Waste manager dumps it in river

AFTER years of dilly-dallying, the pollution control board finally issued closure notice to Gujarat Enviro Protection Infrastructure Limited (GEPIL) on November 30. The Surat-based waste management company was caught disposing of hazardous waste into the Mindhola River flowing by the city.

Letters - December 31, 2011

Cautious Warning It appears that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has tightened its procedures in the hope of preventing errors in terms of the language used in its report (‘Future shock’, November 16-30, 2011).

Peel filter

GRAPEFRUIT or chakotra is widely used in bodywashes and gels. But its peel finds limited use. Now, Indian researchers have shown the peel can be effectively used to filter methylene blue, a dye which is used to colour silk and cotton and is the main ingredient of the textile industry effluent. If ingested, water contaminated with the chemical can cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.

Cuddalore flouts rules

ONGC asked to stop drilling

THE Tripura State Pollution Control Board has ordered public sector company, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), to suspend exploratory drilling at Aralia village near Agartala in mid- September. The move follows site inspection by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) that found ONGC flouting environmental norms.

Tannery convicted

All owners dead except one after a trial lasting 25 years, a special court in Lucknow convicted the owners of a tannery for polluting river water. On June 2, the court sentenced the owners of East India Leather Company to six months' imprisonment and slapped a fine of Rs 9,000 on them. In 1984 the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board accused the tannery of not having a primary treatment plant and discharging untreated effluents

Scrap the waste

Junk iron from scrap yards to clean polluted water IN 1983 the entire Mianus river bridge in Connecticut, US, collapsed when the bearings rusted internally. Rusting thus proved to be a bane. But a bane can be turned into a boon. A group of researchers from China used scrap iron to treat industrial wastewater.

Serial polluter

Hindalco continues to violate norms, damages crops Hindalco Industries' smelting plant in Orissa's Sambalpur district faces closure.

Effluent music

Treated wastewater from paper factory irrigates sugarcane fields A hub of dyeing units in Tamil Nadu, Pallipalayam is an exhibition of groundwater pollution from industry. The Cauvery river is joined by steady streams of industrial effluents; tannery units upstream have already done their bit. In the heart of this industrial darkness is a story of farmer-industry simpatico that began in the 1980s.

Factory sludge nurtures fodder

Irrigated with industrial effluents