The Hon. D.V. Chanaka

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Chairperson of Committees, I am glad Hon. Wasantha Samarasinghe is present, otherwise later he would claim I ran away. I will not leave; I will speak while he is here.

¶ 02 I raise a massive fraud risking public lives—our drinking water. Most Sri Lankans use tap water purified at a few main plants: Ratmalana, Galle, and Ambatale. There are standards (SLSI, Ministry of Health, National Water Supply and Drainage Board) for treatment chemicals, including limits for contaminants. Hydrated lime is used to adjust pH. Its permissible heavy metal content is limited—lead up to 10 mg/kg and chromium up to 10 mg/kg—because high chromium in water can cause cancers, kidney and liver disease, low birth weight, congenital disabilities, and gastrointestinal issues. Hence, a strict protocol: before import, NWSDB engineers must visit the exporting country, test, and verify chromium is below 10 mg/kg; on arrival, the ISO-certified lab here tests again.

¶ 03 Over the past two weeks, 27 containers—about 550 metric tons—of hydrated lime arrived. A Sri Lankan team purportedly tested at origin. But local lab tests show chromium at 14 mg/kg—above the 10 mg/kg limit. How did it enter the country if pre-shipment tests were done? After local testing confirmed 14 mg/kg, instead of immediate re-export, NWSDB sent samples to a private lab, which also reported 14 mg/kg. Then NWSDB wrote to SLSI seeking to relax the standard—raise the limit. For whose benefit is this? To give cancer and kidney disease to our people? Even now, these 27 containers have been sent to Ratmalana, Galle, and Ambatale plants. Anyone consuming that water faces increased cancer risk.

¶ 04 From today, those drinking tap water, please be cautious: the hydrated lime has elevated chromium. This so-called “reform” government is, for tens of millions of rupees, risking public health. I table all lab reports showing sample result chromium 14 mg/kg, while the requirement is 10 mg/kg. Placed in the Library.

¶ 05 Hon. Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe, do you agree to poisoning water? Immediately investigate and re-export these containers. You will be accountable for the lives affected. Also tell us who made crores from this deal.