Saff & LPG operated Tempos
Are They Pollutio Free ?

By Preeti Mali

WHEN Bikram tempos were banned from the streets of Kathmandu the people here rejoiced at the thought of breathing a cleaner air as the obnoxious gases emitted by those tempos chocked them. Those tempos have now been replaced by so called "non polluting" battery or LPG (liquid petroleum gas) operated vehicles called Safa tempos. Some of these tempos have the word "Pollution Free" written on their white washed chassis. But are these vehicles really pollution free ?

Better

Safa tempos are certainly much better and more of a relief than the black fume emitting Bikram tempos. The air in the streets of Kathmandu seems much cleaner since they have been banned. The emission of Carbon Monoxide and Nitrous gases is lesser in LPG operated vehicles and none in the battery operated ones. However, a few things seem to have been overlooked by the concerned authorities.

The LPG operated vehicles contains hydrocarbons such as methane, propane and butane. If the vehicles aren’t highly efficient then hydrocarbons are emitted into the air. The hydrocarbon when combines with nitrogen oxide, which is readily avilable in the atmosphere through the emission from other vehicles like cars and buses, forms PAN (Peroxyacetyl nitrate) and Ozone in the presence of sunlight.

Peroxyacetly nitrate and Ozone are toxic to both humans and plants. PAN, ozone and other pollutants such as Nitrous Oxide etc. forms photochemical smog which is a highly polluting mixture. It cahses eye irritation, increases respiratory diseases and causes breathlessness. It also reduces visibility, damages crops, livestock and corrodes metals, buildings etc.

If the gas operated vehicles uses methane gas and if they aren’t highly efficient then methane is directly emitted to the air. Methane is a greenhouse gas which contributes to the ongoing ecological diaster of global warming. The LPG operated vehicles also emit some amount of Carbon Monoxide and Nitrous gases.

In the case of electric vehicles (EV), they use batteries to store energy. Though these vehicles have zero emission, the batteries themselves are a source of pollution. The batteries which the electric tempos use are Deep cycle lead acid batteries. As the name suggests they contain lead and sulphuric acid. These substances are highly hazardous.

The deep cycle batteries are rechargeable but they have a certain lifespan after which they cannot be recharged. The EV’s now running inside Kathmandu use batteries that last for about 18-20 months thought the manufacturre’s claim is up to 24 months. If these batteries are dumped they not only pollute the soil but also the water sources by percolating inside the ground water source.

Lead, which is the main component of the battery, is a hazardous heavy metal. Lead poisoning can cause mental retardation, kidney problems, reduction in haemoglobin formation. It effects more on growing children. It particularly effects the Gastrointestine, the Neuromuscular System and the Central Nervous System. Lead also has the ability of biomagnification i.e its concentration increases at successive levels of food chain. Certain lead compound are also considered carcinogenic.

There are more than 600 electric tempos and similar number of LPG operated vehicles running inside the Kathmandu Valley. Since the materials or fuels used in these electric and LPG operated tempos cannot be considered environmentally safe the term ‘pollution free’ written on these vehicles is misleading the general public. In fact anything manmade or unnatural cannot be bluntly stated as "pollution free".

Considering the lifespan of the batteries wed by the electrict tempos and the numbers of tempos that are on operation, if the batteries were to be dumped they would cause quite a diaster in a few years time. However, the situation doesn’t appear to bleak in reality and seems that it could be improved if proper measures are taken. A set of battery weighs about 336kg in which lead accounts for 85 per cent of the total weight. Lead has a great demand in the industries. There is a large market for scrap lead from batteries as the cost of obtaining lead from mining is higher. Therefore, scrap lead provides a cheap solution for the industries. According to a report from Martin Chautari, the smelting of lead can make it 99.99 per cent pure which can be used for new batteries. The acid from the batteries can also be used in new batteries, detergents, glass, fertilisers or textiles. Therefore, the lead acid batteries are hardly dumped instead they are transported to India where they are locally recycled.

There are a few small scale battery manufacturers in Nepal that operate smelting furnace for recycling lead. But their method of recycling is quite quetionable. Since these recyclying plants are locally operated, the dissembling of the batteries aren’t usually done in a controlled environment which provides ample opportunity for leakage of the acid as well as lead to the ground or in sewers or drains and the lead dust may be dispersed to the surroundings. According to a study report from DANIDA, considering the prevailing circumstances, during recycling or smelting 2-3 per cent of lead is estimted to be lost by emission to air and 3-5 per cent is likely to be spread as dust to the soil or washed away by rain which amounts to emission of 400-500 kg of lead to air yearlya nd emission to soil and steams of around 600-1000 kg of lead yearly while 1400-2000 kg of lead yearly is disposed with residues from the smelting process. There is also a lack of awareness among the workers who handle those batteries and hence they are highly susceptible to lead poisoning.

Therefore, in order to reduce the losses and to protect the workers from hazardous exposure, a well managed and scientifically built battery recycling plant is of immediate requirement in Nepal.

Moving to LPG operated vehicles, the harmful effects can be reduced by making the vehicle more efficient so that the Liquid petroleum ga sis not lost by leakage. There should also be laws or standards formulated to check the leak of gas of LPG vehicles.

Solution

Both LPG and Electric vehicles have provided a tangible solution to the polluting Bikram tempos but since these vehicles aren’t so free from polluting elements as they claim to be, a careless attitude could be expensive to the environment. Therefore, measures should be taken to mitigate possible risks before pollution from these vehicles takes a mammoth and unmanageable proportions.

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