Jharsuguda - Industrialization and Environment

Let's go to my birth place this time, a small village in a small town called Brajrajnagar which is part of Undivided Sambalpur District and now Jharsuguda District. This part of Orissa was always seen Industries, I grew up in the environment where one side was Paper-Mill and other side was Coal Mines. The district always buzz in new business but always lacks in education and health-care. Last five years, things has changed leaps and bound. Money started raining in the form of new industries and what we have is district which air has become most toxic in whole country. Following is the some of the fact that I went through and was shell shocked ...

Huge deposits of coal, proximity to Hirakud, one of the largest reservoir of the country has made Jharsuguda – Sambalpur region one of the most attractive and globally most competitive destination for mineral based industrialization. The regional makes an ideal site for production of Iron & Steel, Thermal Power and Aluminium sector. Growth in this region has been phenomenal in recent items and likely to continue in a more accelerated manner for coming decade. The present iron and steel making capacity is likely to increase by 3.6 times (from 2.4 MTPA to 8.74 MTPA), Thermal Power by 24 times (from 849.5 MW to 20272.5 MW) and Aluminium by 9 times (from 3.5 LPTA to 31.6LPTA). This estimate does not include ultra-mega power projects which are likely to be established in the region. This will make this region the largest conglomerate of smelter and power house in the world (Appendix-I). It is unlikely that such fast paced growth would be sustained environmentally. In order to assess the risk and environmental damage in this region a brief desk study was made by State Pollution Control Board. Key features of the impact assessment study are presented below.

IMPACT ON AIR QUALITY

a) With the nature of industrial activity, suspended particulate matter (SPM), Sulphur Di-oxide (SO2) and fluoride are the three critical parameters in air quality management needs a close watch. With the proposed industrialization plan SPM is likely to increase by 18 times, SO2 by 13 times and fluoride by 9 times (Appendix-II). High level of SPM and SO2 will pose significant health risk by raising the incidents of pulmonary disease. Besides SO2 alone is prime gas for causing acid rain. This has a potential to cause irreversible damage to property, monuments and vegetation in the vicinity.

b) Of these gases fluoride which is emitted from the smelting process is the most potent to cause extensive damage to agriculture and forest. For example at the present capacity of 3.45 MTPA of NALCO emits about 40 kg/hr of fluoride, which causes at least one incident of crop damage in 2/3 years. In Jharsuguda region if all the proposed aluminium smelter capacities would be made operational the emission of fluoride will remain in the range of 250-360 kg/hr, and it would severely affect the agriculture more frequently and the forest around the smelters may even get wiped out permanently. Moreover fluoride bearing dust will get deposited on grass and likely to enter the human food chain through milk and drinking water.

IMPACT ON WATER RESOURCE

a) Hirakud reservoir is the lifeline of the entire industrialization process in the region. Present level of water drawl will increase 20 times to 2143 MLD. This projected level of water drawl is estimated to be 0.645 MAF per year against the Government plan to allocate 0.35 MAF per year. The industries like Iron & Steel, Thermal Power and Aluminium being high temperature operation, 90% would be evaporated and 10% would be discharged back as effluent from industries (Appendix – III).

b) However, what is more critical is the run off contamination. The runoff in this region is likely to be contaminated with fluoride since the smelter in this region would annually consume about 80,000tons of fluoride bearing materials. Considering 1% spillage and related loss, about 800 tones of these materials may be washed into the reservoir. Besides 3160 tons of fluoride will be emitted through stack room and pot room emission, even when it remaining with permissible limit. Similarly, 1,26,000 tons of fluoride bearing hazardous waste would be generated in this region annually, which puts the reservoir under significant risk of fluoride contamination. Fluoride level of more than 1.5 mg/l in water is known to cause fluorosis, a deadly disease for which there is no cure, if contaminated water is consumed for a prolonged period. In areas around NALCO (whose present capacity is 10% of what is proposed in Jharsuguda) signs of dental fluorosis in bovine population have been documented. In the event, if Hirakud reservoir gets contaminated with fluoride, fluorosis may attain a dimension of epidemic in this region and beyond.

SOLD WASTE

a) The present rate of solid waste generation of 4.5 MTPA would increase by 13 times to 58 MTPA (Appendix –IV). Disposal of such waste would require about 650 Ha. Of productive land to be converted to waste disposal site every year. This means in 20 years. 13000ha. of land would be converted to waste disposal site around the Hirakud reservoir.

b) Besides, conversion of natural land into dump sites would enhance soil erosion and the rate of siltation of the reservoir is likely to be accelerated further.

GREEN HOUSE GAS EMISSION

Belpahar in this region, is known hottest place in the State. During peak summer the temperature in this region goes up close to 50i Celsius. The thermal power plants of more than 20,000MW will burn 3.5 lakh ton of coal every day. In thermal power plant about one third of the heat energy gets converted to electricity and remaining two third goes back to environmental, resulting in temperature rise in the vicinity causing a heat island. Thus, the embient temperature in this region is likely to be at least 2-3 degree Celsius higher than its neighbourig countryside.

The above issues are extremely critical for long term sustainable development of the region. It is time that the environmental issues of such large scale development are given due importance in the decision making process.

The report shakes me up and the place which I loved so much should grow but not at the cost of its environment.