THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Aug. 4. The global environmental action group, Greenpeace, has urged the State Government to close down the Coca-Cola bottling plant at Plachimada, in Palakkad district, for the `criminal cheating' it had indulged in by passing on to the farmers of the area `toxic waste' in the guise of fertilizer.

The corporate campaign coordinator of the Greenpeace, Ameer Shahul, today met top Government authorities to present the findings of a laboratory analysis conducted at the Exeter University in the U.K. showing the presence of `dangerous' levels of heavy metals in the sludge samples collected from Plachimada. The company had been distributing this sludge among the local farmers as fertilizer for the last three years.

At a press conference afterwards, Mr. Shahul said the Greenpeace too was associated with the analysis of the sludge and water samples collected from Plachimada by the `Face the Facts' programme presenter of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), John Waite, in July this year as part of an investigation into complaints against the bottling plant. The Greenpeace had a team of nine scientists at the Exeter University ready to vouchsafe for the veracity of the findings.

On July 25, the BBC had reported the presence of `unacceptable' levels of cadmium and lead in the sludge and water samples collected from Plachimada. Cadmium is a known carcinogen and lead, a metal that can affect the central nervous system. Quoting experts, the BBC had reported that "the results have devastating consequences for those living near the areas where this waste has been dumped and for thousands who depend on crops produced in these fields''.

Giving the details of the inorganic analytical results, Mr. Shahul said the samples collected from Plachimada contained 100 mg cadmium and 1,100 mg lead per kg of dry sludge. The other elements detected in the sludge included 4,000 mg aluminium, 190 mg chromium, 90 mg copper, 10,000 mg iron, 63 mg manganese, 33 mg nickel, 1,580 mg phosphorus and 680 mg zinc per kg.

The water samples contained 65.7 microgram of lead and more than 10 microgram of cadmium per litre. The other elements reported were 8,600 microgram aluminium, 36 microgram chromium, more than 30 microgram copper, 16,200 microgram iron, 987 microgram manganese, more than 30 microgram nickel, 623 microgram phosphorous and 135 microgram zinc per litre.

Mr. Shahul said the results were above the threshold levels specified by the World Health Organisation. Cadmium could accumulate in the kidneys and, with repeated exposure, cause kidney failure and cancer. Lead was especially dangerous to children and the results of exposure could be fatal. Even at low levels, it could cause mental retardation and severe anaemia, he said, quoting known literature on the subject.

Mr. Shahul said sludge samples were taken for analysis by Mr. Waite when he became curious about Coca-Cola's claim that, as a `humanitarian gesture to the local community', it was supplying the sludge generated at its bottling plant free of cost to the farmers. The farmers who used it complained of its nauseating odour and rashes on their skin. The contamination had, apparently, spread to the drinking water sources of the region as well.

Mr. Shahul said he had met the Ministers for Local Administration, Health and Industry, to apprise them of the dangers the people of Plachimada were being exposed to. He also met the Chairman of the State Pollution Control Board demanding action against the bottling plant.