Displaying items by tag: Pollution
Vietnamese ministry to inspect cement plants for pollution
10 October 2016Vietnam: The Ministries of Industry and Trade and Natural Resources and Environment have started inspecting cement and thermal power plants following the discovery of various violations of environmental regulations at certain companies. A joint delegation from the two ministries will look into the production and waste treatment facilities of the factories, according to the Viet Nam News newspaper.
Trần Tuấn Anh, Minister of Industry and Trade, has also ordered companies regulated by his ministry to provide information on environmental protection to the media. Anh has made it mandatory for contractors and investors to complete environmental protection projects in accordance with the commitments stated in their environmental impact assessments released before operation starts. Producers are supposed to publicise information on their trials so that local authorities and residents can supervise them.
Lafarge Malaysia faces clean-up costs after accidental dust discharge
19 September 2016Malaysia: Lafarge Malaysia is facing clean-up costs following the release of dust from its Langkawi cement plant on 12 September 2016. Dust from the plant was accidentally released due to repair work on a clogged processing unit. It was then blown by the wind to three nearby villages comprising around 1000 houses, according to the Free Malaysia Today newspaper. Management at the plant has apologised for the incident and has agreed to cover the cost of the clean up.
Environmental Protection Agency calls for two cement plants in Pakistan to stop production
24 June 2016Pakistan: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued directives to the Hazara and Kohat administrations to stop production at two cement plants in breach of EPA regulations on dust pollution. Muhammad Bashir Khan, the director general of the EPA, has issued directives to shut down the Dewan Hattar Cement plant in Hattar and the Kohat Cement plant, according to the News International newspaper. Khan said that the Dewan Hattar plant had requested an eight-month period to install dust control measures but had failed to do so. The Kohat plant’s dust control unit is currently out of order.
Titan lawsuit ends as North Carolina cancels air permit
14 April 2016US: A legal challenge to the cancelled Titan American Castle Hayne cement plant has ended following the termination of a challenged air pollution permit by the North Carolina Division of Air Quality. Titan rescinded the permit, following its announcement in March 2016 to cancel its cement plant project. It was originally issued in 2012.
"For years, Titan and the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) tried to keep citizen groups from getting a hearing on significant and avoidable air pollution from this proposed plant," said Geoff Gisler, senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center who represented the North Carolina Coastal Federation, Cape Fear River Watch, PenderWatch & Conservancy, and Sierra Club. "We have achieved the goal of this lawsuit - protecting citizens of New Hanover and Pender counties from Titan’s pollution when DEQ failed to do so."
Titan will continue to operate a cement terminal at the site. On 12 April 2016, the North Carolina Court of Appeals granted citizen groups’ request to dismiss the appeal because the approval of the plant had been withdrawn, according to the Southern Environmental Law Center.
Quang Ninh to stop cement shipments via Ha Long Bay
10 March 2016Vietnam: The People’s Committee of the northern coastal province of Quang Ninh have decided to stop the loading and discharge activities and transport of clinker, cement and wood chips on Ha Long Bay due to pollution fears at the tourist site.
Under the decision No. 617/QD-UBND, transportation of bulk cargo, such as clinker, cement and wood chips will be terminated from 1 July 2016. Transportation of these goods will be moved to Hon Net port on Bai Tu Long bay instead. The provincial People Committee has also previously proposed that the government stop upgrades at two cement plants, Thang Long 2 and Ha Long, due to similar concerns.
Ha Long Bay, which spans 1553km2 and houses 1969 islands of various sizes, was recognised as a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organizatio (UNESCO) World Heritage Site in 1994 and 2000. It is a major tourist attraction in the country with more than 500 tourist boats in service.
India: The National Green Tribunal has issued notices to 13 cement companies on a petition alleging that they are violating its orders and environmental norms as well as the provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, by causing air pollution. The petitioner, Neena Pradeep, has also accused the cement companies of overloading their trucks with cement and clinkers in order to save toll tax, according to the Hindu. Violations by Shree Cement and JK Cement were highlighted during the hearing. They have allegedly overloaded their trucks by 200 - 250%.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Environmental Protection Agency defers approval for tyre-derived fuel plant at Bestway Cement
29 February 2016Pakistan: The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has deferred the approval for setting up a tyre-derived fuel (TDF) plant at the Bestway Cement plant in Farooqia. The decision has been left by the EPA to consent from the local community, according to local press.
EPA Director General Dr Bashir Khan said at a public meeting that unless local residents were satisfied, Bestway Cement would not be issued a no-objection certificate. Residents have cited dust, smoke, noise and water pollution as reasons to object against the proposed plant. Qamar Hayat, a local activist, said that locals would allow the EPA to approve the TDF plant when they were guaranteed pollution would be monitored and that health hazards and property losses would be checked.
India: Pollution caused by seven cement plants in the Khrew area of South Kashmir is adversely affecting wildlife, saffron production, human and livestock wellbeing, according to local media.
The local people said that the worst affected villages of Khrew include Pakhribal Nagadore and Botthen. The lives of people living in these villages have been 'turned into hell.' Locals have demanded that the government strictly enforce pollution control norms at the cement plants.
Environmental science expert Ghulam Ahmad Bhat, who has studied the effects of cement plants in Khrew on the human lives, flora, fauna and wildlife, said that their presence is harmful in the short- and long-term. He said that mercury emissions have already affected saffron production, while dust pollution has affected both Khrew woods and the neighbouring village of Harwan. Bhat added that the area also has more respiratory problems among locals.
A meeting between the civil society Khrew Auqaf Committee, deputy commissioner Pulwama Neeraj Kumar and the cement plant owners was held to discuss pollution and monitoring. A resolution is expected to be presented at a second meeting within a month.
Kohat Cement plant allegedly causing pollution
13 January 2015Pakistan: People living in the vicinity of Kohat Cement Factory have complained that dust and fumes emitted from the plant's two kilns are causing serious diseases. A group of local elders said that continuous blasts in the mountains near the factory had also caused cracks in the houses of local people, but that the factory administration was not ready to listen to their complaints or provide assistance to repair them.
The elders said that the plant administration was bound under an agreement to pay surface rent to the people on whose collective land the plant had been built, but no dues had been paid to the people since 1992. The agreement also included providing 80% of the jobs in the plant to local people, which the elders said was also being violated.
Greek Supreme Court orders Heracles General Cement to pay village Euro78,000 for pollution
07 January 2015Greece: The Supreme Court of Greece has ordered the Heracles' General Cement Company, a subsidiary of Lafarge, to pay the residents of Agia Marina, Halkida Euro78,000 as compensation for pollution from its cement plant.
The court upheld the settlement's arguments that the cement plant had failed
to adhere to the environmental terms in its operating licence in order to avoid the relevant costs and refused to take measures for the proper maintenance and modernisation of its facilities. They said this resulted in all outdoor areas in the village being covered in a layer of cement dust up to 1.2cm thick, including the nearby coastline.
The village residents had originally sued for a total of Euro1.14m but the court awarded the residents a much lower sum, even though it found that the company's omissions fully justified their claim to moral damages resulting from their deprivation of environmental benefits and the threat to their health from exposure to environmental pollution.