Farmers Report Skin Issues as TN Probes Tata iPhone Parts Factory Pollution

HOSUR: The Tamil Nadustate health authority is investigating how liquid discharged from Apple supplier Tata’s iPhone components factory affected farmers, according to three officials and a document reviewed by the media; Some of them suffer from skin problems caused by pollution in agricultural areas.

The health investigation opens a new front in the environmental dispute that has become a test case for India’s push to become a major manufacturing hub for Apple’s iPhones. A warning notice was issued to the Tata Electronics plant at ‌Hosur in the southern state of Tamil Nadu by the state pollution control board on May 25 for allegedly polluting groundwater in adjacent farms.

Tata said this week that it dropped the investigation after confirming that the pollution board’s analysis of recently collected water samples from inside the plant “did not indicate any contamination”.

The pollution board and the state did not comment and did not respond to emails and phone calls from Reuters seeking comment. Apple also did not comment on the situation and did not respond to requests from Reuters.

Tata did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

Health officials in the region have been conducting their own investigation since at least late May after farmers complained about the facility, which opened in 2021 and produces iPhone back covers and some other parts, according to government sources and a letter.

According to a May 27 letter from Anish Parvin, a government health officer in Ullugurukkai village, where the plant is located, to the state-run Vector Control and Zoonosis Institute in Hosur, a health inspection found that runoff from the Tata plant caused “severe foul odor” and left water “unfit for drinking by animals.”

“Wastewater released from Tata Electronics… has accumulated on nearby agricultural land and is contaminating clean water in nearby wells,” the letter, which has not been made public but was reviewed by Reuters, said. “It has also been reported that people are experiencing skin-related health problems due to this contamination.”

Parvin told Reuters he had received complaints from farmers about health problems, although no clinical cases had yet been detected.

A government source said two water samples from the farms were sent by health officials to a state government laboratory for testing.

Both samples tested positive for E. coli, a bacteria found in sewage, indicating the water supply was contaminated with feces, according to a May 30 report from the regional public health laboratory obtained by Reuters.

Rajesh Kumar C, a senior government official who oversees public health in the region, said the investigation by state health authorities, first reported by Reuters, was ongoing and second results of the tests were still awaited.

KEY CASE FOR APPLE, INDIA

The dispute has pitted a farming community against industrial giant Tata Group, one of Apple’s most important Indian suppliers and at the center of Apple’s effort to diversify production beyond China. According to research firm Counterpoint, India is on track to produce 26% of the world’s iPhone production by 2026; this rate was 6% four years ago.

Tamil Nadu is a major manufacturing hub with another Tata iPhone assembly plant there, and ‌Samsung and Hyundai ⁠Motor also operate large factories.

An inspection of the Tata plant followed complaints from farmers, prompting the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board to seek an explanation from the company and warn that the plant could be shut down.

Newly released documents show that farmers first expressed their concerns in a letter to Tata on December 8. The letter from a local social justice group and 15 farmers claimed that wastewater from the facility pollutes streams, ponds and groundwater, preventing them from farming.

Reuters was unable to determine whether Tata had responded to the letter.

A pump failure occurred in the Tata plant’s water purification unit in December, causing some of the treated sewage to flow into a rainwater catchment tank and then overflow into an outside lake, a person familiar with the matter said.

Tata took immediate action to stop the overflow and the pump was repaired, he added.

Apple’s supplier code of conduct requires suppliers to “identify, control and reduce wastewater” and “conduct routine monitoring” of treatment systems. Suppliers are also required to “prevent pollution of stormwater runoff” and comply with all environmental permits.

STATE TEST REPORTS

The pollution regulator also collected samples from two open wells near the plant in April. Results reviewed by Reuters showed total dissolved solids (TDS), a measure of minerals, salts and metals in water, were 1,084 and 1,286 milligrams per liter. This is more than double the 500 mg/l that the Bureau of Indian Standards considers acceptable for drinking water.

“Industrial pollution can increase TDS. Currently, if left untreated, it is not only unsuitable for human consumption but also for fisheries and wildlife,” said Nidhi Paliwal, co-founder of the Paani Earth Foundation, an Indian nonprofit that reviewed the test reports for Reuters.

A publicly available 2023 Tata environmental study showed that water quality in locations around the plant meets India’s safe drinking standards.

Reuters visited the factory site twice this week and interviewed more than a dozen farmers. Farmers collected water from an open well that appeared black in color. Reuters saw green and dirty-looking water pooling in spots along the factory wall.

Farmers claim the pollution has damaged some crops and made land unproductive.

“If we plant seeds with this water, they will sprout, then they will dry out and die,” said Gurumoorthy V, 40, who grows tomatoes, beans and rice in his nearby land.

Reuters was not able to independently verify the claim or immediately assess the water quality.

The dispute briefly became tense on Monday when a man from the farmers’ group crossed onto Tata’s property to photograph a pond he claimed contained wastewater, prompting a guard to retrieve a firearm from a vehicle and carry it on his shoulder. The group responded by saying “shoot us” before the tension ended.