6 months on, industrial emission standards remain only on paper
BAD AIR Pollution control boards blame outdated emissionchecking machines at factories
NEW DELHI: Although almost six months have passed since the Union government notified the standards of industrial emissions, factories in the National Capital Region (NCR) are continuing to belch smoke that fouls up the air.
In a meeting held on July 2, the Supreme Court-mandated Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) had pulled up the state pollution control boards (SPCBS) in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana for not “acting” in accordance with the notification.
In their reply, the pollution control boards claimed that the equipment the factories have to measure emissions are outdated and factory owners are reluctant to invest in expensive devices to measure pollution levels. A Continuous Emission Monitoring System (CEMS), for instance, can cost up to R10 lakh, they maintained.
According to estimates given by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee to EPCA, of the 1500odd industrial units in Delhi, only around one-third have, so far, installed CEMS till April 2018.
EPCA chairman Bhure Lal said, “So far, industries are not confirming to new standards of SOX and Nox emissions. They do not have proper equipment for the same. We have asked state boards to strengthen their labs and provide training and knowledge for installing machines to measure emissions. The emissions have to be controlled in order to clean Delhi-ncr air of pollutants,” said Bhure Lal, chairman, EPCA.
On January 29, 2018, the Union ministry of environment and forest notified the emission standards of Sulphur Dioxide (SOX) and Nitrogen Dioxide (NOX) for 18 categories of highly polluting industries in Delhi and NCR. The industries include units manufacturing calcium carbide, sugar, cotton textiles, synthetic rubber, leather and aluminum among others.
The notification had come after the Supreme Court had asked the Centre to fix emission standards for polluting industries in 2017. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) had on June 13 this year issued letter to all state boards to submit compliance reports of whether they are meeting the new standards of SOX and NOX emissions.
The SOX and NOX levels are among the main air pollutants in Delhi and NCR towns, and trigger a host of respiratory diseases. In summers, high NOX levels are responsible for causing Ozone pollution. According to a study conducted by IIT Kanpur, industries contribute to nearly 50% of the NOX emissions in Delhi.
The pollution control boards said they had, on June 22, conducted a meeting with SPCBS to discuss the same but the data from the reports remained “inconclusive”.
“We need to strengthen labs for examining samples. Also, cost-effective solutions have to be given to industries to control emissions,” said, a senior officer of Haryana State Pollution Control Board on the condition of anonymity.