The National Green Tribunal (NGT) directed the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) on December 10, 2024 to place guidelines regarding utilisation of ash-based products from waste-to-energy plants in Delhi before the court in a week’s time. DPCC had issued directions on December 9, 2024, under Section 5 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 for use of ash-based products. The matter would be heard next on April 4, 2025.
The application was registered suo motu on the basis of a news item titled MCD’s first engineered landfill opens in the Times of India dated March 13, 2024. The news item was about the opening of Delhi’s first engineered landfill in Tehkhand.
This launch would be a significant step towards sustainable waste management and environmental conservation according to the article. It stated that the plant would be equipped to process the ash released after the disposal of garbage. The article added that the Municipal Corporation of Delhi operates three landfill sites in the city, of which the one in Okhla is likely to be cleared out by year-end.
The Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) does not have testing facilities for confirming the presence of chemicals used in cars, the body said on December 6, 2024.
Medical or other experts in relevant fields need to conduct specialised toxicological studies to assess chemicals used in interior material of vehicles, examine the presence of cancer-causing chemicals and the use of flame retardants (like TCIPP, TDCIPP and TCEP) which are stated to be carcinogenic and for their impacts of human health, it added.
ARAI was responding to an NGT order dated September 12, 2024.
The matter related to a news item titled People are breathing in cancer-causing chemicals in their cars study finds. It appeared on the website ndtv.com on May 8, 2024.
ARAI added that it is in the business of testing and certification of vehicles. The tests are done to find out whether vehicles comply with the provisions of rules and regulations as well as standards at the time of such testing and certification.
The body said it conducts flammability testing of polymers used in interior of vehicles in accordance with various standards. The test involves burning of a sample and measuring burn rate in millimetres for comparing it with permissible limits. However, the standards do not specify the flame-retardant chemicals/additives to be used in the material for making it flame-resistant. As far as testing of flame resistance of the polymers used in vehicular interiors is concerned, only burn rate is evaluated. Currently, there is no specific /mandatory requirement under CMVR and other standards applicable in India to check the presence/levels of toxic flame-retardants present in vehicles.
Huge quantities of hospital general waste mixed with biomedical waste were dumped in three different places near Pallavaram lake in Tamil Nadu’s Chennai district.
The three places were along the Pallavaram radial road adjacent to Pallavaram lake; inside the Pallavaram lake and along the Pallavaram radial road opposite to Saravana Selvarathinam commercial building.
This was stated in the report filed by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) to the NGT on December 11, 2024.
The Chennai edition of Dinamalar published an article titled Dumping of 05 tons of medical waste in Pallavaram Eri on September 25, 2024.
TNPCB had received a complaint from the Tambaram Municipal Corporation - Zone II, Chennai, regarding the illegal disposal/dumping of hospital general waste mixed with biomedical waste along the Pallavaram radial road, adjacent to Pallavaram lake (Periya Eri) on September 24.
Based on the complaint, the complaint site was inspected by officials. The inspection revealed a huge quantity of hospital general waste mixed with biomedical waste.
The common biomedical waste disposal facility of M/s G J Multiclave Pvt Ltd located in Thenmelpakkam village of Chengalpattu district was instructed to remove all biomedical waste mixed with hospital general waste from the site and dispose the same to their biomedical waste treatment facility for processing.
Hospital records, prescription sheets, letterheads, biomedical waste, hospital domestic waste and other details of a number of hospitals were found in the illegally dumped waste. G J Multiclave has collected 700 kilograms of biomedical waste from the illegally dumped waste.
The biomedical waste would have got mixed up with the general solid waste and disposed to the general solid waste vendor M/s Ashok Waste Paper Mart due to improper handling and non-segregation of biomedical waste and solid waste by the unit authorities.