New Rules on Chemically Contaminated Sites in India

• Environment Ministry introduces new rules under the Environment Protection Act to address chemical contamination.

• The Environment Protection (Management of Contaminated Sites) Rules, 2025 provide a legal structure for addressing chemical contamination.

• Contaminated sites are those where hazardous and other wastes were historically dumped, posing a risk to human health and the environment.

• The Environment Ministry initiated a Capacity Building Program for Industrial Pollution Management Project in 2010 to formulate the National Program for Remediation of Polluted Sites.

• District administration to prepare half-yearly reports on suspected contaminated sites, with a State board examining these sites within 90 days.

• Contamination from radioactive waste, mining operations, oil pollution, and solid waste from dump sites not covered under these laws.