JOIN USEMPRI reports flags adverse impact of UPCL
The final study on the impact of Adani's Udupi Power Corporation Limited (UPCL) has shown high levels of environmental pollution caused by violations with experts warning that the proposal to expand the plant by adding two 800 MW units will have adverse consequences.
The state government entrusted the Environment Management and Policy Research Institute (EMPRI) to conduct an environmental impact study, as per the directions of the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
The UPCL, built in 2003-04, had faced opposition for years before Adani Power took over the plant in 2015. When the new management received clearance to expand the plant capacity by 1400 MW in 2017, Janajagruti Samiti took the matter to the NGT.
A team of scientists supervised by EMPRI Director (Research) K H Vinay Kumar and senior environmental officer at KSPCB Mahesh T took up field visits and conducted tests to assess air, water and soil pollution in 10 km radius of the thermal plant to assess the carrying capacity.
The report included photographs of the untreated brackish water released into drainage carrying rainwater and crops covered in coal dust which seemed to corroborate the farmers' complaint of reduced yield.
The results showed that the carrying capacity of the ambient atmosphere of sulfur dioxide (359 microgram per cubic metre) was exceeding the national standards (80 micro gram per cubic metre). The mass emission load of sulfur dioxide at 80.18 tonnes/per day was too high. The nitrogen oxide emissions at 27.5 tonnes was also high. "This is likely to have an adverse effect on human health and agricultural output," it said.
Groundwater was tested at 10 locations and aluminum and manganese contamination was found at three places while lead was found to exceed the limit in the UPCL's ash pond area.
The soil samples taken from 10 locations showed high levels of iron (5094 to 3.9 lakh mg/kg of dry soil), manganese (15 to 271)), zinc (5 to 114), chromium (19 to 92), copper (3.5 to 78). The study said the arsenic in UPCL's fly ash and pond ash coal and ash location sample exceed the limit.
"Expansion of the capacity of the power plant is likely to have adverse implications from air pollution including dust, marine ecology, and groundwater and soil contamination from heavy metals," the report said, adding that issues related to cattle reproduction problems, grievances of fishermen community and health issues of people require a long term study and recommended a detailed study on biodiversity considering the rapid change in land use.
Sources in the government said that EMPRI has held back on several aspects of the violations. "It would be better if the NGT directly appoints an agency instead of allowing the state government to do this kind of work," the source said.
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