KARACHI, Jan 27: The discharge of toxic waste from a fertiliser plant on Sunday killed seven more cattle, raising the toll to 20, including 10 cows, since Jan 19.

The cause of the animal mortality has been confirmed in a recently released report of the Sindh Environment Pollution Agency (Sepa).

The report holds toxic waste, containing high concentration of ammonia, released by the Fauji Fertiliser Bin Qasim Limited (FFBL) responsible for the death of the animals in the Ghaggar Union Council of Bin Qasim Town.

According to the report, the value of ammonia was 1400 per cent higher than the permissible limits which caused the death of animals. The value of ammonia in the toxic waste was 560mg/litre against 40mg/l, the permissible limit set by the National Environmental Quality Standards. The value of the chemical oxygen demand was also on the higher side — 194mg/l against NEQs’150mg/l.

The concentration of chlorides and total dissolved solids (TDS) were 640mg/l and 2536mg/l against the permissible limits of 1000mg/l and 3500mg/l. No traces of phenol and cyanide were found. The temperature of the contaminated water was slightly warm. A report on the values of effluents’ phosphate and biological oxygen demand would be available in five days.

Sepa carried out an inspection of the site on Jan 24, four days after the earlier incident took place, which means that the plant officials continued to release toxic waste into the drain despite being aware of the cattle deaths. On the day of the incident, some villagers had approached them for compensation and the officials reportedly also visited the site on their request.

The Sepa team, accompanied by police officials, took samples of the effluents as well as documented proof of the FFBL’s involvement in the case by taking pictures of the storm-water drain used by the FFBL to carry its waste into the stream from where animals drank the hazardous liquid waste and died. The sources said that the stream, carrying the untreated waste, goes directly into the sea. The deaths took place along the 10km path leading up to the sea. The particular area is not fenced nor has any signs to warn the villagers of impending danger.

Sources said the FFBL had a treatment plant but its operational efficiency was questionable since such incidents had taken place in the past, too, though no report was ever lodged with Sepa. There are some small factories is the area, but none of them uses the drain. Officials of the Port Qasim Authority and the FFBL did not respond to repeated calls made by Dawn to know their version on the matter.

About any action against the FFBL, Sepa Director-General Abdul Malik Ghauri said a notice would be sent to the officials concerned and in case of an unsatisfactory reply a case would be lodged in the environmental tribunal.

At present, there are 104 plants and factories operating on Port Qasim Authority’s industrial estate land, an area spread over 11,000 acres, while 179 ventures are in the pipeline, including a textile city. The PQA doesn’t have a waste collection network, and the companies set up after a clearance from Sepa manage their waste on their own.

“Some big units do have treatment plants but having a treatment plant is one thing, and running it to the optimum level is another. Also, regular monitoring of the waste discharge is required, which companies won’t do on their own unless there is a fear of regular inspection by an independent authority. Thirdly, the waste treatment plant never brings the toxicity level to zero,” said a former Sepa official.

He also claimed that some years ago a complaint was lodged with Sepa by the administration of the textile institute situated in the same vicinity. “A complaint was lodged regarding toxic fumes emanating from some chemical factories, which were issued notices,” he said.

About the pollution status of the Gharo creek, in which effluents from the Port Qasim and its industrial estate falls, Tahir Qureshi of IUCN said the creek was the tail-end of the Phitti creek which joined the Kadero creek and later fell into the open sea.

“All these creeks, including the Korangi creek, are highly polluted. Effluents from Port Qasim and its industrial estate, accidental oil spills and the release of hot waters from power stations and Steel Mills have adversely affected the biodiversity of the area and there is no doubt that the quantum of pollution has increased over the years,” he said, adding that plants and factories operating in the area were always reluctant for environmental inspection by independent organisations.

“A major disaster occurred at Port Qasim when about 10,000 tonnes of crude oil poured out from a burst pipeline at the Bin Qasim thermal power station in 1999. It continued for two days as the PQA didn’t have the equipment to deal with the accident. The incident severely damaged the bio-diversity and killed fish, shrimps, crabs and birds on a large scale. In fact, its impact would be felt for many more years to come,” he said.