Red Alert: With Maximum Contaminated Sites Odisha’s Environment Bomb Is Ticking Fast!

Bhubaneswar: Odisha has topped the list of States and Union Territories with the most contaminated sites, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data.

The state, having 23 contaminated sites, is followed by Uttar Pradesh (21) and Delhi (11).

The Environment Ministry has spelt out ‘contaminated sites’ as delineated areas in which the constituents and characteristics of the toxic and hazardous substances, caused by humans, exist at levels and in conditions that pose existing or imminent threats to human health and the environment.

These may include production areas, landfills, dumps, waste storage and treatment sites, mine tailings sites, spill sites, chemical waste handler and storage sites.

“Contaminated sites often pose multi-faceted health and environmental problems. Dumping or spillage of hazardous wastes or chemicals would adversely impact/affect the surrounding environment, particularly soil, surface water and groundwater and as result, people in the impact zone are knowingly or unknowingly exposed to toxic substances,” the CPCB said.

These need to be investigated in detail and thereafter remediation activity should be carried out to reduce human health risks and environmental impacts by adopting appropriate remediation technologies, it further said.

Also, there are nine ‘probably contaminated sites’ in Odisha.

These sites are apparent and purported but not scientifically proven presence of constituents of contaminants or substances caused by humans at concentrations and characteristics which can either pose a significant risk to human health or the environment, the CPCB added.