IOC, BPCL fined for failing to install pollution control systems at petrol pumps

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) fined state-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) ₹1 crore and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) ₹2 crore for not installing pollution control devices at their petrol pumps. 

The companies failed to install Vapour Recovery Systems (VRS) at retail outlets in National Capital Region (NCR) within the Supreme Court deadline. VRS checks petrol vapour that dissipates into the atmosphere during refuling. The vapour contains cancer-causing substances like benzene, toluene and xylene. Petrol pumps were ordered to install VRS at fuel stations in 2016 to prevent petrol vapours from escaping.

UP to monitor air, groundwater and soil pollution in defence, industrial corridors

Uttar Pradesh plans to set up labs for monitoring air quality, noise, ground water quality, soil quality and ground water level measurement in the Defense Industrial Corridor in Lucknow, Kanpur and Aligarh. The Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) invited applications from laboratories affiliated with the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL), the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEF), and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). Particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NOx) and noise pollution will be monitored 24 hours daily. 

Water and ground pollution levels, parameters such as acidity, alkalinity, aluminum, arsenic, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), bicarbonates, calcium carbonate, chloride, chromium, copper, iron, lead, magnesium, manganese, nickel, nitrogen compound, sulphates, sodium and zinc will be monitored.

For testing the soil quality, the SAR value of ammonia, bicarbonates, boron, calcium, calcium carbonate, chloride, color, electrical conductivity, magnesium, nitrates, nitrites, pesticide pH, phosphates, sodium, potassium, cadmium, manganese, cobalt and soil sample will be the key factors, whose monitoring will be based as per the standards set by the pollution boards.

Kerala’s IT park to set up inbuilt system to monitor air, water & noise levels

The IT park in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, will have a periodic monitoring system to track and check emissions and regulate ambient air, noise and water quality. 

The labs will test air for particulate matter (PM10), particulate matter (PM2.5), sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), lead (as Pb), arsenic (as As), nickel (as Ni), ammonia (as NH3), ozone (as O3), benzene (as C6H6), benzo (A), and pyrene (as VaP).

The parameters for drinking water include colour, odour, turbidity, ph, total dissolved solids, total hardness calcium, magnesium, chloride, total alkalinity, iron, sulphate, nitrate, residual free chlorine, total coliform bacteria and e-coli. Water will be monitored for PH, total suspended solids, biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, and oil and grease. The parameters for sewage water are PH, total suspended solids, biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, and oil and grease.

Landscape fires: Over 2 billion people exposed to global smoke pollution from fires

Over 2 billion people are exposed to at least one day of potentially health-impacting environmental hazard annually—a figure that has increased by 6.8% in the past 10 years, revealed the world’s first study of the increase in pollution from landscape fires across the globe over the past two decades.

The study, published in Nature and led by Australian scientists, estimated the global daily air pollution from all fires from 2000 to 2019. The researchers found that 2.18 billion people were exposed to at least one day of substantial landscape fire air pollution in each year, with each person in the world having on average 9.9 days of exposure per year, an increase of 2.1% in the last decade. It also found that exposure levels in low-income countries were about four-fold higher than in high-income countries.

Delhi reimposes firecracker ban ahead of Diwali to curb pollution

Ahead of Diwali, the Delhi government reimposed a ban on firecrackers to curb air pollution in the winter, when air quality reaches hazardous levels. Manufacturing, storage, sale, online delivery and bursting of any type of firecrackers is completely prohibited in Delhi. The police have been instructed to stop issuing licenses for firework.

Colder air traps dust, vehicle emissions, and pollution from stubble burning in neighbouring regions, Reuters reported, adding that the Delhi government is set to meet with experts this week to draw up an action plan to combat pollution in the winter. 

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