Jharkhand is one of the prominent tribal states in eastern India. The state capital of Jharkhand is Ranchi. The state was carved out of the southern part of Bihar in the year 2000. Agriculture is the major occupation for more than 70% of the families in the state, most of whom are small and marginal farmers. The state is bordered by Bihar in the north, West Bengal in the east, Odisha in the south, Chhattisgarh in the west and Uttar Pradesh in the northwest. The state has a total geographical area of 7.97 million hectares and a total estimated population of 39 million.
Over the course of this project, India witnessed a massive surge in the number of COVID-19 cases in the country. The use of chemicals such as sanitizers, disinfectants, hand washes, soaps, etc. has increased during the pandemic to mitigate the effects of the virus. Additionally, during the pandemic, products such as masks, sanitizers, hand gloves, shields, etc. have contributed to increasing household waste, as well as plastic waste.
The Gujarat government decided to resume economic activities during the COVID-19 lockdown period in the state as per the Central Government Guidelines, and it received a widespread response. On the first day of re-opening of the industrial units on April 20, around 6,000 industries restarted their activities, and about 40,000 to 45,000 workers restarted their jobs. However, industrial associations said that not all those who got permission to re-open were able to start operations due to a labor shortage.
After LG’s toxic release of styrene vapor into a nearby residential area killing and injuring people, the Andhra Pradesh State Governmentconvened a High Power Committee (HPC) to investigate the tragedy.
Two months later, the HPC delivered a 4,000-page report sharply critical of LG’s management. The government investigation demonstrated LG’s disregard for safety, raised the possibility of a double standard in LG operations in South Korea and India and revealed significant environmental pollution caused by LG’s massive styrene release.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) is the government legal body with expertise and jurisdiction over environmental matters. After LG's toxic release of styrene gas into a nearby residential area killing and injuring people, NGT convened an investigative committee.
The NGT investigative committee delivered acriticalfinalreport on 28 May 2020 which concluded that LG’s “gross human failure” and the company’s lack of basic safety equipment and procedures caused the tragedy. The committee noted that, “The root cause thus appears to be the lack of experience of LG Polymers India and their Korean principal, LG Chem, in monitoring and maintaining full tanks of styrene that were idled for a long period of several weeks without operation.”
Indian NGO Toxics Link released a new report on 20 September" Dirty Trail: Detergent to Water Bodies." The study found alarming levels of the toxic chemical “Nonylphenol” in detergents as well as in river water in India. The detergent samples were taken from the local markets of Delhi and water from six rivers, i.e. Garh Ganga and Hindon in Uttar Pradesh, Krishnan in Andhra Pradesh, Tapti in Gujarat, Bandi in Rajasthan, Mahanadi in Odisha and Ambazari lake in Nagpur.
