SEPA takes HWSC to court over chlorine gas leak

In the matter of the leakage of chlorine gas from a water filtration plant, the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) has taken the Hyderabad Water and Sewerage Corporation (HWSC) to court. Assistant Director of the SEPA Hyderabad region, Dr. Sayed Nasrullah, has filed a complaint against HWSC before a civil judge and judicial magistrate under Section 29 of the Sindh Environment Protection Act, 2014.

The court, meanwhile, issued bail-able warrants for the Managing Director of HWSC, Zahid Khemtio, the Executive Engineer of the Hala Naka filtration plant, the Additional Controller of Civil Defence Hyderabad, and the Inspecting Officer of Civil Defence. At least 29 people, including 22 children in the adjoining areas, were affected on September 26 by the leakage from a 900-kilogram liquid chlorine cylinder that had been placed in the open air at the HWSC-operated plant.

The plant, which has an installed capacity of eight million gallons per day (MGD), supplies drinking water to over 300,000 people. The inspection team of SEPA, which visited the plant on September 27, found a complete lack of adherence to safety measures, in addition to the non-availability of technical staff at the plant.

"It was disclosed that the cylinder had a capacity of 900kg and had been placed in an open yard for the last two to three years, with no mitigation measures adopted for health and safety. The cylinder appeared to be in poor condition and was rusted." It has also emerged that the corporation has been using hazardous substances without obtaining a license from SEPA.

The Government Primary School, Sahafi Colony, in Khursheed Town, is located approximately 200 to 300 metres from the plant, which resulted in a large number of students being affected as they left school in the afternoon.

SEPA found four dispensers of chlorination, model V-10K Wallace and Tiernan, installed at the plant, but all of them have been nonfunctional for the last three years. "The gallons of hypochlorite liquid were placed improperly, not even stored in a storeroom."

The agency also disclosed that HWSC has been operating the plant without appointing technical personnel, such as chemists or health and safety officials, to handle the hazardous substances. It was further revealed that although a laboratory exists at the plant, it remains defunct due to the unavailability of staff. There are no fire extinguishers, PPEs, or first aid boxes at the filtration facility to respond to any emergency situations.

"The staff present at the filtration plant are not trained to transport, store, or handle hazardous substances." SEPA pointed out that Civil Defence has also failed to fulfill its responsibilities by not conducting health, safety, and environment training for the staff regarding handling, storing, and transporting hazardous substances.

According to the complainant, the concerned officers of HWSC and Civil Defence have committed violations under Sections 13 and 14 of the Sindh Environment Protection Act, 2014. Section 13 pertains to the handling of hazardous substances, while Section 14 relates to the prohibition of actions severely affecting the environment. The offences are punishable with a Rs10,000 fine per day until the violations are addressed.

The complainant prayed to the court to order HWSC to obtain a licence from the agency for using hazardous substances as per the Hazardous Substances Rules, 2014. The company from which the corporation is procuring liquid chlorine is also required to be licenced by SEPA. The court was also urged to direct HWSC to adopt health and safety measures at all of its filtration plants.

An inquiry into the incident conducted by three officers of the corporation also yielded similar findings.