Pollution Inspection in 1,000 Industries in UP

The National Green Tribunal has asked for inspection of nearly 1,000 industries in UP for polluting

the Ganga by releasing untreated effluents into its waters.

The principal bench of the tribunal has directed Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), UP Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) and National Ganga River Basin Authority to jointly conduct these inspections.

The bench issued the order after UPPCB submitted a list of 956 industries that are polluting the Ganga and its tributaries. These units mostly include tanneries, paper pulp manufacturing units, pesticide and chemical units, sugar mills and distilleries, among others.

These industrial units will be inspected to determine if they have installed adequate functioning pollution control devices.

A report has also been sought by the tribunal on water requirements of these industries and their sources of water generation.

Source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/noida/Inspect-polluting-industries-National-Green-Tribunal/articleshow/34751729.cms

Punjab Pollution Control Board Takes Industry to Rajasthan

Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Badal held a meeting and had high tea with the chamber of industries in Ludhiana on Friday. But an earlier meeting of Ludhiana industry with Congress candidate Ravneet Bittu had cost them dear. The very next day, the Punjab Pollution Control Board officials were quick to call up heads of industrial units, mainly those which remain on its radar for pollution, to “invite” them to visit Bhilwara in Rajasthan for seeing zero-discharge waste treatment plants

In Amritsar, the seat witnessing a nerve-wracking contest between Capt Amarinder Singh of the Congress and BJP’s Arun Jaitley, leading industrialists and businessmen are facing a piquant situation. With the Election Commission watching, BJP minister Anil Joshi is asking them to host dinners for Jaitley.

Suneet Kochhar, director of Khanna Paper Mills, who is close to the top SAD-BJP leadership, is asking businessmen to rally behind Jaitley.

The message is loud and clear: host high tea or dinner and invite the city’s who’s who to rub shoulders with the BJP stalwart to know his vision for Amritsar.

“It is compulsive and I have been asked to host a dinner next week,” said an industrialist. So far, Sanjay Maheshwari, a leading businessman having a chain of educational institutes and hospitals; Dr Avtar Singh, leading orthopedic surgeon of Amandeep Hospital; and a businessman from the cloth industry have hosted the dinners.

Ghaziabad Industrial Pollution Make Water Unfit for Drinking- Breaking News

Unsafe Drinking Water Due to Pollution

A study done by Jamia Millia Islamia in Delhi revealed that pollution in residential areas near Ghaziabad's industrial pockets in Uttar Pradesh (India) has increased significantly, leading to a spurt in water-related diseases. 

Researchers from the Department of Geography and Chemistry of the Faculty of Natural Sciences, Jamia Millia, focussed on the quality of water in area around Bulandshahar Road, Meerut Road, Kavi Nagar industrial area, NH-24, Raj Nagar Extension, GT Road and Kavi Nagar.

A majority of apartment blocks have come up in these areas. 36 samples of groundwater, collected from residential areas, were tested in laboratories. 

The study, published in the International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis, warned that safe drinking water should be provided in Ghaziabad to save residents from contaminated water.

"A number of large-scale industries have been established in the city along Meerut Road, Bulandshahar Road, Link Road, Sahibabad and Loni Road. At least 83 per cent of water samples in Bulandshahar Road industrial area, 50 per cent water of samples from Meerut Road industrial area and 41 per cent of samples in Kavi Nagar industrial area were of poor quality," associate professor at Jamia Millia, Dr Haroon Sajjad said. 

"The samples showed high concentration of alkalinity, chloride, total dissolved solids, magnesium and nitrate. The consumption of water around these industrial areas has caused water-related diseases among residents," he said. 

Sajjad said statistical analysis showed that "as the water quality index increases, the quality of life is found to decrease." 

The value for total dissolved solids (TDS) in the samples ranged from 67 to 774, with an average value of 368. 

About 33 per cent of hand pump samples and 22 per cent of municipal water samples exceed the desired limit of 500 mg/L, the researchers found. 

The highest value of 774 mg/l was recorded in a sample collected from Meerut Road industrial area.

The TDS value indicates the salinity of water and is usually the main factor which determines the use of groundwater for any purpose.

Similarly, the alkalinity value varied between 140 and 180, with an average of 432.7 mg/l. Samples showed high concentration of alkalinity and exceeded the permissible limit of 200 mg/l. 

This was attributed to effluents from pharmaceutical and drug industries.

The alkalinity of water is due to the presence of bicarbonate, carbonate and hydroxide of calcium, sodium and potassium. 

"It is essential to initiate measures to check the pollution from industrial effluents and to monitor the quality of groundwater regularly in the study area. These locations need some degree of treatment of water before consumption and protection from the perils of contamination," Dr Sajjad said.

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News Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-2591957/Ghaziabad-water-unfit-drinking-Study-claims-pollution-industries-causing-diseases.html

Industrial Pollutants Acidifying Ocean at Highest in 300 Million years

Image Courtesy: http://resources3.news.com.au/

Industrial emissions are causing the oceans to acidify at a fast rate—the fastest in 300 million years, say researchers from Columbia University. That could spell danger for sea creatures. In the last century alone, the pH of the oceans dropped by 0.1 units. That's 10 times faster than the closest historical parallel, a drop that occurred 56 million years ago, reports Bloomberg.

Factories release carbon dioxide into the air, which is absorbed by the oceans, creating carbonic acid that lowers pH and acidifies the water. Historical occurrences of ocean acidification have been linked to mass extinctions. “If industrial carbon emissions continue at the current pace, we may lose organisms we care about—coral reefs, oysters, salmon,” says one scientist.

News Source: http://www.newser.com/story/140945/oceans-acidifying-at-highest-rate-in-300m-years.html