Chemical Manufacturing Firm has contaminated soil for 15 years in Hyderabad (India) 
On July 3, 2020, India’s local media reported that in Hyderabad, Telangana State, chemical manufacturing company Vishnu Chemicals Ltd has been leaving 200,000 tonnes of hazardous waste in a landfill outside the plant’s facilities for 15 years, resulting in soil contamination with hexavalent chromium. In 2005, the State Pollution Control Board had issued a notice to remove all hazardous waste from the site, but the company did not implement it and continued to operate.
According to a study commissioned by the State Pollution Control Board, hexavalent chromium at 3,000 times the limit of 0.5 mg/L was found in the soil around the area where the hazardous waste was stored. The Telangana State Pollution Control Board (TSPCB) had issued a notification to Vishnu Chemicals Ltd on June 23 of the same year, ordering it to transport 200,000 tonnes of hazardous waste to a hazardous waste treatment facility in Dandigarh. The TSPCB also requested the company to submit an action plan on the matter within 15 days.
Environmental expert Damodar Reddy Pakanati said there were previous violations similar to this soil contamination and Deccan Chromates Ltd. was closed down for causing environmental contamination with hexavalent chromium, he said. However, no closure action has been taken against Vishnu Chemicals Ltd, Pakanati said.
