Leak causes power plant staff to choke on fly ash

After being accused of letting out fly ash slush into the Ennore Creek, the North Chennai Thermal Power Station is now facing a fresh complaint from its staff who have raised the issue of fly ash pollution in the premises.

Fly ash let out by the 210-Megawatt unit I in stage I of NCTPS is causing troubles for the officers and workers in stage II, which houses two 600 MW units. The stage I has three units of 210 MW at Athipattu near Ennore.

“The fly ash is being leaked from a gap in a bent hose over the boilerof the unit I. Due to the wind, it flies to the stage II power plant premises. We are finding it increasinglydifficult to work here,” an employee of NCTPS stage II said.

He added that as the fly ash was leaking from the bent hose at a height of about 50 metres, it spreads on the whole premises. “Most of us have eye irritation and breathing trouble due to the fly ash dust. Even the canteen is full of dust and we do not have a hygienic condition to eat,” another employee on the condition of anonymity said, adding that no action has been taken so far to arrest the leak despite several complaints.

Considering the power demand in the State during summer, all the three units of stage I is being operated round the clock, an employee said, adding that any work to arrest the leak could be taken up only when the unit is shutdown for maintenance.

On Thursday, when DT Next visited the NCTPS, the pollution parameters displayed at the entrance of stage I for all the three units were way above the permissible limits.

For the unit I, the suspended particulate matter stood at 310 milligrams per cubic meter as against the latest standard of 100 mg per cubic meter. The sulphur dioxide level was recorded at -340 parts per million (ppm) while the nitrogen oxide was -5,589 ppm.

However, Chief Engineer ofNCTPS-I denied any such leak. “I did not get any complaint about fly ash leak. As and when such complaints are received, action will be taken immediately,” he said.

When asked about Nitrogen oxide level of -5,589 PPM for the unit I, he said it would be a wrong reading. The official said that actionswere being initiated to bring down the SPM level according to the newenvironmental standard for thermal power plant notified by the Union Environment Ministry.

Pooja Kumar of Coastal Resource Centre said that both stage I and II of the NCTPS has violated the green belt requirements. She said that green cover around the office building, canteen and administrative section could have kept the dust away. She noted that the area where stage III (800 MW unit) is being constructed had thick green vegetation that served as a green belt that is also now being cut off to accommodate the new unit.

The activist pointed out that NGT, in a case related to the fly ashcontamination in the Ennore Creek, had ordered for health study among the employees of NCTPS.

One of the employees saidthat a health check-up was held for the workers last year but no details were shared with them.