Bandhwari leachate samples to be re-tested

The Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) will conduct a second laboratory test to gauge the “safety” of leachate at the Bandhwari landfill. This move comes after several experts and activists found possible errors in the first test report reports Hindustan Times.

Following complaints from an activist who has been tracking developments at the landfill, the HSPCB inspected the landfill earlier this month and collected three samples from a leachate pond for chemical analysis. The report found no presence of heavy metals in the water. It also stated that the samples’ pH levels (that measures acidity), and biological oxygen demand (measure of oxygen consumed by microorganisms as they decompose organic waste), were within the limits prescribed by the central pollution control board’s solid waste management rules.

Following objections by the activities, the HSPCB  has said it will carry out another test by taking samples in the presence of locals and will send them to two or three different labs for analysis before comparing reports.