Hyderabad imports toxic pollution in form of tyres
■ Shipments of used tyres are being dumped in Hyderabad from the US, UK and West Asia
A problem worse than plastic could be plaguing Hyderabad.
While the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation cracks down on plastic bags of less than 40 microns, environmentalists believe it is the import of thousands of tonnes of scrap tyres that is of immediate concern.
According to published data, massive shipments of used tyres are being dumped in Hyderabad from the US, United Kingdom and West Asia.
Reports claim the harm to the environment could be worse than plastic because when rubber burns, toxins that could be carcinogenic are released into the air.
Data collated by independent market research company Info Drive India reports that India imported scrap tyres worth `15 crore between just September 2016 and November 2016. Hyderabad imported 6,82,020 kg of these scrap tyres between January and November of the same year. Though more recent data on import of scrap tyres is not available, the Automobile Tyre Manufacturers Association in New Delhi explains why they continue to be a health hazard and why it is lobbying hard to ban their import altogether.
Mr Vinay Vijayvargiya, deputy director, technical, pointed out two main concerns.
He said, “The foreign countries want a dumping ground for used tyres. So they give them away at throwaway prices.
“Once imported, they sell like hot cakes across India. They are either reused in vehicles, even though they are unsuitable for our roads and are hazardous, or are burnt in pyrolysis plants to get cheap fuels and oils.” Pyrolysis plants across India have recently come under the scanner of several states for failing to meet environmental pollution standards.
When norms are flouted in tyre pyrolysis, it can produce a dangerous mix of heavy metals, benzene, dioxins, furans and other organic chemicals, some of which are highly carcinogenic, according to reports. Several such plants in Maharashtra and Gujarat have been banned in recent years. Though several pyrolysis plants have been closed in Telangana too in recent years, for flouting pollution norms, the Telangana State Pollution Control Board confirmed that there are 87 such plants still in operation including in Warangal, Medak, Mahbubnagar and Ranga Reddy districts.
A problem worse than plastic could be plaguing Hyderabad. Last year, the Imagix Pyrolysis plant at Pashamailaram industrial estate in Sangareddy was sealed. Used tyres were being burnt here to extract oil.
On examination, the TSPCB had found particulate pollution at the chimney was 129 milligrams per metre cube as against the standard 115.
In 2017, eight tyre pyrolysis oil industries in Sangareddy were shut down after carbon dust from the plants was found to be affecting people in residential areas, as well as crops.
PCB public relations officer Praneeth Kumar said, “There is no ban at present, but the state is looking to shut most of them down due to any possible risk to the environment and health hazards.”
Siva Reddy, joint chief engineer for Andhra Pradesh State Pollution
Control Board, confirmed: “There are several pyrolysis plants in Telangana and one at Patancheru. But I cannot confirm if they are in operation.”
He said the Central Pollution Control Board has guidelines to minimise any risk to health and environment “but there is always a concern whether the plants follow them.”
Sagar Dhara, writer and activist, and former consultant to the United Nations Environment Programme, says, “If the tyres are completely burnt in a contained environment with the fumes taken care of, then it is okay. But that is a big if, as norms are hardly ever followed. I have seen regulations being flouted even in very large industries.”
Whether Hyderabad should continue to import scrap tyres remains a point of discussion in the light of a Greenpeace India report published last month which has painted a bleak picture of air pollution in the city. It said Hyderabad is a city “where air pollution levels exceed national standards”.
The report, titled Airpocalypse III, stated that even if it was optimistic and assumed that air pollution across India could be reduced by 30 per cent by 2024, “Hyderabad will be left with pollution levels exceeding the National Ambient Air Quality Standards.”
Scientist Dr Radhakrishanan P.V. at the Centre for Environment and Development in New Delhi said the method of burning is important. “The pollution is toxic only if it is burnt in the open. There should be no issue if the tyres are baked in pyrolysis plants.”