The blighted hills of Roro, Jharkhand, India: a tale of corporate greed and abandonment

In the Chaibasa region of the West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand, India, an abandoned chrysotile asbestos mine is a health scourge for villagers and former mine workers. A massive pile of asbestos waste mixed with chromite has lain atop the hilltops of Roro village for two decades, gradually seeping into the land, water, homes, and bodies of the tribal communities living at the foothills of Roro. To investigate the status of the asbestos waste and its impact on the community and the environment, a fact-finding team made a preliminary assessment. Its findings suggest that the careless closure of the mines and the unscientific disposal of toxic asbestos and chromite waste by the mining company pose a serious threat to the health of the local community and the environment. The preliminary health survey of 14 villages around the Roro hills, with 45% of the respondents being former workers of the Roro asbestos mines, indicates a highly probable link between the asbestos exposures and several adverse health effects such as low back pain, dyspnea, hemoptysis, and blindness.