Tata Chemicals has consciously and conspicuously enacted a healthy and vibrant policy in the critical area of safety, health and environment, making it a cornerstone of its responsibilities to its employees, the communities living around its facilities, and society at large

Safety, health and environment (SHE) are endeavours that Tata Chemicals Limited (TCL) has always embraced with purpose and commitment. We outline the SHE initiatives undertaken by the company at its fertiliser plant in Babrala and its chemicals facility in Mithapur.

TCL’s SHE policy
Babrala
TCL’s state-of-the-art fertiliser facility at Babrala, in the Badaun district of Uttar Pradesh, produces 2,250 tonnes of urea and 1,350 tonnes of ammonia every day. The company adheres to the most stringent SHE standards in its production processes, and it has a certified and integrated SHE-management system based on the international standards of ISO-14001 as well as OHSAS-18001 to ensure this.

Before the Babrala facility was commissioned, the company undertook an environmental-impact assessment and a HAZOP study. It then developed and put in place an environment-management plan as well as a disaster-management plan for the plant. TCL is now working with single-minded dedication towards achieving excellence in safety through the British Safety Council's five-star rating.

Conservation of resources
Of primary concern in the SHE system at Babrala is the conservation of natural resources and the minimising of wastes. The plant has established itself as the lowest consumer of energy and water, as well as in the lowest ejector of effluents per unit of product, in the Indian fertiliser industry. Happily enough, in recognition of this, TCL obtained a no-objection certificate from the Ministry of Environment and Forests as well as the state pollution control board.

Waste management
A foolproof disposal system has been established for hazardous and other solid wastes generated by the facility. As part of the waste management system, the process plants in Babrala have been provided with source-treatment facilities for liquid effluents.

As a result, about 70-80 per cent of treated effluents from the process plants is recycled; the remaining 20-30 per cent is used for the irrigation of the dense green belt around Babrala. This belt comprises more than two lakh trees and about one lakh shrubs and acts as a natural sink for gaseous pollutants and particulate matter, and also as a noise barrier.

Community development
To monitor the parameters related to environmental impact and to ensure the implementation of all legal requirements, a special environment management cell has been established in the company. In association with the district administration of Badaun, which houses Babrala, TCL has developed an offsite emergency plan for the entire district as part of its social development initiatives.

The establishment of the community development department of the company was the first step in undertaking various socioeconomic improvement activities in the self-employment, education and health areas.

Training and awareness of environmental issues is another thrust area for the company. National and global environmental issues are periodically discussed at seminars and workshops attended by employees, students and other members of the local community.

Honours

	Golden Peacock environment management award - 2002 World Environment Foundation
	Environment, agriculture and rural development award - 2002 Indian Merchants' Chamber
	Environment protection award - 2001 Fertiliser Association of India
	Best environmental and ecological implementation gold award - 2001 Green Land Society, Hyderabad
	Energy Conservation Award - 1997 Ministry of Power, Government of India

Achievements

	First Indian chemical company with an integrated SHE-management system
	Most energy-efficient plant in the country.
	Minimum water consumption and water discharge per tonne of urea among Indian fertiliser companies

Mithapur
The TCL complex here is the only major industry in the area, making it an economic lifeline for the local community. The company’s township, a model of well-planned development, utilises the systems approach for environment management.

Taken together, the complex and the township have contributed directly and indirectly towards vastly improving the quality of community life in this drought-prone region. Improving the environment, utilising waste material and using energy efficiently are principles embedded in the Mithapur way of working and living. Environmental status studies conducted in the last couple of decades substantiate this.

Reduce, recover, recycle
A major TCL goal at Mithapur is to continuously improve SHE performance by reducing environmental releases, decreasing the use of natural resources, and improving safety standards. The company has a certifiable and integrated SHE-management system for this. The effectiveness of the system is verified regularly by trained and qualified internal auditors, as also through outside audits.

TCL encourages and supports attempts to preserve and protect natural resources. A biodiversity project has been initiated along Mithapur’s 4-km coastline, and a pilot project has been run to green the alkaline waste heap inside the company’s premises. The latter, called the Malara green cap project, employs mycorrhizal technology (developed by the Tata Energy Research Institute, New Delhi) to use seawater, solid waste and microorganisms for plant growth.

‘Reduce recover and recycle’ is the operational philosophy at Mithapur. TCL’s cement-manufacturing operation is an outstanding example of this belief. TCL is the only soda ash company to develop a process that separates solids from soda ash effluent for subsequent use in cement operations.

Rigorous monitoring of environmental parameters including regulatory compliance is regularly undertaken by the environment management system department.

Making water
In the 1960s acute water shortage rendered Mithapur nearly inhabitable. Under the visionary leadership of the Tata Group, TCL made the town independent in water resources. The very fact that this large complex is almost independent of freshwater import stands testimony to the company's innovation in water management. Tata Salt was the byproduct of this water-management process.

Sewage treatment
The sewage treatment plant is designed to treat and recycle three million litres of sewage a day, with the recycled water going back to the township’s flush-pumping station and for horticulture. Refuse from bathrooms, toilets and kitchens is collected in centralised ‘sewage-aggregation tanks’ and pumped into the treatment plant according to the demand and supply needs of the township’s utilities.

Excess treated water is utilised for the township’s horticulture requirements. The solid remains of the treatment plant are rich in organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorous minerals. This is composted and used as substrates for horticulture. Efforts are on to improve the quality of the sewage-treatment plant’s sludge by utilising composting technologies developed the Tata Energy Research Institute.

A natural habitat
Spread over 37,000 acres, the salt works of TCL play host to thousands of migratory birds. During the winter months the place turns into a bird watcher’s paradise, with flamingos and herons flocking to the pans.

Since it is located close to the first marine sanctuary spread over an area of nearly 500 sq km on the southern coast of the Gulf of Kutch, Mithapur considers it its responsibility to care for the sanctuary and its park. The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) has declared this sanctuary as category II among the national parks of the world.

The sanctuary and park is home to some of the finest coral reef formations on India's west coast, some fringed by mangrove forests which are in turn nesting and roosting sites for countless birds. Their limestone fortresses — each one the work of a colony of innumerable tiny animals — come in an amazing variety of shapes and sizes. The waters of the gulf are home to the dolphin, the octopus, the fin-less porpoise and dugong sea cow, a marine mammal, which resembles a seal and the rare Boralia species.

Turtles, shrimp, sponge, eels and sea urchins lurk among the corals and huge schools of fish create a brilliance of colours that are unknown, unseen and unimaginable.

Community development
The Mithapur township has about 2,500 households, 250 commercial establishments, a 150-bed hospital, a bank and six schools. Proof of its uniqueness came when it became the first industrial township in India to be ISO 14001-certified under the US-AID programme.

TCL continues to contribute to and support various charitable trusts and organisations involved in community development, environment protection, education and sports. In 1980, this concern led the company to establish and promote the Tata Chemicals Society for Rural Development. The main focus is on capacity building and participatory development of sustainable communities.