Ennore power plants violate emission norms, pose serious health risks: Study

COVID is just the tip of an iceberg. Unless issues such as these are addressed, there will be more disease outbreaks in the future, says one of the authors.

A report by Healthy Energy Initiative — India (an initiative that works in healthcare and climate change spaces) reveals that two Thermal Power Plants (TPPs) in the Ennore thermal cluster in Tamil Nadu were found violating the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MOEFCC) prescribed norms up to 53% of the total operational time in two years, between 2019-2020. 

In March 2021, just as the second wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic was surging in India, the MOEFCC issued a notification extending the deadline to meet the 2015 emission norms for thermal power plants until 2024. Zero action to meet the new norms has led to industries violating with impunity over the last six years — affecting the environment and the health of the people around the power plants, reveals the new report.

Emissions go unchecked

With Ennore power plant in the backdrop, the fishermen in the area are struggling to make a living as pollution drastically affects the catch of fish and other aquatic organisms. Photo by Amirtharaj Stephen/PEP Collective

Fossil fuel-related emissions are said to have contributed upto 22% of COVID-19 mortality in South Asia. Several other studies have concluded that air pollution is an important cofactor increasing the risk of mortality from COVID-19. Chennai is one of the COVID-19 hotspots in south India, with more than 3,00,000 COVID cases recorded till May 2021. 

Ennore thermal cluster has thermal power plants with a total installed capacity of 3,300 MW, fly ash ponds and coal handling yards and two coal handling ports located in the vicinity of Chennai and they contribute significantly to the poor air quality in the region. In addition to the existing TPPs, new units adding an additional 2,780 MW are under various stages of construction.


Read more: Study exposes six industries in North Chennai polluting the air for more than half the year


Non-availability of data

Perusal of data recorded by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board reveals that despite the technology in place, the instances of “no data availability” indicated a laid back approach in discharging duty and a lack of political will to monitor, contrary to the spirit of the law. 

“Non-availability of data is not only a statutory violation, it is also a regulatory roadblock in holding polluting industries accountable. Gross number of violations in the periods that had records for stack emissions show that the TPPs were offenders who repeatedly violated prescribed norms, with no consequence from regulatory authority. This violates the spirit of the law and results in unchecked air pollution from fossil fuel emissions that greatly impacts the environment, has big climate consequences and degrades public health,” said Pooja Kumar, Researcher with Healthy Energy Initiative – India.


Read more: How industrialisation has rung the death knell for Ennore’s ecology


Impact on health

Prolonged exposure to fossil fuel emissions and particulate matter is known to cause cardiovascular diseases, cardiac arrest, lung cancer, premature death in people with heart or lung disease, decreases lung function and increases respiratory symptoms among people.

“TPPs are a major contributor to air pollution and thereby accelerate climate change. The outbreak of COVID is just the tip of an iceberg. If we fail to address the underlying issues of air pollution and climate change, we will be slammed with many such infectious disease outbreaks in the future. Regulatory authorities should immediately implement stringent norms to control the pollution from TPPs,” said Dr Vishvaja Sambath, author of the report.

(This is a press release from Health Energy Initiative – India and published with minimal edits.)

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Comments:

  1. Ts says:

    Nobody will do anything about the pollution unless an equivalent of corona for this pollution strikes. We have killed animals polluted the environment and exploited it and now a virus is wreaking revenge…..still we will not learn…..all that we want is money….shame on humans

    • Naveen Baigg says:

      Unless families of concerned authorities are affected, there won’t be any action taken.

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