And, if anything, it is more insidious than the deadly gas that spread through a sleeping Bhopal on December 3, 1984. The culprit in this case is toxic metal waste, the slag and ash that Western firms throw away and Indian companies recycle. Every year the world's metallurgical industry produces mountains of toxic waste during manufacturing. The residue has traces of zinc, copper, aluminum and lead, which can be extracted for profit. Recycling the slag and ash is costly in the environmentally exacting jurisdictions of Europe and North America.
Most Western firms find it cheaper to ship the waste overseas.
The organization has accused Western governments of moral bankruptcy for letting industry ship toxic waste to Asia, and India in particular. After some fact-gathering in India, Greenpeace activist Jan Rispens recently let loose a rhetorical barrage. The world's waste traders know it. India is receiving the effluent of the affluent. Greenpeace has at times shown a preference for headline-grabbing over hard science.