Site Remediation: Chromium Impacted Area In India
Following the contamination of 16.5 acres of land in Rania, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh — caused by the improper dumping of hexavalent chromium waste from now-defunct basic chrome sulphate manufacturers — the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) took the lead on a remediation project. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) implemented the project with funding support from the National Clean Energy Fund.
As part of this project, the Uttar Pradesh Waste Management Project (UPWMP), a unit of Re Sustainability Limited (ReSL), was appointed by the district magistrate of Kanpur Dehat for the safe handling and disposal of chromium waste.
Maritime transport carries approximately 90% of global trade. With the growth of maritime trade over the years, regulating and preventing marine pollution caused by ship discharges has become increasingly important. To manage this issue, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) defined MARPOL regulations, which prohibit ships from discharging waste into open seas and put the onus on governments to receive ship-generated waste at the ports.
The port reception facility at Sohar Port and Free Zone in Oman is the Gulf region’s first marine pollution waste discharge facility. It was set up by Re Sustainability Ltd (erstwhile Ramky Enviro Engineers Limited) through a joint venture company, Oman Maritime Waste Treatment, with Khimji Ramdas of Oman and Nature Group of Netherlands.
- Remediated 16.5 acres of contaminated land in Rania, Kanpur.
- Safely disposed of 55,628 metric tonnes of hazardous hexavalent chromium waste.
- Key activities included drone surveys, excavation, transportation, stabilization units to neutralize chromium waste, testing, and disposal in secured landfill cells.
Key activities included excavation, transportation, stabilization, testing, and secured landfill disposal. The process involved meticulous planning, drone surveys, and excavation under strict safety protocols and fugitive emission control. Safe transportation in designated trucks ensured proper handling before reaching the Treatment, Stabilization, and Disposal Facility (TSDF). At the TSDF, stabilization units neutralized the chromium waste. During post-stabilization analysis, waste with chromium levels above 0.5 ppm was returned for further stabilization.
As of March 31, 2023, ReSL successfully lifted and safely disposed more than 55,000 metric tonnes of hexavalent chromium waste.
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