Polluted Narol to breathe easy soon

AHMEDABAD: A breather is in sight for close to 122 textile processing units in Narol, four years after they were identified as one of the three biggest sources of air pollution in Ahmedabad by the Supreme Court-appointed Bhure Lal committee.
Dr N S Varandani, head of department of environmental engineering at LD College of Engineering, and his team have developed and designed a fully automated air pollution control (APC) system for these units to decrease the pollution levels of the hazardous particulate matter and the deadly sulphur dioxide emitted by these units to the stipulated levels.
The new APC system will help reduce the emission of particulate matter below the stipulated 150 micro grams per meter cube and that of sulphur dioxide to 50 parts per million (PPM). At present, SO{-2} levels range at a perilous 200-500 ppm.
The Bhure Lal committee had identified these units along with city's transportation and Cupola-based foundries in Dudheshwar and adjacent areas as three biggest air pollutants of the city in 2007, when Ahmedabad was number 4 in the list of India's most polluted cities.
Steam boilers using lignite as fuel were the major cause of air pollution in these units. "Lignite burning emitted sulphur dioxide whereas wood as fuel emitted particulate matter," said Varandani. Particulate matter is deposited the upper respiratory track and lungs of humans and its long-term exposure causes severe breathing problems. When SO{-2} combines with water, the resultant reaction forms sulphuric acid, which causes acid rain that destroys agriculture and has a detrimental affect on the near-by residential and commercial buildings.
Textile processors are also all set to implement the system.
"We will install this system phase-wise and within 8-9 months, all units will have this air pollution system in their units," said Nitin Thakkar, president of Ahmedabad Textile Processors Association.