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8/8/2019 WBC Report

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A

Report On

Mercury Poisoning by HUL

thermometer plant in Kodaikanal

8/8/2019 WBC Report


The article Poisoned Ground published in Frontline in an eye -opener for the real-world

operations of Hindustan Unilever. It provides the user a detailed report of the mercury

poisoning incident at the HUL thermometer manufacturing plant at Kodaikanal. Th e article

which came 9 years after the incident throws a light on the profit-centric approaches and

motives of these big players in the market. HUL is not only responsible for polluting the

environment but is also responsible for manoeuvring the case such that the case is still on

the trial in the court.

The incident, dating back to 2001, reports of the most dreadful mercury poisoning case in

the history of India leading to the death of 23 workers of the company coupled with severe

health damage of another 550 workers.

Mercury is the third most toxic element of the world. Even small doses of mercury in its

naturally occurring elemental forms of liquid or vapours can be poisonous. Organic forms of

mercury like methyl mercury are known to be highly risky for humans as they tend to get

magnified along the food chain. Effects of mercury poisoning on humans include damage tonervous system, vision loss, and loss of muscle coordination, paralysis, damage to intestine,

kidney damage and even death. Needless to say such a substance just cannot be allowed to

be percolated into the environment.

The workers labouring at the thermometer plant of HUL have shown severe symptoms of

mercury poisoning. Their health has been deteriorated because of the presence of mercury

in large amounts in the soil around the thermometer factory. On being tested by

independent experts in the field of toxicology several above mentioned symptoms of

mercury poisoning have been detected. In-spite of all these facts, Hindustan Unilever has

been categorically denying that it had anything to do with the plight of its workers. The

article accounts this with the profit mentality of corporates which do not care about the

repercussions of their decisions on human lives.

The thermometer plant was basically set up in India because of the stringent legislations

prevalent in US. The lax environment and health laws made the task of Unilever easier. India

was a safe haven for Unilever, where it neglected the standard safety measures like usage of

gas masks, protective clothing and gloves in order to increase profits and productivity. The

machines used in the plant were hand-me-downs, were dated and did not meet the safety

standards of such machinery.The company had also failed in educating its workers about the

hazards of working with mercury. All this shows the complete lack of caution on the part of

the company.

The article puts a final blow to Hindustan Unilevers claim by showing that on discovery of

the incident it actually withheld the medical records of its workers to prevent itself from

litigation. It also shows how the company hired firms for contamination risk assessment to

produce reports that clear Unilever of all the blame related to the incident. Finally, the

8/8/2019 WBC Report


article describes how the company utilized the absence of proper regulatory measures for

setting up the plant and for evading law enforcement after the incident.

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