Unilever, which is at the centre of discussion following a viral rap video which hit back at the company for not taking responsibility for mercury poisoning in Kodaikanal a decade ago, has responded.
The company, on its website, addressed concerns from ex-workers and activists stating that mercury poisoning in the hill station was an issue taken very seriously.
It said, “We have been working hard to find a fair and mutually satisfactory resolution at the suggestion of the Madras High Court and have had more than ten meetings with our former employees’ representatives since 2014"
This is the entire statement made by Unilever.
Responding to concerns about our former factory in Kodaikanal, India
The safety of our employees is our number one priority. We closed down the factory and launched an investigation into this matter after it arose in 2001.
While extensive studies on the health of our former workers and the Kodaikanal environment have not found any evidence of harm, we continue to take this issue very seriously and it’s one we are keen to see resolved. We have been working hard to find a fair and mutually satisfactory resolution at the suggestion of the Madras High Court and have had more than ten meetings with our former employees’ representatives since 2014. However, achieving this will require all stakeholders – including employee representatives, NGOs and legal representatives – to get behind these efforts and agree on an outcome.
Several expert studies have been conducted since the factory’s closure and all have concluded that our former employees did not suffer ill-health due to the nature of their work. These include:
· A comprehensive medical examination conducted by a panel of doctors
· A study by the Certifying Surgeon from the Inspectorate of Factories
· A study by Dr P N Viswanathan of the Industrial Toxicology Research Centre (ITRC)
· A study by Dr Tom van Teuenbroek of TNO, directed by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB)
· A study by the Industrial Toxicology Research Centre (ITRC) as directed by the Supreme Court Monitoring Committee.
In addition, the findings from our own occupational health monitoring was independently endorsed by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and the National Institute of Occupational Health (NIOH).
These findings were also confirmed by an expert committee convened by the Madras High Court including representatives from ITRC, AIIMS and NIOH. Its report in 2007 concluded:
"The committee failed to find sufficient evidence to link the current clinical condition of the factory workers to the mercury exposure in the factory in the past".
An expert study has also concluded that there was no adverse impact on the environment in Kodaikanal.
An environmental and risk assessment undertaken by the independent consultants URS Dames and Moore concluded that that the Kodaikanal lake had not been impacted by mercury.
We have taken action to clean-up the soil within the factory premises and will commence the soil remediation work at the site once the final consent is given by the TNPCB:
In 2000/2001 we removed 7.4 tonnes of mercury-bearing glass scrap from the site and installed five silt traps to prevent any discharge of soil from the factory into the Pambar valley – the only direction from which water flows out of the site.
Pre-remediation work was started in 2009 but the criteria set by the TNPCB was contested by NGOs, which has delayed these efforts. We are awaiting final consent before re-starting this work.
We will continue to act in a transparent and responsible manner regarding this matter, and have published more details on the facts about this case on our website.
The response comes in the wake of a rap video by Chennai rapper Sofia Ashraf who tweaked Nicki Minaj’s Anaconda song to address the Kodaikanal issue.