KSPCB to monitor pollutants from big industries live

Sets up big screen at HQ in B'luru; firms must instal monitoring sensors at discharge points

 Taking its cue from the Bengaluru traffic police who monitor the happenings in their jurisdiction live on a big screen, the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) has started checking in real time the management of effluents and pollutants by major industries across the State.

The board has installed a large screen at its head office in Bengaluru, from where it will monitor the pollutants discharged by all industries. The centre has been named Enviro Care Centre.

For the last two months, the KSPCB has been monitoring five major companies on a pilot basis. They are Biocon, Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL), Udupi Power Corporation Limited (UPCL), ACC Cements and Chettinad Cement. The system will be officially launched in a week.

According to KSPCB officials, there are 261 industries (231 polluting and 30 hazardous waste, medical, biomedical and insinuator ones) across Karnataka which are categorised as 17 highly polluting ones.

The industries to be monitored are pesticide, pharmaceutical, pulp and paper, zinc, copper, aluminium, tie-dye, chloride, sugar, distillery, tannery, power, cement, fertilizer, iron and steel, oil refinery and petrochemical.

Under this system, the respective company will have to instal monitoring sensors at its chimneys or other effluent discharge points like water or air outlets. The sensors are small devices like electrodes.

These sensors will be linked with the KSPCB monitor in Bengaluru from where the chairman and scientific officers will monitor the real-time data. The technology has been created with the help of Keonics (Karnataka State Electronics Development Corporation Ltd). The KSPCB will store the data observed for future comparison in case of episodic accidents.

Officials monitoring the data will also have the option to send immediate inputs to the company regarding pollution levels. Companies too will be equipped to reply online instantaneously. A live chat mechanism is also available for quick communication. Further, there are other options of data monitoring like current timely updates, weekly data, episodic accident data and geographic location details.

Apart from observing data online, the board will conduct normal and surprise field inspections. This method will reduce the burden of collecting, storing and transporting samples. Once the centre is inaugurated, all industries must instal the mechanism. Industries engaged in recycling effluents and doing reverse osmosis will also come its ambit.

Pharmaceutical and cement industries, especially those located in northern Karnataka, are among the worst pollutants, according to KSPCB Chairman, Vaman Acharya.