PESHAWAR: Toxic gas emissions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, especially the provincial capital, have reached critical levels exceeding the World Health Organisation and Provincial Environmental Quality Standards and causing serious health hazards, including cancer, pulmonary and heart diseases, says an advocacy organisation.

According to the Sarhad Conservation Network, Peshawar’s Air Quality Index is above 150, which is mostly moderate-unhealthy category, competing with the high AQI levels of Faisalabad and Lahore, two of the most industrialised cities in the country.

“Particles PM 2.5 (fine inhalable particles with a diameter of 2.5 micrometer) and PM 10 (inhalable particles with diameters of 10 micrometer) that have reached critical levels in the air in KP and Peshawar are considered very harmful for health. When the level of these particles increases and penetrate deeply into lungs, it causes serious health hazards,” the SCN said in a presentation to chief secretary Dr Kazim Niaz on Tuesday.

It said traffic, industrial emissions and civil works were major contributors to air pollution.

The SCN, however, said industrial pollution had increased as many industries operated without obtaining NOC from the relevant department.

Sarhad Conservation Network calls for legislation to check air pollution

“The inhabitants of Peshawar have been raising alarm about threat to human health, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, and increased associated risk factors,” it said.

In the presentation, the SCN experts proposed short, medium and long-term corrective measures.They said in the short term, the Environmental Protection Agency should take strict administrative action against illegal commercial and industrial activities in Peshawar city, especially its areas, which bordered Jamrud and Shahkas in the neighbouring Khyber tribal district.

The experts said to offset vehicular emissions, green interventions should be taken in the form of urban tree plantation of indigenous species along major traffic arteries, highways and canals.

They said administrative actions should ensure public notice to schools, colleges, business and industry to improve technology of old vehicles within a specific time-frame and on-spot imposition of fine by traffic wardens on polluting vehicles, especially heavy vehicles and school buses.

The experts recommended the establishment of the Centre for Environment at the Institute of Management Sciences in Peshawar for policy research in the field of environment to provide policy inputs to the relevant departments and measures for improvement of air quality in KP.

They said the initiative could generate and analyse pollution data identifying its sources and recommend policy guidelines for agencies and people to undertake preventive, technological and administrative measures.

The experts said to overcome the dearth of data on various parameters of the Air Quality Index in KP, drones equipped with different sensors for measuring PM, and oxides of carbon, nitrogen and sulfur should be deployed for data collection from selected areas, including Hayatabad Industrial Zone.

They also said air quality data from Dera Ismail Khan, Kohat, Mardan, Mingora and Abbottabad regions should also be collected routinely.

According to them, technological interventions can focus on locally fabricated solar powered low-cost ambient air filtration plants installation in most congested spots in Peshawar and other major cities to improve air quality. The clipboard factories and steel mills should be particularly mandated to install filtration plants near their emission points to check unregulated emissions.

The experts said a regular bi-annual meeting of the KP Environmental Protection Council under the chair of the chief minister had been long overdue to identify environmental issues and their solutions.

They called for legislation and its enforcement to address air pollution in KP.

Published in Dawn, November 11th, 2020