BHUBANESWAR: The Orissa State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB) on Monday slapped notices of closure - partial and total - on 26 sponge iron units for failing to comply with the air pollution control norms.The units have been asked to cut down on production levels basing on the number of operational kilns and the installed pollution control systems in their plants or face the music.The 26 sponge iron plants were found to be operating with less number of bag filter systems than prescribed for their production capacity and kilns. The existing bag filter systems would suffice if they operated at a lower load level. The Board has asked them to use only those number of kilns which have the dust pollution control system and shut down the rest.According to member-Secretary, OSPCB Sidhanta Das, the Board had engaged IIT, Kharagpur, to assess the adequacy of bag filter system for the 104 sponge iron plants operating in the State in 2009. All the plants were asked to upgrade their systems as per the industry-specific recommendations made by the IIT.“The pollution control board made a stock-taking earlier in June and it was found that only 29 plants fully complied with the recommendations, while 68 were in the process of complying and seven had not complied at all. Accordingly, closure directions were issued to the seven units and showcause notice issued to the 68 units,” Das said.The 68 units were given a month to comply with the pollution control measures. The latest evaluation by the OSPCB showed that of the 68 units, 42 have fully complied with the recommendations for installation of bag filters. However, 26 units fell short of installing the recommended bag filter system capacities and are still in different stages of carrying out the order. At least 19 of these units have certain number of kilns which could be operated with the existing bag filter systems. The OSPCB has directed the units to operate only those many number of kilns and shut down the rest.The rest seven have a maximum of one to two kilns and the existing bag filter systems would be adequate if the plant is operated at a lesser load. “We have decided to allow operations in such industries at a production level commensurate with the bag filter systems in place, subject to a maximum of 50 per cent of the installed capacity,” the Member-Secretary said.
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