Environmental Impact Assessment- Dr.Rajan R Patil

8/2/2019 Environmental Impact Assessment- Dr.Rajan R Patil

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Official Publication ofIndian Association of Occupational Health

Published by

Medknow Publications

VOL. 12 NO. 2 MAY-AUG 2008

Official Publication ofIndian Association of Occupational Health

VOL. 15 NO. 2 MAY-AUG 2011


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Indian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine -August 2011 - Volume 15 -Issue 2 73

Environmental health impact assessment ofNational Aluminum Company, Orissa

Brief

Communication

years, community resentmentment is

building up against NALCO for being

a source of pollution and subsequent

economic and health consequences

arising thereof.

FINDINGS OF THE RAPID

ASSESSMENT

Hazards Identification

1. Metallic shiny aluminum powder

dust can be seen deposited

everywhere in the villages, i.e., onthe roofs, on walls, on trees and

vegetation and in wells of drinking

water.

2. Effluent from NALCO is being let

out without satisfactory treatment

and it is directly let into a small

rivulet (stream) that is the source of

drinking water for the surrounding

villages, especially during summer

when the wells are dried up.

3. Gas and fumes emitted from

smelters of NALCO are causing

damages to hundreds of acres ofpaddy fields with standing crop

getting burnt (dried and shriveled).

4 . Hazard ident i f icat ion is a

major step to be taken by every

government.

PCB estimates that about 220 tones

of fluoride come out of smelter plants

and through emission which is

contaminating the ecosystem around

the NALCO plant, way beyond the

acceptable standards, for example, in

Tulsipal village the fluoride level was

estimated to be 2.5 mg/L (acceptable

standard is below 1.5 mg/L).

ADVERSE HEALTH EFFECTS:

F O L L O W I N G H E A L T H

OUTCOMES

Human health risks identified

Expectedly, specific health problems

Abstract

Environmental Health Impact Assessment of industries

is an important tool help decision-makers make choices

about alternatives and improvements to prevent

disease/injury and to actively promote health around

industrial sites. A rapid environmental health hazard

and vulnerability assessment of National Aluminum

Company was undertaken in the villages in the vicinity

plant in Angul region of Orissa. Aluminum smelter plant

was known to discharge hundreds of tones offluoride in

to the environment contaminating the ecosystem around

the plant. The present Environmental health impact

assessment was carried out in 2005-06 at the request of

officials from Government of Orissa. The findings showed

adverse effects on human, veterinary and ecological

health. Human health effects manifestations included

dental and skeletal fluorosis. Veternary health effects

were manifested through skeletal fluorosis. Ecological

adverse effects were manifested by damage to paddy

fields and crop yield.

Key words: Environmental Health, Orissa

Rajan R. Patil

Division of

Epidemiology, School

of Public Health,

Medical College, SRM

University, Chennai,

India

For correspondence:

Dr. Rajan R. Patil,

Division of

Epidemiology,

School of Public

Health, 3rd Floor,

Medical College,

SRM University,

Potheri, Kattakulathur

- 603 203, Chennai,

India.

E-mail: rajanpatil@

yahoo.com

INTRODUCTION

Environmental health assessments have been scarce in India,

the author has been part of a few field investigations[1-4] which

have been successful in highlighting the environmental health

issues in India. The current field study on Environmental

Health Impact Assessment of National Aluminum Company

(NALCO) was carried out at the request of the Secretary,

Department of Forest and Environment, Government of Orissa.

This report is based on a rapid environmental health hazard

and vulnerability assessment of NALCO undertaken by the

author in the villages in the vicinity of aluminum smelters

about 5 years back in 20052006.

Originally, the site for aluminum smelter was selected at

the time when the concept of environment Health Impact

Assessment was not prevalent and the state and the Pollution

Control Board (PCB) was not born. A giant-sized aluminum

smelter plant is situated near densely populated area.

Angul Talcher attracted large industries because of large

deposits of coal and high flow in river Bahmani. In recent

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Indian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine -August 2011 - Volume 15 -Issue 274

are widely prevalent:

1. Dental fluorosis.

2. Skeletal fluorosiscausing chronic pain and locomotor

(mobility) problems.

Surveys are required to quantify these risks.

Veterinary health risksSkeletal problems can be seen even in cattles.

Findings of Impact of Industrial pollution on the domestic

animals of Angul Talcher area by Orissa Agriculture University

Showed Skeletal problems in cattles in 19931994.

Ecological effects

The following Table 1 provides the impact of NALCO pollution

on agriculture.

The Pollution Control Board, Orissa investigated the agriculture

damage in 1999 and in 2004 have confirmed officially in theirreport on fluoride levels and the damage it was causing

to paddy fields. Agriculture university researchers have

confirmed the link. The PCB confirmed that 800 acres of paddy

damage in 1999 was due to deposition of fluoride compounds

from the NALCO smelter. Consequently, NALCO had paid

compensation to rice farmers @4300/acre. In August 2004,

the damage to paddy crops was estimated to be spread across

600 acres due to leakage of a poison gas from the smelter

according to PCB and Orissa Agriculture University.

Exposure pathway

1. A rivulet (stream) which is popularly called literally foms

the lifeline for the villages. The water from the rivulet was

being used for daily use and for feeding the live stock.

NALCOs effluent is let into the rivulet.

2. A single drinking water source for this village is an open

well that had 30 ft of water. This well was hardly 100 m

away from the rivulet canal carrying the NALCOs effluent,

this effluent canal ends in Bahmani river is about 1.5 km

from the village.

3. The drinking water well goes dry for almost 6 months

around the summer season. The villagers had no option,

but to resort to the NALCO polluted rivulet for their

drinking water requirements by digging shallow puddles

near the stream.

4. In monsoon, the rivulet canal overflows to the fields resulting

in flooded water reach to the well and contaminates the

drinking water.

5. In effect whether summer or monsoon, the community was

forced to consume highly contaminated rivulet water.

According to the earlier assessment, the fluoride concentration

in the surface water drains increased to a level about 29 mg/L

in monsoons. The waste water quantity becomes as high as1000 m3/h which is beyond the capacity of defluoridation

plant (150 m3/h) intake. During monsoon, there was no control

measure from NALCO and all fluoride containing effluent was

let out in Kisinda Jhor.

RISK MANAGEMENT

NALCO was supplying two tankers of water every summer

which is grossly inadequate to villagers, hence to compensate

for the deficit the villagers drink the water from the polluted

rivulet.

Risk mitigation measures undertaken

1. Piped water was being supplied by NALCO (polluter pays

principle).

2. Fencing of ponds to prevent castles from drinking water

with high fluoride contents.

3. Health education on fluorosis.

RECOMMENDATION

Rapid assessment was undertaken to carry out quick

situation analysis to understand the environmental health

issues surrounding the NALCO Plant. However, a detailed

Environmental Health Risk Assessment is recommended to

quantify the health risks.

The findings of the field study were formally submitted to the

State Pollution Control Board, Orissa.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Mr. Chittarajan Sarangi, Managing Trustee, Tapobhoomi Trust, Orissa,

who is also a Mission Director, Science and Technology Department,

Orissa, was the focal point in coordinating this field investigation.

He accompanied and assisted the author during the field visits and

interviewing affected communities.

REFERENCES

1. Patil RR. Circumstances leading to death of Indian Cotton farmers. Int

J Occup Med Environ Health 2002;15:405-7.

2. Patil RR. Asbestos mining and health hazards-A public hearing

report. Proceedings of Divisional level training workshop (ND-III)

on Technological Disaster for District administration and Industries.

Sponsored by Ministry of Environment and Forests, GOI; 2004 June 28th

and 29th; Multi disciplinary Centre on Safety, Health and Environment,

Angul, India, 2004.

Table 1: Impact of NALCO pollution on agriculture

Year Village Paddy loss

(in acre)

NALCO

Distance (km)

1999 Oct Tulsipal 800 3

2002 Sept Langulia Bed 352 2.5

2004 Aug Gadarkhai 0.2

2005 Sept Badhibahal 50 2

Patil: Environmental health impact assessment of NALCO


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Indian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine -August 2011 - Volume 15 -Issue 2 75

3. Patil RR. Community-based occupational/environmental health

studies: The challenges and the dilemmas. Indian J Occup Environ

Med 2006;10:85-6.

4. Patil RR. Investigating genetic outcomes following 1984 toxic union

carbide disaster in India: Epidemiological challenges. Int J Occup Med

Environ Health 2010;23:397-8.

Patil: Environmental health impact assessment of NALCO

Cite this article as: Patil RR. Environmental health impact

assessment of national aluminum company, Orissa. Indian J Occup

Environ Med 2011;15:73-5.

Source of Support: Nil, Conflict of Interest: None declared.

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Date: 10th May, 2011 Hemant Manjrekar Dr. G. K. Kulkarni

Environmental Impact Assessment- Dr.Rajan R Patil

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