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Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has started developing guidelines for handling and managing jarosite, said CPCB in its report submitted to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on February 15, 2023. For this, a technical expert committee (TEC) has been constituted, it added.
Jarosite is a waste material generated by the zinc manufacturing industry. Currently, there are no guidelines on managing jarosite under the Hazardous and Other wastes Rules, 2016.
CPCB also conducted field visits and collected samples to study the existing management practices in operational and closed industrial units dealing with jarosite.
The guidelines are being prepared based on field visits, sample analysis and review of existing national and international management practices, the report stated.
The guidelines will include provisions for environmentally safe handling, storage, utilisation and disposal of jarosite. It will also provide options for utilising it in cement manufacturing, road construction and recovery of iron and other heavy metals.
The proposed guidelines are under preparation and will be issued after receiving comments from the public and concerned stakeholders, the CPCB report informed.
The NGT directed the Government of Tamil Nadu to publish the new rules and guidelines related to sewage management in newspapers to make the people aware of the same. The new rules came into effect in January 2023.
The departments concerned should strictly follow and implement the rules to resolve the illegal disposal of sewage. The legislation intends to regulate the collection, transportation and disposal of faecal sludge/septage and matters connected with that.
The government also framed the Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies and Chennai Metropolitan Area Septage Management (Regulation) Rules, 2022. In this regard, the state government also issued Septage Management Regulations and Operative Guidelines regarding septage removal.
The NGT directed the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TPCB) to file a detailed report on the operation of a chemical unit, Gee Emm Aar Chemical.
The tribunal directed TPCB to find whether the unit is operating in accordance with the manufacture, storage and import of hazardous chemicals rules, 1989.
The tribunal was responding to a petition related to the unit, which is operating near a residential area in Chettiar Agaram village. It deals with various kinds of acids and industrial chemicals.
TPCB had filed a report based on the information given by the unit. The report stated that they have been stocking more than 7,000 kg of various chemicals in the godown. TPCB informed the tribunal that they had not given permission for the same.