KOCHI: Following the failure to douse the fire at Brahmapuram waste dumpyard even after 10 days, experts said the procedures and mechanisms used at the site are unscientific and even problematic. “Pumping water to the site is not a scientific method to solve the problems. Moreover, it can cause long-term problems,” said Dr Anand Madhavan, faculty, School of Environmental Sciences, CUSAT.
Dr Anand said that dioxins, furans, mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls will be carried through water and will get deposited in the sediments and soil, causing long-term health problems.
“These persistent pollutants will enter the food chain and affect humans and animals which will in turn create long-term environmental and health issues. When water is used for dousing fire, the leachate with pollutants will be mobilised and reach the nearby water bodies,” said Dr Anand.
Dr C M Joy, of School of Environmental Sciences, Cusat, echoed the point saying that water-based solutions will often have a limited effect on the suppression of rubber and plastic fires.
“Though the water-based systems can help douse the fire, the effect is often limited. It is better to use a compressed air foam system, where the agent will stick to the material to cut off oxygen and suppress fire effectively,” said Dr Joy. Pouring water will create a ‘shell’ in which the melted plastic will continue to smoulder.
“Once water is poured into melted plastic, it will stop burning and solidify and create a shell inside. The melted plastic can continue to smoulder setting everything on fire.
“A large amount of burning plastic will melt as it becomes hot enough. This creates an explosive liquid which is less dense than water. Applying water to a mass of burning liquid can cause the liquid to float away thereby spreading the fire,” added Dr Joy.
“Moreover, priority should be given to permanent and scientific solutions,” said Dr Anand. “It is a catastrophic situation. But nobody takes it seriously and all are focused on dousing the fire. In fact, the scientific side is not given much importance. Thus a team of experts should be constituted to conduct a study or monitor the situation keeping in view the long-term implications,” added Dr Anand.
Asked about the best way to solve the problem, he said that capping can be done to restrict the emission of smoke. “We can cap it with soil or any other material so that smoke emission can be temporarily controlled,” he said.
He said that the fire-fighting process was unscientific from the beginning. Methods like leachate treatment should have been tried while establishing a waste treatment plant to avoid mixing pollutants with the water.
He said that a committee or an expert panel should be constituted to guide the activities scientifically.
“A scientific and sustainable solid waste management method has to be adopted immediately by including scientists and technical experts. Decentralised waste management is more suitable for a place like Kochi,” said Dr Anand.
‘PUMPING WATER BEST OPTION TO CONTAIN FIRE’
Kochi: An expert committee that met in Kochi on Saturday to take stock of the measures being undertaken to contain the fire at Brahmapuram concluded that pumping water is the best option to put out the fire. The meeting was chaired by additional chief secretary Dr A Jayathilak. Although many
fire-fighting strategies were considered at the meeting, they were found ineffective. The meeting discussed various methods to put out the fire and how to avoid future instances like this.
The committee observed that putting out the fire should be the priority at this stage. The meeting decided to install infrared cameras and HH gas monitors to prevent fire outbreaks in future.
Also, the Pollution Control Board has been instructed to conduct a risk analysis as smoke is emanating from the site continuously. The meeting was attended by experts from Cusat, Mahatma Gandhi University, Disaster Management Authority, Central and State Pollution Control Boards, Directorate of Environment and Climate Change, and fire and rescue ervices department.