SODIUM CHROMITE

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Context: A section of environmentalists have flagged irregularities in the draft Environmental Impact Assessment report for a proposed chemical plant in Telangana’s Nalgonda district.

Details:

• An electric utility provider, Krishna Godavari Power Utilities ltd, has proposed a sodium saccharin unit in Nalgonda’s Wadapally village. Farmers and environmentalists have strongly objected to the proposal.
• The project uses outdated technology to produce sodium dichromate from chromite ore, while disguising itself as a sodium saccharin unit.
• Sodium dichromate is a hazardous chemical.
• It is corrosive to the eyes, skin and respiratory tract. Exposure to the substance may cause affect kidney and liver, according to a joint brochure issued by the WHO and International Labour Organization. This substance is carcinogenic to humans.
• Villagers in Dameracherla Mandal had already suffered the effect of sodium chromite pollution. They had to wage years of battle before ending the operations of Deccan Chromates Ltd (DCL) in 2014.
• The company abandoned 100,000 tonnes of chromite ore processing residue, which continuously leached hexavalent chromium through a stream joining the Krishna.
• Even a brief exposure to the substance can damage tissues.
• The substance is very toxic to aquatic organisms. It may cause long-term effects on the marine environment.
• The proposed project is nearly seven times larger than that of DCL and is located near the Krishna-Musi confluence.
• Sodium dichromate is not a by-product of sodium saccharin.It is a hexavalent chromium compound that oxidises O-Toluene Sulphonamide to saccharin.
• Sodium saccharin is an organic compound used mainly in pharmaceutical industries.

https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/pollution/sodium-chromite-fears-drive-activists-to-oppose-planned-factory-in-nalgonda-village-85359