(Reuters) - Indian authorities said on Thursday they had completed moving toxic waste from the site of the 1984 Bhopal gas leak disaster, which killed more than 5,000 people, to a disposal facility where it will take three to nine months to incinerate.
In the early hours of Dec. 3, 1984, methyl isocyanate gas leaked from a pesticide factory owned by American Union Carbide Corporation poisoning more than half a million people in Bhopal, capital of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.
Twelve leak-free containers carrying 337 metric tons of toxic waste for incineration reached the Pithampur plant 230 kms (142 miles) from Bhopal on Thursday amid heavy security, Swatantra Kumar Singh, the director of Bhopal gas tragedy relief and rehabilitation department, told Reuters.
A trial run for the disposal of 10 metric tons of waste was conducted in 2015 and the disposal of the remaining 337 metric tons will be completed within three to nine months, the state government said in a statement.
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