KANPUR: In addition to vehicular traffic and industrial units contributing to the atmospheric pollution in the city, 800 tonne of coal being burnt in 200 odd brick kilns of the city daily is perhaps the biggest source of air pollution, claims Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB).
Barring a few brick kilns, over 40 per cent of the kilns have been blatantly violating UPPCB norms. As per the high court's orders, no licensing authority is supposed to forward the licence of brick kilns without the certificate of PCB and these brick kilns are creating serious environmental problems due to non-compliance of standards.
Talking to TOI, regional officer, UPPCB, Radhey Shyam said, "In the district, we found that more than 80 brick kilns have failed to adhere to the high court orders. We have no option but to initiate legal proceedings against them.''
The magnitude of the atmospheric pollution being caused by these brick kilns can be gauged from the fact that burning of one Kg of coal releases at least four Kg of harmful and toxic gases. "These gases primarily include sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, oxides of nitrogen and Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM),'' informed Radhey Shyam.
According to the report of UPPCB, the sulphur dioxide gas released from these kilns is leads to itching in the eyes, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide cause increased temperature and the presence of oxides of nitrogen in the air leads to lung and skin infections. It was also learnt that every day approximately three to five tonne of coal is burnt in these kilns to manufacture around 30,000 bricks.
In view of the environmental concern, according to a notification by the ministry of environment and forest, using 25 per cent of the total fly ash generated from the thermal power plant during the manufacturing of bricks in the kilns would save, on an average, 10 to 15 per cent of fuel (coal). This method would not affect the strength of the bricks and also ensure long life of the buildings constructed with these light-weight bricks.
Under the UPPCB norms, it is mandatory for the brick kilns to maintain the standards of gravity settling chamber, pot hole and the height of chimney, along with the permission from the PCB and a forwarded feasibility report from the authorised body. However, during the surprise visits it was found that these kilns have completely ignored the pollution norms.
Significantly, these defaulters have expressed their inability to adhere to the orders of the high court and UPPCB alike. "The old brick kilns constructed long time back neither have filters nor the height of chimney matches the present standards. It is for this reason that these brick kiln owners do not want to go by the new standards and get the new construction plans approved,'' pointed Anil Bajpai, one of the brick kiln owner.
