Marble factories polluting city’s air

grinders, and sanding machines it is often ignored that apart from the noise pollution, Lahore’s marble factories are mega air and water polluters as well. Punjab’s already polluted capital, is home for several marble factories and workshops of various sizes, which are located in areas like Band Road, Canal Road, Barki Road, and Ichhra.

However, residents and the provincial government seem oblivious to the dust and waste these units produce despite recording Air Quality Index (AQI) readings well above 150 during recent weeks - which is classified as unhealthy air.

Furthermore, there also seems to be an apparent disregard for the adverse consequences on health these marble factories have on those who work in them or reside close by. 42-year-old Muhammad Ashraf, a longterm resident of Band Road, is a direct affectee of the pollution that marble factories cause. “I used to work at one of these factories and recently developed breathing problems.

Therefore, I had to quit,” he informed, adding that living in close proximity to the factory coupled with the city’s smog problem had not helped his condition. Ashraf further said that during the stone cutting process, the marble dust that becomes a part of the air we breathe in is highly injurious to health.

“Many of my colleagues have also developed longterm respiratory and lung disease due to the marble dust. So you can imagine the impact it has on other people,” said Ashraf matter-of-factly. Dr Khalid Parvez, a senior pulmonologist based in the city, agreeing with Ashraf’s assessment, said that marble dust contains calcium carbonate and silica particles.

“Exposure to silica leads to silicosis, a lung disease known as grinders’ asthma. Possible symptoms of this disease include severe cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, fever, and night sweats,” said Dr Parvez, adding that people with silicosis are also at an increased risk of contracting tuberculosis (TB). “Therefore, such factories should not exist in residential areas and those who work here need to wear masks at all times,” the pulmonologist suggested.

On the other hand, Dr Salman Tariq, Climate Research Scientist at the Punjab University, informed that it was not just air that marble factories pollute but water and soil as well. “Marble dust adds very fine particles, known as fine particulate matter (PM 2.5), into the atmosphere, which affects breathing and vision of humans, animals and birds.

However, apart from even the water used in the process is not passed through a treatment plant and is directly dumped into the canals. Furthermore, the powder is dumped into nearby fields, which ruins the quality of the soil,” Dr Tariq explained. The Spokesperson of the provincial Environment Department, when asked about marble factories polluting the environment with such impunity, said that actions were being taken against all such industrial units across Punjab.

“We are monitoring the marble factories in Lahore and if SOPs are not followed at any place, they will be fined heavily or shut down,” the spokesperson told The Express Tribune.