NGT raps UP govt, says report on Ganga water quality during Kumbh lacks details

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) rapped the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) and the Uttar Pradesh government for not submitting details on faecal coliform and other water quality parameters, such as oxygen levels, in the river Ganga in Prayagraj, the Indian Express reported. 

The country’s green court told UPPCB, “you have made 500 million people bathe in polluted sewage water, water that was not fit for bathing, and people had to drink that water,” reported DTE. An assessment report conducted by Down to Earth (DTE),  that it shared with NGT, revealed that even though the current sewage treatment plant (STP) capacities were operational, around 53 million litres per day (MLD) of untreated sewage was still being directly discharged into the Ganges. The CPCB also said that all STPs were receiving sewage far beyond their capacities, making effective treatment impossible, leading to untreated sewage flowing directly into the Ganges.

DTE reported that untreated wastewater from drains was flowing directly into the Ganges at several locations. In villages near the Ganges, treated water from STP outlets was being discharged into the river, where it was used for irrigation and religious purposes by the locals. The investigation at the Kodra STP outlet near Neewav village confirmed this, DTE report said.

Centre and CPCB to issue norms for mining of soil by brick kilns

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) directed the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to issue guidelines on measures for conserving topsoil and restoring/reclaiming land affected by soil mining for brick-making. These guidelines should also cover the disposal mechanism for fly ash, afforestation measures, metalling of roads used for transporting soil and bricks, dust mitigation through water sprinkling, restoration of mined areas and the usage of groundwater, DTE reported. 

The NGT also directed Bijnor administration and the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board, Bijnor, to ensure that no brick kiln operates without complying with environmental norms and obtaining consent to operate (CTO).

The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) was directed to clarify the legal position regarding the requirement for environmental clearance for soil mining by brick kilns for brick-making. MoEF&CC was also told to designate the agency responsible for approving and monitoring such mining activities for brick kilns.

High microplastic levels in bird lungs suggest widespread air pollution impact

Microscopic plastic pollutants (mostly from insulation wires and tires) floating in the air are lodging in the lungs of birds, according to a University of Texas at Arlington study. Phys dot org  reported that scientists studied 56 different wild birds from 51 distinct species, all sampled from the Tianfu airport in western China. They collected lung samples from each bird and used laser direct infrared technology to detect and count microplastics in the birds’ lungs. 

The outlet said pyrolysis gas chromatography-mass-spectrometry helped identify nanoplastics, which can enter the lungs through the bloodstream. Together, the tests allowed scientists to measure the amount of plastic in the birds’ lungs and determine the specific types of plastics present.

The study found high concentrations of microplastics in bird lungs, with an average of 221 particles per species and 416 particles per gram of lung tissue. The most common types identified were chlorinated polyethylene, used for insulating pipes and wires, and butadiene rubber, a synthetic material in tires.

Brewing tea reduces toxic heavy metals in drinking water, study finds

Brewing tea naturally absorbs heavy metals like lead and cadmium, filtering dangerous contaminants out of drinks, found a new study by Northwestern University researchers, Phys reported. Heavy metal ions stick to, or adsorb to, the surface of the tea leaves, where they stay trapped until the used tea bag is disposed of.

The study was published in the journal ACS Food Science & Technology. “We’re not suggesting that everyone starts using tea leaves as a water filter…our goal was to measure tea’s ability to adsorb heavy metals. By quantifying this effect, our work highlights the unrecognized potential for tea consumption to passively contribute to reduced heavy metal exposure in populations worldwide,” said Northwestern’s Vinayak Dravid, the study’s senior author.

“I’m not sure that there’s anything uniquely remarkable about tea leaves as a material. They have a high active surface area, which is a useful property for an adsorbent material and what makes tea leaves good at releasing flavor chemicals rapidly into your water. But what is special is that tea happens to be the most consumed beverage in the world,” said Benjamin Shindel, the study’s first author.

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