangerous waste material in an open container yard. The shipping of the waste did not take place on April 16 as scheduled and thereafter it missed four other vessels on technical grounds.

"Now that the Return to Sender action has begun in earnest, compensation and health care for affected ex-workers should be immediately brought on to the agenda," added Ananthapadmanabhan.

The controversial Hindustan Lever factory was exported to India in 1983 after it was shut down in Watertown, New York. The factory imported all its mercury, primarily from the United States, and exported all products to the U.S. based Faichney Medical Company. Since March 2001, HLL has been forced to suspend its operations.

Notes to Editors:

1. Mercury is a neurotoxin; it affects the nervous system. Long-term exposure (usually work-related) of inhaled vapors is generally more dangerous than a one-time short exposure. Symptoms may occur within weeks but usually develop insidiously over a period of years. Neurologic symptoms include tremors, headaches, short- term memory loss, uncoordination, weakness, loss of appetite, altered sense of taste and smell, numbness and tingling in the hands and feet, insomnia, and excessive sweating. Psychiatric effects are also seen after long-term exposure.

2. Details of the TOTAL waste consignment to be shipped back: -glass cullets - 228.623 tonnes -glass cullets returned from scrapyard - 17.53 tonnes -bottles of Mercury - 91 (3073.3 kgs) -semi-finished products- 11.7 tonnes -finished products - 1461 kgs -effluent treatment plant sludge - 28 tonnes Total number of drums: 1416 3. A preliminary health survey among Hindustan Lever ex- workers by Dr. Mohan Isaac of Bangalore based Community Health Cell found symptoms consistent with mercury exposure among some of those surveyed, and recommended that available information warrants a thorough investigation of potential health effects. The Hazardous Waste Management Committee has said that it will have the health records independently verified by experts.