'EPA’s monitoring equipment off the mark’

Environmental activists say agency has failed to monitor precise and accurate air quality

LAHORE: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is currently using inefficient devices to gauge air pollution, said environmental activist Imrana Tiwana of Lahore Bachao Tehreek.

"This ultimately leads to the failure to implement the smog policy," she said while speaking as a panellist at a press conference organised by the Environmental Consultants Association of Pakistan (ECAP) on Tuesday.



She said EPA has failed to monitor the precise and accurate air quality data on time due to the lack of capacity building and state-of-the-art monitoring equipment recommended by international agencies.

Topics such as revelations in relation to the obligations of the Environmental Protection Agency and its role in the situation were also discussed.

University of the Punjab's College of Earth and Environmental Sciences Principal Dr Sajid Rashid said that in accordance with Punjab Environmental Quality Standard (PEQS),  limiting value level of PM2.5 in the air is 35 µg/m3 while current air quality data puts this value around 130-160 µg/m3 that is far higher than the standard value.

The panellist, including Ecogreen Company Chief Executive Advocate Akhar Awan.

Solution Environmental and Analytical Laboratory Chief Environmentalist Aleem Butt Solution Environmental and Analytical Laboratory Director Nihal Asghar pointed out that in 2007, three ambient air quality monitoring stations known as ‘HORIBA' had been given to EPA Punjab under a project titled "Establishment of Environmental Monitoring System". This was done in cooperation with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

According to the panellists, all the JICA trained staff of EPA for HORIBA equipment were transferred to the other districts and replaced by untrained personnel.



The panel members said the environment department paid Rs21 million for air pointer (air pollution measuring devices) in 2016, which were almost four times higher than the original price.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 15^th, 2017.