Chennai

The RTI-based study by youth-led Chennai Climate Action Group analysed more than 16 lakh hours of data from the system that linked online chimney/stack emission monitors in six large polluting industries to TNPCB’s CARE Air Centre.

TNPCB failed to enforce its norms on large polluters like Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd (CPCL), Madras Fertilisers Ltd (MFL), Tamil Nadu Petroproducts Ltd (TPL), NTECL Vallur power plant and Tangedco’s North Chennai Thermal Power Station (NCTPS), alleged the report, “Poison in the Air 2020: Why Ennore-Manali is always polluted”.

“Other parts of Chennai city too are vulnerable to toxic emissions from this region, particularly during the winter (October to February) when atmospheric conditions push pollution towards the ground, and winds blowing from the north and northeast blow it to the city,” added the report authored by Vishvaja Sambath and Karthik Gunasekar.

“In violation of monitoring norms, MFL failed to measure hydrogen fluoride, a deadly poison, for 48 per cent of the time in 2020. HF leaks can cause widespread death if left undetected or if early warning mechanisms fail,” it addedCPCL violated emission norms 58 per cent of the time, NCTPS emitted the highly toxic SO2 in for 70 per cent of the year, and NTECL violated emission norms 45 per cent of the time. SO2 emissions were in violation of norms for 60 per cent of the time, and it was 47 per cent for NOx emissions, the study revealed.

Releasing the report, the authors along with children and youth from Tiruvottiyur, Manali and Ennore appealed to the government to ensure that only legally compliant industries were allowed to function.

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