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AMERICA'S UNWANTED HEADING FOR INDIA?

By Rahul Gupta, The Times of India

NEW DELHI, India, 2 January 2001 -- Environment groups in India are up in arms over a move by the US to export used and toxic mercury to India. The 118-tonne stockpile is being exported to India under a veil of secrecy. A Maine-based chemical factory, HoltraChem, sold it to an Illinois-based trader, DF Goldsmith and Metal Corporation, which plans to send the mercury to India. The entire transaction has been kept under wraps.

Who the Indian importer or the group of importers is is not known.

Which city will receive the mercury in India also has been kept a secret. What has also raised eyebrows is the probable use for such a large consignment of used mercury in India. Maine, where the mercury originated, does not want it. It does not have storage facilities for such a toxic substance. After protests by NGOs in Maine, the governor specifically asked the US government to stop its export to India. He even suggested that the US defence department take over the cargo and add it to its stockpile. Indian and American NGOs are closely monitoring the movement of the cargo. These groups include Greenpeace USA, Toxics Link in India and Basel Action Network (BAN).

Greenpeace USA's Lisa Finaldi said ``The US government is an accomplice in poisoning the poor for profit. Even as we phase out this toxic metal from our products and our lives, we shamelessly export it to (other) countries knowing fully well its damage to human lives.''

BAN spokesperson Ravi Aggarwal said ``Neither the US government nor US companies want the used mercury, as its storage poses a big headache.''

Mercury, the only liquid among metals, is a deadly nerve poison and is known to be a global pollutant as it carried all over the world by wind and rain. The metal does not break down and accumulates in the fat of animals and keeps on moving up the food chain.

Aggarwal said ``We have taken up the matter with the government of India and the US embassy in Delhi. We have also alerted trade unions and dock workers unions.''

One reason the Americans do not want it on their land is a recent warning by the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences that 60,000 babies per year in the US are at a risk of brain damage as their mothers have eaten mercury contaminated food. With such findings, Boston, San Francisco and New Hampshire have even banned mercury thermometers. Even hospitals have outlawed such thermometers. In September 2000, a number of retailers and manufacturers announced that they will end the sale and manufacture of mercury based thermometers.

FAIR USE NOTICE. This document contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. The Basel Action Network is making this article available in our efforts to advance understanding of ecological sustainability and environmental justice issues. We believe that this constitutes a `fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond `fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
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