West Bengal Pollution Control Board

Project Background

Pollution Prevention and Waste Minimisation

of Small Scale Industries in Kolkata Metropolis Area

Kolkata

Air quality and health impact

Poor air quality in Kolkata and adjoining areas demands priority attention among various environmental problems of the city. The major air quality concerns is related to the presence of high level of particulate matter especially the respirable fraction in the city air. Daily average concentration of Suspended Particulate Matter and Respirable Particulate Matter remain higher than the National standard for at least five months (winter) in a year. Recent study shows that the lung of a Kolkatan is 7 times more burdened than its rural counter part. The high level of particulate in air is related to excess morbidity and mortality in exposed population.

The emission sources

Industries and automobiles are two major sources of particulate emission in city air.

Among the industries, emission from large and medium ones have been largely contained by strict enforcement of emission norms. The problems of small industries could not be addressed adequately for techno-economic reasons.

A large number of small industries operating in heavily congested areas of the city and its immediate surroundings are using age-old energy inefficient coal-fired heating installations like boilers, kilns and furnaces etc. without any pollution control system. Absence of techno-economically feasible control technology, space and also financial problems are the two major constraints for the industries in putting up adequate pollution control system in these small units.

In order to improve the air quality of the Kolkata and its urban agglomeration, the Board recently introduced stricter emission standards for boilers, foundries, ceramic kilns and rolling mills in KMA. Use of cleaner fuel (oil or gas) has been made mandatory for all small boilers (< 2 ton steam generation capacity), ceramic kilns and rolling mills replacing coal. Board already issued statutory directions to these units for complying with stricter emission standards and change of fuel, wherever applicable, within 30.06.2002.

Howrah

The urban areas of Howrah mostly falls within the geographic boundary of Howrah Municipal Corporation and its immediate adjoining conglomeration. Urban Howrah is an old industrial centre dominated by iron foundries, rolling mills, metal finishing industries like galvanising, anodising etc. The area is a mixed one where urban settlements, commercial complexes and industries have come up adjacent to each other. The galvanising and anodizing industries are located in a few clusters responsible for creating serious environmental problem and public resentments.

Problem of wastewater disposal system for Galvanising units in Howrah

The galvanising industries use old traditionally practised process technology for galvanising small items. None of these small industries is anyway concerned with the environmental problems created through their operations or aware of the environmental requirements. Most of these units are situated in areas where drainage facility is either poor or totally absent. The industries use disproportionate quantities of water and acids compared to the scale of production and discharge untreated wastewater containing large quantities of residual acid and various toxic metallic elements. These units follow batch operations and discharge liquid waste intermittently. The wastes either stagnate outside these units in low lying areas or find their way to small water bodies and drains. Stagnation of contaminated liquid waste is gradually exposing the aquifer, which is available at a very low depth, to serious contamination. Since these units are too small to adopt adequate individual effluent treatment system, it was logical to encourage them to construct common effluent treatment system to collect liquid waste.

11 such units functioning in a cluster at Natabar Paul Road, Howrah formed a Registered association and proposed construction of Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) for treatment of liquid waste. This is the first CETP of its kind in the State of West Bengal. Some financial assistance was also required to facilitate such endeavour.

Home Project Financial Assistance

West Bengal Pollution Control Board
Paribesh Bhavan,10A, Block-L.A,
Sector III, Salt Lake City, Kolkata - 700 098
wbpcbnet@cal3.vsnl.net.in