Biohazard threat: ‘Industrial waste serious threat to crops’
Expert says industrialists reluctant to set up waste water treatment plants at factories.
FAISALABAD:
Crops and vegetables irrigated with water contaminated by industrial waste can cause serious health problems, University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan said on Wednesday.
He was briefing a delegation from the National Management College, Lahore about industrial pollution.
“Industrial waste is playing havoc with the lives of the people because there is no effective mechanism to monitor it. It has polluted canal water used by farmers to irrigate their farms,” he said.
Khan said that the underground water had also been polluted. “Around 80 per cent of the industrial waste is discharged into canals and 20 per cent filters into underground aquifer,” he said.
“Separate drinking water and household water lines are required throughout the county to save people from water-borne diseases,” the vice chancellor said.
He told the delegation that the university was conducting research on water and air pollution in cities and villages.
Faculty of Agriculture Dean Muhammad Arshad told the delegation that sewerage and industrial waste water was being dumped into canals. “Mixing of household waste and industrial waste makes it difficult to treat it,” he said.
“The industrialists are reluctant to set up waste water treatment plants at their units. Laws to prevent water and air pollution exist and must be implemented,” he said.
“Treatment of industrial waste is necessary to protect a healthy environment. The government and the academia should make joint efforts in this regard,” he said.
Soil and Environmental Sciences Institute Director Javaid Akhtar called for adopting stern measures to protect the environment according to international standards. “Climate change caused by industrial pollution poses a serious threat to humanity,” he said.
Prof Dr Ghulam Murtaza said that water containing industrial waste must be treated before it left the factories. “If industrial waste is not cleaned of harmful elements, it contaminates everything in its path. A proper mechanism should be developed to maintain checks on industrial pollution,” he said.
The delegation, headed by Southern Punjab Poverty Alleviation Project Director Irshad Hussain, included Azad Jammu and Kashmir Council Deputy Secretary Hamid Nisar and Establishment Division Director Sharaf Jehan and Ministry of Religious Affairs Director Noor Salam.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 16th, 2014.
Crops and vegetables irrigated with water contaminated by industrial waste can cause serious health problems, University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan said on Wednesday.
He was briefing a delegation from the National Management College, Lahore about industrial pollution.
“Industrial waste is playing havoc with the lives of the people because there is no effective mechanism to monitor it. It has polluted canal water used by farmers to irrigate their farms,” he said.
Khan said that the underground water had also been polluted. “Around 80 per cent of the industrial waste is discharged into canals and 20 per cent filters into underground aquifer,” he said.
“Separate drinking water and household water lines are required throughout the county to save people from water-borne diseases,” the vice chancellor said.
He told the delegation that the university was conducting research on water and air pollution in cities and villages.
Faculty of Agriculture Dean Muhammad Arshad told the delegation that sewerage and industrial waste water was being dumped into canals. “Mixing of household waste and industrial waste makes it difficult to treat it,” he said.
“The industrialists are reluctant to set up waste water treatment plants at their units. Laws to prevent water and air pollution exist and must be implemented,” he said.
“Treatment of industrial waste is necessary to protect a healthy environment. The government and the academia should make joint efforts in this regard,” he said.
Soil and Environmental Sciences Institute Director Javaid Akhtar called for adopting stern measures to protect the environment according to international standards. “Climate change caused by industrial pollution poses a serious threat to humanity,” he said.
Prof Dr Ghulam Murtaza said that water containing industrial waste must be treated before it left the factories. “If industrial waste is not cleaned of harmful elements, it contaminates everything in its path. A proper mechanism should be developed to maintain checks on industrial pollution,” he said.
The delegation, headed by Southern Punjab Poverty Alleviation Project Director Irshad Hussain, included Azad Jammu and Kashmir Council Deputy Secretary Hamid Nisar and Establishment Division Director Sharaf Jehan and Ministry of Religious Affairs Director Noor Salam.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 16th, 2014.