The Times of India 07.10.2014
Board tested dump yard air for toxins just three times since 2011
CHENNAI:
Despite garbage frequently catching fire or being set ablaze at the
Kodungaiyur and Perungudi dump yards and repeated complaints from
residents of localities nearby about smoke and health problems, the
Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) has collected air samples
from the sites to test for toxins only thrice since 2011.
Data
obtained by TOI through an RTI application has found that the board
tested air at Kodungaiyur just once, in 2011-12, when it collected six
samples. It tested the air in Perungudi on two occasions, collecting
four samples in 2012-13 and two in 2013-14.
Of the six samples
from Kodungaiyur, three contained respirable suspended particulate
matter (RSPM) well in excess of the maximum permissible limit of 100
ug/m3 (micrograms per cubic meter of air).
In Perungudi, the
board found two of the four air samples collected in 2012-13 and one of
the two collected in 2013-14 had higher than permissible RSPM levels.
Research has shown that exposure to air with an RSPM levels in excess
of 100ug/m3 causes a wide range of health problems, including
respiratory illnesses and cancer.
The corporation and private
sanitation company Ramky Enviro unload more than 4,500 tonnes of garbage
into the Kodungaiyur and Perungudi dump yards every day and ragpickers
often set fire to garbage to collect metal. But Corporation of Chennai's
public health department has not conducted a single check on residents
of localities surrounding the dump yards for possible problems as a
result of air pollution. The residents say many families suffer from
respiratory disorders.
Tests by Community Environmental
Management and Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives in 2012
showed that air around the Kodungaiyur yard contained at least 19 toxic
chemicals and carcinogens.
A TNPCB official said the board does
not have the equipment to monitor air pollution. "We plan to install
ambient air quality monitors in these areas as soon as possible," he
said.
Environmentalist Nityanand Jayaraman says the Swachh
Bharat campaign is a good initiative but officials remain removed from
ground realities such as the fallout of dumping garbage in open sites
within the city. "People in areas near the dump yards are fed up with
air and water pollution. The corporation should shut down the dump
yards," she said.
