5th March, 2001: Greenpeace and Palni Hills Conservation Council inform the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board about the gross environmental violations by Hindustan Lever at its Thermometer factory in Kodaikanal.

7th March, 2001: Greenpeace and local environmental groups expose an illegal dumpsite with tons of mercury including broken thermometers in Kodiakanal. A direct action in front of the factory forces its closure

12th March, 2001: More than 30 groups from all over Tamil Nadu gather in Kodaikanal to discuss remedies to HLL's illegal dumping and form the Tamil Nadu Alliance Against Mercury

22nd March 2001: Greenpeace receives a letter from HLL agreeing to track and retrieve Mercury waste that was sent to various locations. HLL concedes that it had cleaned up the mercury waste dumped outside its factory walls

12th April, 2001: HLL declares that all workers are unaffected after a medical check up

25th April, 2001: HLL plans to resume production of thermometers

21 May 2001: TNPCB intervenes and closes factory operations permanently and asks HLL to provide report on the functioning of the plant

28th May 2001: HLL presents its report prepared by Messrs Dames and Moore and messr Tom van Tuenenbrioek. The report finds only 559kg loss to the environment

19th June 2001: HLL agrees to clean up, though refuses to acknowledge health problems of mercury exposed workers

21st June 2001: A clean up takes place in front of the community and the waste packed and sent to the factory. 7.44 tons of mercury waste retrieved from scrap yard.

7th March 2002: HLL workers decry the company's efforts to stifle their demand to an independent medical and health evaluation.

11th November, 2001: Greenpeace questions the Dames and Moore's figures of quantity of Mercury lost into the atmosphere and total raw mercury used for production, and takes up the matter with the Central Pollution Control Board

May, 2002: Dames and Moore comes out with a revised report. Suggests 2031 kg of is lost to the environment.

28th June, 2002: The Company concedes that 10 more tons of mercury was used in the production.

26th June, 2002: Greenpeace activists and concerned shareholders raise mercury dumping in Kodaikanal at the HLL AGM

2nd September, 2002: Independent Peoples Tribunal headed by Justice Bhargava (retd), with Dr. Amit Nair, toxicologist, Dr. Ramakrishnan and Dr Rakesh Kumar Singh hear over 100 workers their charges of pollution and evasion of responsibility by HLL

15th November, 2002: Greenpeace activists chain themselves to HLL regional office in chennai demanding health records of ex-workers of themometre plant.

12th March, 2003: Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board orders sending back the Mercury waste stored in the factory back to the US

24th March, 2003: Packing of 290 tons of mercury waste begins at the HLL factory site.

8th April, 2003: 290 tons Mercury waste from the HLL factory meant for recycling and disposal arrives at the Tuticorin port for shipment

16th April, 2003: The Mercury waste consignment misses its first originally scheduled vessel. Greenpeace expresses concern

8th May, 2003: The Mercury waste consignment leaves for New York by vessel Indamex Chesapeake. Greenpeace activists sneak into the port and videograph the loading of the vessel.

29th May, 2003: Mercury waste arrived at New York port. Greenpeace and four other organizations working on Mercury ban demand permanent retirement of the Mercury after recycling.

11th June, 2003: Indian Peoples Tribunal releases its findings on the omissions and commission by Hindustan Lever Thermometre factory in Kodiakanal.

12th June, 2003: Hindustan Lever releases medical records to 129 people who worked till the closure of the factory.

13th June, 2003: Greenpeace activists intervene at the company Annual General Body demanding clean up of the plant and machinery and remediation of factory site.

8th December, 2003: Greenpeace releases its report titled "Atmospheric dispersal of Mercury from the HLL thermometer factory, Tamil Nadu, India using lichen as a bio-monitor" that showed upto 1.99 mg/kg of mercury in the forest area nearby the factory.

16th January, 2004: A Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) report finds 130-2600 times abnormal air mercury level outside the closed down thermometer factory in Kodaikanal. It also reports high mercury levels 20 km deep inside the Kodaikanal forests.

13th February, 2004: Hindustan Lever submits a protocol for clean up of the plant and machinery and limited remediation of the factory site to the special committee of TNPCB.

7th March, 2004: Relatives of 15 ex-workers of the factory along with hundreds of ex-workers demonstrate in Kodaikanal seeking compensation.

10th April, 2004: A former accounting staff of the thermometer factory releases a calculation of 18 tons of mercury loss into the atmosphere based on the documents the company had submitted to TNPCB in a conference organized by Greenpeace in Chennai

29th June, 2004: Greenpeace activists and concerned shareholders attack directors of Hindustan Lever at its Annual General Body Meeting seeking compensation for the affected ex-workers and the families of 15 dead ex-workers.