The Toxic Legacy of Kymore: A Town Stifled by British Asbestos Waste
In the heart of Madhya Pradesh, the town of Kymore is grappling with a silent, decades-long environmental catastrophe. Nearly a century after a British firm established India’s first asbestos factory in the region, the town remains littered with hazardous waste that continues to claim lives and destroy the health of its residents.
The origins of this tragedy date back to the 1930s when Turner and Newall launched operations in Kymore. Despite being aware of the lethal risks of asbestos—having already been associated with the 1924 death of Nellie Kershaw, one of the world’s first recorded asbestosis fatalities—the company failed to implement the same safety standards in India that were becoming mandatory in the United Kingdom.
A Community Under Siege
Today, the human cost is devastating. In a population of fewer than 30,000, more than 5,000 residents have been diagnosed with illnesses directly linked to asbestos exposure. The situation is worsening as the abandoned waste deteriorates, releasing microscopic fibers into the air, soil, and groundwater.
Professor Muralidhar Venkiteswaran, a specialist in general surgery who frequently visits the region to treat the sick, paints a harrowing picture. During a visit in late 2025, he identified 1,200 new cases of respiratory distress and asbestos-related cancers. “These people will face a lifetime of suffering,” Dr. Venkiteswaran warned. “They are not just dying; they are enduring extreme respiratory distress while hemorrhaging their savings on cancer treatments.”
The environmental contamination is staggering. Experts estimate that over 1.1 million tonnes of soil remain toxic, with a comprehensive cleanup projected to cost upwards of £100 million. Shockingly, the mismanagement of this waste has been so pervasive that some local infrastructure, including children’s playgrounds, was constructed directly atop asbestos-laden sites, separated from the toxic material by nothing more than a thin layer of dirt.
Legal Limbo and the Search for Justice
The quest for accountability has hit a wall. Turner and Newall declared bankruptcy in 2001 following intense litigation in the U.K. and U.S., leaving behind a meager compensation fund that barely scratches the surface of the town’s medical needs. Crucially, the fund provides no provision for the multi-million-pound cleanup required to secure the environment for future generations.
Human rights lawyer Krishnendu Mukherjee, who has been advocating for the victims, highlights the near-impossibility of seeking justice through the Indian court system. With civil lawsuits often dragging on for over two decades and the original polluter no longer in existence, victims like Somesh—a father of three currently battling stage 4 metastatic lung cancer—are left in a state of hopeless stagnation.
“A life in India should be valued the same as a life in the U.K.,” Mukherjee remarked, characterizing the situation as a profound scandal.
A Future Without Resolution
While the U.K. government has acknowledged that the reports from Kymore are “truly shocking” and has pledged to review its standards for responsible business conduct, no concrete plan for the remediation of the town has been put forward. For the people of Kymore, trapped by both their circumstances and the lingering dust of a bygone industrial era, the wait for justice continues—even as the air they breathe remains a constant, invisible threat.
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