Toxic Waste

An investigation by Greenpeace International has revealed the dumping of industrial wastewater containing a cocktail of toxic chemicals and caustic water, directly into the Citarum River, West Java. International fashion brands, including Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy are linked to this pollution through their direct business relations with PT Gistex Group; the company behind the polluting facility. In its report, Toxic Threads: Polluting Paradise, the NGO details how the PT Gistex facility has taken advantage of a system that requires little transparency about its activities and where inadequate laws are failing to prevent the release of hazardous chemicals.

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) in the Philippines is investigating a US Navy contractor for allegedly dumping hazardous wastes in famed Subic Bay last month, according to the Global Nation Inquirer website.

The Supreme Court of India has given the nod to begin test burning of the toxic waste from the long-condemned Union Carbide factory that led to the Bhopal gas tragedy in 1984.

China's environment agency has sent investigators to probe a chemical company's dumping of carcinogenic industrial chemicals into a reservoir that feeds one of the country's largest rivers, reports Xinhua.