THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The enquiry report of the Pollution Control Board (PCB) expert committee looking into the effect of chemical treatment using ferrous chloride in Njunungar (a tributary of Pampa) has been kept in the cold storage, allege environmentalists.
The PCB has constituted a three-member committee, including PCB members D Thankamony, K Shaji and K P Thomas, to inspect the controversial treatment site and submit a report on the effects of chemical treatment in the stream.
The team found the river to be contaminated with heavy metals and that it could get into the food chain, resulting in biological magnification.
The PCB report, leaked to the media, had recommended unequivocally that direct chemical treatment of Pampa river using contaminated ferrous chloride has to be banned.
The PCB expert committee had further suggested the establishment of a number of biological treatment plants in the Pamap-Sabarimala region and use of industrial grade ferrous chloride in sewage plants instead of the contaminated ones.
Concentration of heavy metals
The Pampa-Njunungar fact-finding study team, who were the first to conduct a laboratory analysis and point out the high concentration of heavy metals in the river-bed and therefore the contamination of ferrous chloride, has demanded the immediate implementation of the recommendations of the PCB expert committee report.
In a letter to the Chief Minister the fact-finding team has asked for legal proceedings against the PCB for suppression of facts, which could have disastrous results.
The treatment of Njunangar, a tributary of Pampa using ferrous chloride procured from a private company had kicked up a row, with various experts expressing serious concern over the large-scale discharge of heavy metals such as cadmium, zinc, nickel, chromium and a heavy concentration of iron into the river.
Many experts opined that the ferrous chloride used was contaminated with heavy metals.
Criminal offence
In the letter to the Chief Minister, the fact-finding team comprising N Chandramohankumar, P K Ibrahim, Thomas P Thomas, A Latha, Jacob V Lazar, Purushan Eloor, R Ajayan and Gopinathapillai has stated that there are vested interests trying to bury the report.
They said that the hydrochloride used was an industrial waste product from an industrial unit in Kochi and that dumping of this waste in the Pampa river should be considered a criminal offence.
They said that this contamination would cause problems not just to Sabarimala pilgrims but also lakhs of people who depend on the 19 drinking water projects based on Pampa river.
The heavy metals can in addition become hazardous to animals and cause fatal diseases such as cancer, not to mention other genetic diseases.
The fact-finding team, a unit of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), has also stated that this is a typical case of savior turning nemesis.
