Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Sustainable Development of Non-Ferrous Metal Extraction Industries in India

It was heartening to read the news article in “The Economic Times” dated 24th August 2010 titled “Jairam puts last nail in Vedanta’s India plan”.
It's an excellent example of Good governance on the part of the MoEF and should act as a deterrent for all others who had been taking, all these years, government clearances as fait accompli and should bring in radical changes in the[ir] company’s attitudes, thinking and rightful actions towards sustainable developments in the country. The companies need to shun away from the unregulated and unbridled greed for material gains at the cost of damaging of our eco-system irreversibly for the next generation to suffer and curse our generations.

This should now teach the[m] company a lesson and prevent them from further damage to our environment, by way of polluting our aquifers, flora and fauna from contamination from Cadmium, Mercury, Nickel, Cobalt, Selenium, Vanadium and other heavy metals, (it need not have to be elaborated here on the harmful effects of these metals, on the ecology and on the human beings, which is already well documented); normally co-occur and get simultaneously extracted in varying proportions along with the mining, mineral dressing and extraction of Zinc, Lead, Copper, Aluminium, etc., and are being discharged unregulated to our ecological system.

The Environment Ministry has taken a landmark step forward in raising the bar for metallurgical, chemical, e-waste, and all other highly polluting industries to take up sustainability development as a way of life and there are no - any short cuts.

This movement of tribal from Niyamgiri, has demonstrated that power is not back with the tribal, it has been taken back by them. The lessons from this peaceful Dongria Kondh movement should encourage Vedanta to revisit some of their Sidhantas – and align with the “Ten Principles of UN Global Compact”.
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11 comments:

पूनम श्रीवास्तव said...

bahut hi achha lekh .itni jaankariyan
mili aapke is post ko padh kar ,dhanyvaad.
poonam

Unknown said...

Vedanta Episode like the recent past Satyam Fraud has not only damaged severely the reputation of the company, but has once again exposed the institution of Independent Directors - their timidity & acquiescence. Independent Directors being one of the pillars of Good Corporate Governance.
Satyam Lessons: http://footprints-carbon.blogspot.com/2009/08/satyam-lessons-and-corporate-governance.html

Role of Independent Directors:http://footprints-carbon.blogspot.com/2009/06/role-of-independent-directors-company.html

Unknown said...

Cadmium and its compounds accumulate in human body, in particular kidneys. Cd is adsorbed through respiration but is also taken up with food. Due to long half life(30years), Cd can easily be accumulated in amounts that cause symptoms of poisoning. Cd shows a danger of cumulative effects in the environment due to its acute and chronic toxicity(12)

Unknown said...

When inorganic mercury spreads out in the water, it is transformed to methylated mercury in the bottom sediments. Methylated mercury easily accumulates in living organisms and concentrates through the food chain particularly via. Fish. Methylated mercury causes chronic damage to the brain.

Unknown said...

Lead can cause damage to the central and peripheral nervous systems, blood system and kidneys in humans. Lead accumulates in the environment, and has highly acute and chronic toxic effects on plants, animals and microorganisms.

Children suffer developmental effects and loss of mental ability, even at low levels of exposure.

Unknown said...

As a thumb rule - 1 (one) metric tonne (MT) of Primary Zinc metal produced should Co-produce 3 (three) Kgs of Cadmium (Cd).

Therefore, One million tonne of Zinc produced annually should produce 3,000 MT of Cadmium - Are we producing that much annually???

Unknown said...

Does all the sulphuric acid produce from the Non - Ferrous metal producing Smelters comply to the standards of requirements containing less than one ppm (parts per millions)of Mercury?

Which agency is regulating it??? - Is it MoEF??????

As a thum rule One (1) Tonne of Zinc Metal produced Co-produces 1.82 (one point eighty two) tonnes of Sulphuric Acid. Therefore, One million tonne of Zinc produced annually will co-produce 1.82 million tonnes of Sulphuric acid annually.

Sulphuric Acid thus produced is used for the manufacture of phosphoric acid by digesting the Rock phosphate.

This phosphoric acid is then used for manufacture of various types of fertilizers.

Sulphuric Acid is therefore play an important role in the Food Chain.

The Sulphuric acid Co-produced from Primary Zinc metal production should not contain Mercury more than 1(One) ppm - parts per million as per the Standards.

Does all the sulphuric acid produce from the Zinc Smelters comply to these standard? Is there any scientific data/ information available??

Unknown said...

The Bulgaria’s Lead and Zinc Complex in Kardzhali, the leading Bulgarian non-ferrous metals producer, has repeatedly come under criticism for polluting the local environment and the nearby city by releasing in the atmosphere sulfur dioxide levels well above the allowed minimum. http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=127426

KKSOLUTION said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Unknown said...

Countries agree to first-ever treaty to limit deadly mercury emissions
By Subodh Varma, TNN | Jan 19, 2013, 05.55 PM IST

After a week of talks, delegates from 140 countries agreed to the world's first treaty on limiting use of mercury at Geneva, Switzerland.

"A treaty to rid the world of a notorious health-hazardous metal was agreed to on the morning of January 19," UN Environment Programme (UNEP) spokesperson Nick Nuttall told Reuters.
The treaty will be actually signed in October this year at Minamata, Japan where over 10,000 people died as a result of mercury poisoning between 1932 and 1968. Mercury was being released in the Minamata Bay from a chemical factory nearby.
"The new treaty aims to reduce the production and the use of mercury, especially in the production of products and in industrial processes," the Swiss foreign ministry said in a statement.
Mercury is found in products ranging from electrical switches, thermometers and light-bulbs, to amalgam dental fillings and even facial creams. Large amounts of the heavy metal are released from small-scale gold mining, coal-burning power plants, metal smelters and cement production.
A new report by the UNEP released just before talks began in Geneva said that nearly 2,000 tons of mercury is emitted globally into the air from human activities every year. Much of this toxic substance eventually becomes deposited on vegetation, in the soil, and in oceans, lakes and rivers.
The deputy head of UNEP's Chemical Branch said this week that much human exposure to mercury is through the consumption of contaminated fish. Mercury affects the brain and nervous system. Pregnant women who ingest mercury can pass the toxic effects to their unborn children. Serious mercury poisoning affects the body's immune system and can lead to problems including psychological disorders, loss of teeth and problems with the digestive, cardiovascular and respiratory tracts.
The Minamata Convention, as the treaty will be known after it is signed by the agreeing countries formally, will set rules limiting the supply of and trade in mercury and the use of mercury in products and industrial processes. It will also lay down measures to reduce emissions from artisanal and small-scale gold mining, as also from power plants and metals production facilities.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Countries-agree-to-first-ever-treaty-to-limit-deadly-mercury-emissions/articleshow/18089924.cms

Unknown said...

During the visit to M/s Sterlite, the Committee observed that the unit has not provided
adequate infrastructure and facilities for management of the wastes generated. The
Committee was particularly concerned with the issues relating to the disposal of
arsenic containing slag which is dumped in the factory premises and is in the range of
several thousands of tonnes. In fact, there is a mountain of arsenic-bearing slag as also
one of phospho-gypsum. Phospho-gypsum, if not contained properly, occasionally
becomes airborne and may cause severe respiratory disorders in the surrounding
vulnerable population. Moreover, there are some issues still to be resolved in terms of
the hazardous nature of the arsenic-bearing ETP wastes which were earlier contained
in an inadequately designed hazardous waste landfill and require disposal as per
CPCB Guidelines.
The industry, as reported to the SCMC during the visit, is also emitting sulphur
dioxide far in excess of the permissible standards particularly when the sulphuric acid
plant is not operating.
http://www.sipcotcuddalore.com/downloads/scmc_tn_visit.pdf