Heavy Metal: How a Global Corporation Poisoned Kodaikanal
In 1984, the US cosmetics brand Pond’s established a mercury thermometer family in the idyllic south Indian hill-station of Kodaikanal. The factory, which was acquired by Unilever in 1987, would operate for 17 years, during which it brazenly poisoned the workers, the native population and destroyed the local ecosystem. On Monday, the IIC Book Discussion Group hosted Ameer Shahul, a veteran journalist-turned-public policy leader, in conversation with writer-activist Karuna Ezara Parikh about his book Heavy Metal: How a Global Corporation Poisoned Kodaikanal. Heavy Metal is a terrifying investigative account of the Kodaikanal mercury poisoning case by the tireless campaigner who led the movement against it.
The book starts in the history of glass thermometer manufacturing in the US and how increased awareness about mercury poisoning led to the dismantling of a US-based mercury thermometer plant, and its move to India, where environmental regulations had not caught up. In his book, Mr. Shahul describes how less than year after the Unilever acquisition, factory management began ignoring the precautionary measures put in place to prevent mercury contamination. The impacts of these actions go far beyond the loss of human lives — 28 by official count, though Mr. Shahul claimed that some unofficial estimates put this number at over 100 deaths. While the human cost finds some quantification, Ms. Parikh regretted that there was no way to properly assess the impact of mercury poisoning on the Pambal Shola, the uniquely biodiverse and delicate ecosystem of the Palani Hills.
The campaign in Kodaikanal has had several triumphs. The polluting factory was shut down in 2001. In 2003, the campaigners successfully pressurised Unilever to collect and send back 300 tonnes of mercury to the US for recycling, including mercury waste that was improperly disposed. In 2015, Unilever settled out of court with 590 of its employees, agreeing to pay an “undisclosed amount”. In 2017, India signed the Minamata Convention, signalling its intent to eliminate production, import and export of mercury. However, Mr. Shahul reminds us, the battle is far from won.
The compensation and remediation of the factory site are a small part of the struggle. The second, more significant aspect pertains to the extensive destruction caused by the company’s activities, which include the release of gaseous mercury into the atmosphere and the disposal of mercury waste in river streams and adjacent areas. To drive this home, Mr. Shahul pointed to an IIT-Hyderabad study which estimated that, without remediation, unsafe levels of mercury will remain in Kodaikanal’s soil for more than a century. He asserted that these is an unresolved issue that requires research, regulatory action, and public outrage.
Answering a question about the role of social media in raising awareness, Mr. Shahul highlighted how the Kodaikanal movement transitioned from a traditional to a modern social movement. When they started, they relied heavily on press releases to get their word out. In the next phase, they received the support of some local and national TV media which garnered them a lot of attention. Displaying adaptability in a changing communications environment, campaigners also took to social media to attract wider public participation. Mr Parikh agreed, pointing to the viral 2015 rap-song by activist Sofia Ashraf, titled ‘Kodaikanal Won’t’, which became a protest anthem of the time.
To a great extent, the global North’s dumping of hazardous wastes in the South is a result of crony capitalism which incentivises weaker environmental regulations in developing countries. Mr. Shahul gave us the example of the talks on remediation of the factory site, where experts and civil society advocates had pushed for the Dutch standard of 10 mg/kg and got the conglomerate to agree to it. Shortly after, the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board formulated its own remediation criteria with a higher 20 mg/kg standard for mercury decontamination, effectively sabotaging the efforts of the campaigners.
Mr. Shahul claimed that the pharmaceutical and chemical lobbies are easily the strongest across the world and are willing to go to any lengths to stifle the environmental movement. Due to their influence only a handful of environmental movements gain momentum, while the others die in their infancy. While some sections of the news media have been helpful in propelling these movements, even reporters wait for closure or a happy ending to report on an issue. This is why many ongoing movements from United Phosphorous to Vedanta remain under-reported.
In such a climate, Ms. Parikh asked, how did the Kodaikanal campaigners keep their spirits up for more than two decades. Mr. Shahul replied that running a prolonged and successful campaign ultimately comes down to knowing the science and the data. This has to begin with data collection, documentation and impact assessment. When a movement has a solid grounding in science, it is able to withstand anything that is thrown its way. The rigorous work by the Kodaikanal campaigners, the collection of baseline data and periodic testing of environmental matrices, the documentation of health impacts of mercury on the local population — all of this has enabled the campaign’s success and still bolsters activists as they strive to make Unilever pay for the devastation it has caused.
