3 oil firms asked to pay ₹1 crore each for ‘polluting air’

NEWDELHI: The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has imposed a penalty of ₹1 crore each on the three state-run oil marketing companies — Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) and Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) — allegedly for polluting Delhi’s air.

“The penalty was imposed by CPCB for not installing vapour recovery systems (VRS) in some petrol pumps in Delhi-ncr. Without VRS, these petrol pumps were emitting carcinogenic compounds such as benzene,” a CPCB official said.

When VRS is not installed, people living in the vicinity of these petrol pumps, besides workers engaged in the dispensing activities, could be at risk of exposure to benzene. The vapour recovery device is an instrument to capture the vapour that emerges from the nozzle when a vehicle is refueling or refueling stations’ underground tank is being refueled by a tanker.

Petrol pumps are also sources of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCS) that can trigger ozone formation. While stratosphericozone is considered to be good as it protects us from ultraviolet radiation from the sun, groundlevel ozone is bad as it can aggravate respiratory problems.

Earlier on September 28, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had directed the companies to install VRS at the petrol pumps. On November 5, the CPCB had issued showcause notices to the three companies for not installing the systems after joint inspection