Cover Story (Spotlight Weekly)

AIR POLLUTION
Suffocating City

Particularly, in winter — November to January - the air pollution level in Kathmandu valley goes up by many times for two specific reasons. One, the winter cold triggers thermal inversion process, which keeps the pollutants sealed within the valley. Second, pollutant emitting industries like brick-kilns operate during winter feeding more smoke into the environment and sparking off health problems. The haphazard urbanization, astronomical and unchecked growth in the vehicular transport, concentration of industries coupled with the inherent disadvantage of being a bowl-shaped valley that traps the escaping pollutants has resulted in the increase of air pollution, among others, in the valley. Lack of stringent laws and effective implementation of existing ones have led to a difficult situation

By SANJAYA DHAKAL

Recently, when a tourism agency conducted a survey among returning tourists and asked them to name one thing that had disturbed them most during their stay in Nepal, most of them invariably pointed to the air pollution in Kathmandu valley.

No wonder, the deteriorating atmosphere of the Kathmandu valley does not affect only the environment alone. Together with it, the knock-on effects are sure to be felt by economy, of which tourism is a mainstay. Likewise, negative impacts on health cannot be discounted at all.

Vecicles belching smoke : Major polluters

The main sources of pollution in Kathmandu can be attributed to vehicular and industrial emission. Given the unique topographic features of the valley, it is especially vulnerable to pollution. A bowl-shaped valley surrounded by high hills, its geography prevents the free flow of air. The flow is severely restricted during winter months leading to sharp rise in pollution level.

Air pollution, basically, means that the clean and healthy air, which a normal human being consumes about 25 kg a day to sustain its oxygen requirement, getting mixed up with harmful substances. Such contaminating substances are called pollutants. The major air pollutants include PM 10 or particulate matters or dust that are smaller than 10 microns in size and are hence likely to pass through natural barriers of human body and affect respiratory tracts and lungs, CO or carbon monoxide, SO2 or sulphur dioxide, HC or hydro-carbons, benzene, Pb or lead and NO or nitrogen oxides.

"Air pollution is the burgeoning problem not only in Kathmandu but in most of the major cities around the globe. The increasing use of fossil fuels for transportation and industrial purposes has resulted in sudden rise in its level. However, the main problem in Kathmandu's air is the high concentration of particulate matter or dust," said Bhusan Tuladhar, chief of the Clean Energy Nepal, a leading environmental NGO.

According to a recent study by CEN, a leading environmental NGO, the 24-hour average of PM 10 were 225, 135 and 126 micron gram per cubic meter in core, subcore and fringe parts of the valley as against the WHO standard of less than 70. Likewise, the average value of TSP or total suspended particulate was found to be 379, 214 and 137 in core, subcore and fringe parts of the valley as against the WHO standard of 120. Moreover, the study revealed that PM 10 value touched 495 and TSP 572 at some places at times.

Testing the vehicular emissions : Efforts to control pollution

As vehicle emission is the main source of pollution, its level are highest during peak traffic hours and at place where traffic density is highest. The major hotspots for air pollution in Kathmandu are Sundhara, Singha Durbar, Kalimati, Ranipokhari, Lainchaur, Indra Chowk, Royal Palace, Bir Hospital, Thamel, Asan, Ratna Park and Putalisadak, according to a study in 1999 conducted by Nepal Environment and Scientific Study (NESS).

Other pollutants, however, were found to be well below the international guideline value. But the rise in the level of benzene has come up as a disturbing trend. A highly toxic and known carcinogen — substance that causes cancer — benzene is emitted by petrol-run vehicles. A three-week study conducted by Environment Sector Program Support (ESPS)/Ministry of Population and Environment (MOPE) during January and February 2002 at 7 locations in Kathmandu indicated that benzene level went as high as 77 micron gram per cubic meter in Putalisadak area. Due to its health risks, no safe level of exposure has been recommended though WHO's guideline states it should be around 5-20 micron gram per cubic meter.

"The benzene concentration in high traffic areas like Putalisadk was found to be of alarming level. The fuel quality data by Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) indicates that fuels contain 3-5 percent of benzene. It is absolutely necessary to take steps to use low-benzene fuels otherwise it could trigger a host of health problems like leukemia," said Anil Kumar Raut, program officer at CEN.

"There has to be a coordinated approach to deal with the problem of pollution. There has to be some sort of concrete plan of actions in place to fight this menace," said Bhakta Bahadur Balayar, former environment minister. Balayar had evicted polluting diesel-run three-wheelers from the valley and introduced Nepal Vehicular Mass Emission standard that was compatible to Euro I during his tenure a few years ago.

Meanwhile, in absence of proper standard of pollution level, the government has not been able to take any actions to monitor and control it.

"The government is keenly aware that industrial and vehicular emission, road condition and solid wastes are responsible for air pollution. Currently, Environment Sector Program Support (ESPS) has been set up as a cell within the Ministry with the help of DANIDA, which is in the process of formulating a standard based on which the government will take actions in the coming days," said Purushottam Prasad Tiwari, spokesperson at the MOPE.

The government currently is guided by the Environment Protection Act, 1997 and Environment Protection Rules, 1997 in matters relating to control of pollution. "But due to several reasons, the government has not been able to effectively implement provisions set forth by these acts and rules," said Tiwari. For instance, despite the provision of Environmental Inspectors, authorized to monitor industries for their environmental impact, in the Act, they are still to be recruited.

Likewise, the provisions of Initial Environment Examinations (IEE) and Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) are also not effectively implemented, complain environmentalists. "Maybe some of the complaints are genuine, but the government is positive towards environment protection and is willing to join hands with NGOs and private sector in this direction," said Tiwari.

Winter Blues

If you are a regular morning jogger, think twice before venturing out on the cold days. Due to special climatic reasons, the air pollution level in Kathmandu valley goes up during the coldest hours in the morning. As a result instead of inhaling crisp morning air you would end up inhaling a mixture of dangerous pollutants.

According to experts, the process called thermal inversion is active during winter days when cold air flowing down from the mountains is trapped under a layer of warmer air creating a lid and effectively sealing the pollutants within the valley. "In winter, there is sharp difference in temperature distribution of air near the surface. Unlike in normal times, the air nearer the surface is colder than those high above, which is known as inversion. When temperature decreases with the height, air becomes stagnant. As a result, the pollutants do not disperse and instead remain in inverse layer leading to rise in pollution. As day progresses and sun rises, the ground heats up and this inversion dissipates and pollutants disperse. So, in winter mornings are more hazardous than day-time as far as air pollution is concerned," said Dr. Madan Lal Shrestha, deputy director general, Department of Hydrology and Metrology. "Besides, this is the time when many people burn woods for heat. The pollutants rising from the smoke, too, remains trapped in the air and could have serious health impact."

Dr. Shrestha said that it is due to thermal inversion or surface cooling that fogs appear. "Besides, dust particles are also required to form fog, which is nothing but tiny water droplets." Though there has not been a detailed study, Dr. Shrestha concedes that the appearance of fog has risen in frequency and density gradually over the years.

Apart from thermal inversion, another reason why the valley suffers from more air pollution could be the operation of brick-kilns. It is in winter that brick-kilns operate and puff huge amounts of pollutants into the air. The eastern and southern fringes of the valley are dotted with such outdated chimneys of brick-kilns (see box).

Clogged Traffic

The emission by vehicles is by far, the greatest source of air pollution in the capital. The number of vehicles running in the valley has risen by many folds within the last few years. "There has been an annual growth of 16 percent of the vehicles even as population growth rate remains 5 percent in the Kathmandu valley. If this rate is not disturbed, the number of vehicles in the city will double in five years," said Tuladhar.

Traffic congestion, it appears, is likely to further deteriorate as the number of vehicles continues to swell (see table 2). The serpentine queue of two-wheelers and four-wheelers belching thick black smokes are the order of the day. "Definitely, the growing number of vehicles is a cause for concern. While the city cannot expand, the vehicles are expanding all the time," said Sudip Acharya, deputy superintendent of police, at the Valley Traffic Police Office (VTPO).

Although the MOPE, department of transport management and VTPO have jointly enforced a system of emission test whereupon vehicles puffing out smokes exceeding the standard are not allowed to enter five core areas of the city including Thamel, airport, New Road, Durbar Marg and Putalisadak. Those who pass the test are given green stickers. "At present there are testing facilities only at two places — VTPO and the department. We also conduct mobile on-the-spot tests frequently," said Shekhar Jung Malla, sub-inspector at the VTPO who heads the emission test unit.

Presently, the VTPO enforces the tail pipe emission standards of 65 HSU for diesel vehicles and 3 percent carbon monoxide for petrol ones with some specifications based on the age of vehicles. However, Malla believes that apart from emission tests, things like preventing adulteration of fuels should also be monitored to effectively control it. "Likewise, we need trained manpower and more equipment, as well."

"The most unfortunate part is that instead of zero emission electric vehicles (EVs), it is the diesel-run buses and private vehicles whose number are rising," said Tuladhar.

"We used to be proud of a large fleet of EVs here but now the trend seems to be reversing with hitches appearing in the introduction of electric buses that were on the anvil," said Tuladhar.

According to him, Kathmandu city is very suitable for EVs. "The distance is short and speed is slow here, which is favorable to electric vehicles. Likewise, as electricity is generated from hydropower, it replaces the polluting fossil fuels." Unfortunately, instead of expanding the services of EVs, the only trolley-bus service was brought to halt last year. Apart from dealing a blow to commuters, the stoppage of trolley-bus was a bad news for environmentalists. Worse, there is nobody in the government answering why trolley-bus service was halted and whether it would restart.

Choking Health

Definitely, the air pollution attacks human health particularly the respiratory system. The health consequences of air pollution are considerable: approximately 20-30% of all respiratory diseases are believed to be caused by air pollution.

Although there is a lack of comprehensive study report on the health impact of air pollution, experts say it is very high. According to CEN, the medical records from hospitals in the Kathmandu valley revealed that urban residents have more respiratory diseases than rural residents. These diseases include asthma, bronchitis, chest infection and so on.

Likewise, the study of database reflects the increasing trend of respiratory diseases. According to annual reports by department of health services from 1996 till 1998, the number of Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI) patient is increasing at the rate of 22.89 percent per year. A study by the World Bank released in 1997 indicated that the cost of morbidity resulting from PM 10 was found to be Rs 180 million and total health damage to be Rs 210 million. Likewise, the study estimated that almost half a billion rupees a year in tourism revenue is lost due to air pollution in the valley.

"We had found that children from urban areas experienced diseases like chest infection, eye, throat infection and allergies 80 percent more than their rural counterparts," said Balayar, former environment minister.

As traffic police are exposed to air pollution directly and for long duration, they are particularly vulnerable. "We have been demanding that inhaler rooms be set up for refreshing our officers but it still has not materialized," said DSP Acharya. "Often we feel very dizzy due to over-exposure to vehicular emissions," said traffic police officer Malla.

With air pollution on the rise, it is imperative for government, NGOs, private sector and general public to join hands and fight the menace that threatens to unleash extreme problems.

POLLUTING BRICK-KILNS
Into Thin Air

The brick-kilns that mushroom in south-eastern fringe of the valley in winter pose serious hazard to the environment

By SANJAYA DHAKAL

Come winter and the empty fields in Bhaktapur and Lalitpur districts on the eastern and southern fringe of the Kathmandu valley becomes dotted with rising structures that belch out plumes of thick and black smokes into the air.

There are at least 125 brick-kilns in the valley, most of which operate from December till May. Of the total, over 90 percent are Bull's Trench Kilns, which supply 87 percent of the total brick demands of the valley. These kinds of kilns are highly inefficient and polluting. They are banned from operating even in India.

Brick-kilm : Hazards to environment

The brick kilns run on seasonal basis and most operate illegally without obtaining license from the department of industry. As such, the exact number of kilns vary year to year. Because clay soil, needed for brick making, are available in southern and eastern parts only, the kilns are situated in these particular places. Lured by hefty profits, many operate brick-kilns despite its negative impact to the surrounding villages.

"According to a study conducted by us, it was found that air pollution level in the villages with brick-kilns was more by three times than those without it," said Bhusan Tuladhar, chief of Clean Energy Nepal (CEN).

The study conducted before and during brick kiln operating season at Tikathali VDC of Lalitpur district showed that criteria air pollutants like PM 10, TSP, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, were three times higher during the brick kiln operating time than during the off-season. The study showed similar results in Jhaukhel VDC of Bhaktapur district.

The Bulls Trench kiln is highly inefficient and environmentalists have been demanding they be replaced with more efficient ones like fixed kilns and vertical shaft kilns. In fact, DANIDA and Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC) are helping in the introduction of fixed and vertical shaft kilns respectively.

The brick-kilns are also responsible for considerable part of air pollution in the valley. Their share of TSP is 31 percent and PM 10 is 28 percent, as per the study by the World Bank, 1997.

The CEN study also showed that concentrations of essential nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium are very low in the fields that have been used by the brick industry as the kilns use fertile topsoil. Farmers who lease their fields, which otherwise remain unused during winter time, to brick-kiln operators have been found complaining about the loss of fertility.

Areas used by brick-kilns also suffer from other problems such as drying of water-wells, lower yield of crops, small landslides and poor visibility.

Moreover, the impact of brick-kilns on the health of people living nearby is also quite considerable. A health check-up conducted by CEN and Pro Public recently showed that young children studying at a nearby school in Tikathali suffered more from respiratory problems than students at another school in another village of Lamatar, which does not have kilns on its immediate vicinity. When a doctor examined over 100 children under age of five, in these schools, only 6.4 percent of the examined children at Lamatar school showed signs of abnormality in lower respiratory tract, whereas the number was whopping 47.8 percent in Tikathali school.

Of late, there has been increase in public awareness about the environment. Villagers, themselves, have begun to raise their voices against polluting kilns. Recently, there was even a clash between villagers and kiln operators in Jhaukhel.

The government has already decided that it will no longer register polluting Bull's Trench kilns and has come out with guidelines on kiln operations. However, since most kiln operators do so without registering and are found to be turning deaf ear to government guidelines, it is still long before these polluting kilns are shut down for good.