The Hindu : PCB asks clay factory to check pollution

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Feb 02, 2004

Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

PCB asks clay factory to check pollution

By Our Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, FEB. 1. The State Pollution Control Board (PCB) has directed the English Indian Clay factory at Veli to submit a detailed proposal to check the atmospheric pollution caused by a snag in two stacks. This followed a site inspection on Saturday by the PCB chairman, Paul Thachil, on the basis of complaints from the local residents about abnormal levels of dust precipitation from the plant.

The factory management has been asked to submit the proposal in a week and work out a schedule that would ensure a permanent solution to the pollution problem. The PCB team reported that the complaints were genuine. It found a huge amount of clay deposited on the premises.

The pollution control mechanism at the factory was currently not satisfactory, Mr. Thachil said. The management has also been directed to explore the possibility of installing electrostatic precipitators to trap the dust particles.

The PCB officials said the high level of dust pollution was natural for the plant, which handles a vast amount of clay as raw material. About four years ago, the plant had installed back filters to control the pollution from the stacks.

Last December, one of the stacks started belching out abnormal amounts of clay powder after it developed a technical problem. The PCB officials said repair work carried out by the management was only a temporary solution.

Earlier this month, residents in the vicinity of the plant moved the Government and the PCB, threatening direct action. The Veli Lake Residents Association alleged that the continuous exposure to the clay powder from the factory had made life hell for thousands of residents.

Many of them were suffering from respiratory diseases and allergic reactions, the association leaders said and urged the Government to organise a medical camp to ascertain the impact of pollution on the people.

The PCB chairman's site inspection has come at a time when the clamour for Government intervention in the issue reached a peak. Mr. Thachil held discussions with the factory management and the local people for over an hour.

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