Despite iPhone parts maker Tata saying recent water samples collected at its factory in Hosur, India showed no signs of contamination, Reuters reports that local health officials are still investigating complaints from nearby farmers. Here are the details.
Tata is back in control
Last month, Apple supplier Tata was warned of a possible shutdown at one of its iPhone component plants in India after the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board alleged that wastewater from the facility was contaminating groundwater on adjacent farms.
Earlier this week, Tata said that the regulator stopped further actions against the plant after the company has submitted its reply and resolved the issues raised in the warning notice:
On Tuesday, Tata said in a statement to Reuters that the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board had confirmed that the company had “satisfactorily resolved all queries mentioned” in the warning notice and had “taken any action in this matter”.
However, it appears that investigations into the alleged contamination are far from over. Based on the new report Reuters“District health officials have been investigating since at least late May after complaints from farmers about the plant, which is slated to open in 2021 and make iPhone back covers and some other parts.”
The investigation is looking into whether the liquid discharged from the factory has affected nearby farmers, some of whom attribute skin problems to contamination on their land.
Importantly, Reuters The state medical officer says that such cases have not yet been clinically identified.
From the report:
According to a May 27 letter sent by Anish Parvi, a government medical officer in Ullugurukkay village, where the plant is located, to the Institute of Vector Control and Zoonoses Control in Hosur, a health inspection found that the discharge from the Tata plant caused a “pungent stench” and the water was “unfit for animals to drink.”
“Effluent from Tata Electronics … has accumulated on nearby agricultural land and is contaminating clean water in nearby wells,” read the letter, which was not released but was reviewed by Reuters. “People have also been reported to experience skin-related health problems due to this contamination.”
Reuters also obtained a lab report showing that two water samples collected from nearby farms tested positive for E. coli, “a bacteria that indicates fecal contamination of the water supply” found in sewage.
The report also included a tense standoff that forced a security guard to retrieve a firearm from a vehicle after a member of a farming group entered Tata’s property and took pictures of a pond allegedly containing the group’s sewage.
Finally, Reuters‘ account also included a photo of a farmer holding a handful of murky green water collected from his field near the Tata factory, and neither Apple nor Tata said they responded to requests for comment on the new study.
To read Reutersfull report, follow this link.
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