ISLAMABAD:The federal capital’s 20 Brick Kilns out of the total 64 units have converted over eco-friendly zigzag technology to reduce the risk of air pollution and respiratory diseases caused due to hazardous dark smoke.
Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (Pak-EPA) official told reporter that regular monitoring of ambient air pollutants in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) by Pak-EPA noticed that ambient air standards for particulate matter of size 2.5 microns (PM2.5) have exceeded during smog season.
The Agency has directed brick kiln owners to adopt zigzag technology on an immediate basis as it was introduced with the cooperation of the All Pakistan Brick Kiln Owners Association (APBKOA).
“The zig-zag kiln technology has been established to embellish fuel efficiency, energy savings, and lessening in emissions. All the owners of brick kilns who have not yet installed the pollution control technology have now submitted affidavits to convert their kilns to environment-friendly zig-zag technology,” he informed.
He mentioned that recently, Pak-EPA has sealed five Brick Kilns who were operating their kilns in Sector H-16, Islamabad without the installation of pollution control technology.
During the month of November 2021, readings of Particulate Matter 2.5 (PM2.5) exceeded the 24-hourly limit of 35µg/m3 set under the National Environmental Quality Standards (NEQS), as Pak-EPA’s continuous ambient air monitoring station recorded high readings,
“During the dry autumn and winter months, this is a common phenomenon in this region, because in the absence of rain, fine particulate matter and pollutants in the air start collecting in the lower level of the atmosphere due to the cold dense air,” the official said while elaborating the air pollution phenomenon in the Capital.
He added that the ICT has fairly low levels of air pollution as compared to other cities of Pakistan. The major sources of PM2.5 air pollutants were industrial emissions (particularly steel industries and brick kilns in ICT), vehicular emissions (particularly aged-old trucks, buses), crop-stubble burning and Solid-waste burning (particularly a transboundary issue).
The official elaborated that the Pak-EPA monitors ambient air quality data of ICT on daily basis. The data consists of environmental parameters such as Particulate Matter 2.5 (PM2.5), carbon monoxide (CO), SOx, NOx, and O3 which are monitored and analyzed through Fixed Ambient Air Monitoring Station installed in H-8/2, Islamabad, in the premises of Pak-EPA.
As per the NEQS, all the industries of ICT were bound to control air pollution through the installation of pollution-control technologies. Correspondingly, all the major industries established in the jurisdiction of ICT submit their compliance reports to Pak-EPA of the above NEQS while providing air quality reports on a monthly and quarterly basis, he said.
In ICT, he said there were approximately over 185 industrial units including the different scale of sizes. “Major industries in Islamabad are steel furnaces, marble industries, and pharmaceutical industries which are also under observation by Pak-EPA. Among all, Steel Industries are being considered as a major air polluting Industries in ICT,” he added.
To a query, he said all of the six operational steel furnaces situated in ICT had installed pollution abatement technology which was being monitored by Pak-EPA regularly for ensuring the compliance of NEQS.
“It is pertinent to mention here that through the installment of pollution-abatement technology in Islamabad’s Steel industries, approximately over 150 tons of Carbon Black is recovered per month from the chimneys Furnace Steel Industries of ICT through bag-house-filters,” he highlighted.
When asked about the reason for increased vehicular emissions in ICT, he said as per the Excise and Taxation Department over the last 2 years, a huge jump was observed in the number of vehicles in Pakistan which was about 125 thousand from the year 2016 to 2017. According to ITP, he added that daily 25,000 to 30,000 vehicles are entered in ICT by three main entrances. The total number of vehicles registered has reached 78,082 in 2017 by the Excise and Taxation department ICT which was alarming, he added.
“The major factor of vehicular emissions pollution is old age diesel truck and buses. Diesel vehicles due to overloading, faulty injection nozzles, and weak engine emit excessive graphite carbon (visible smoke),” he explained.
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