The State Pollution Control Board (PCB) has requested the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) to disconnect the power connection to two bonemeal units in the Edayar industrial area after inspections found that the companies were functioning despite receiving closure notice from the board on October 22.
The Chief Environmental Engineer of the Environmental Surveillance Centre at Eloor submitted a letter to the board authorities on October 28, stating that the power supply to the units needed to be disconnected for violating the closure notice. The units that continued to operate despite receiving the closure notices included National Industries and Yeoman Bone and Allied Products, it said.
The board had issued closure notices to four bonemeal units for violation of the provisions under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1981. Biocon Organics Private Ltd and Nelkathir Bone Industries were the other two units, according to the board officials.
The board had also informed the Police about the violation of the directive to close down the units. The disconnection of power supply and water connection were part of the follow-up action taken by the enforcement agencies against units found violating the environmental norms, it said.
The action against the bonemeal units came after a study by the CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST), Thiruvananthapuram, in September 2023 had found that biofilters, used to remove pollutants and odour from air impacted by industrial and manufacturing processes, were not functioning properly in the units involved in rubber, meat and waste processing in the Edayar industrial area.
The maintenance of biofilter units had not been carried out at regular intervals. The units failed to ensure proper sizing of the biofilters and the appropriate loading quantity of packing materials based on emissions. Besides, biofilters were not equipped with proper humidifiers or condenser systems.
The inspections carried out by the board had found that inadequate maintenance had affected the functioning of the odour control systems in the industrial units.
Published - October 30, 2024 12:22 am IST
