Sail Earmarks Rs 2,250 Cr For Pollution Control

Steel Authority of India ( SAIL) has earmarked an investment of Rs 2,250 crore for pollution control measures at its steel plants and allied units in the Ninth Plan. The large investment has become necessary following the stringent norms laid down by the government to control pollution through gaseous emission, effluent discharge and disposal of toxic waste. The amount would also cover expenditure towards introducing clean technologies in its plants and mines.

To meet its long-term environmental requirement, SAIL has kicked off a time-bound action plan based on the recommendations of an Australian consulting firm BHPE-Kinhill, sponsored under a World Bank loan scheme, and a national task force (NTF) constituted by the government for pollution control in the steel industry.

 

This action plan has formulated 115 schemes costing Rs 421.5 crore. These are said to have been largely implemented.

The two-fold thrust of the action plan is to set up new pollution control facilities in place of the existing ones at plants where it is adaptable, and another is to go in for replacements by introducing new technologies where it is a must and which are required urgently. A total of Rs 574.6 crore has already been spent on setting up the facilities under these two programmes Rs 130 crore in the 7th Plan and Rs 444.6 crore in the 8thPlan, official sources said.

This is in addition to the money spent or being spent for installation of clean technology equipment at Durgapur, Rourkela and Bokaro plants during their modernisation programme.

Besides, SAIL has also started introducing clean technologies to reduce generation of pollutants at source. This is in addition to the end-of-the pipe technologies already in use. The technologies to control pollution at source comprise replacement of single conversion single absorption surface acid plant with double conversion double absorption plant; improvement in coke oven batteries; replacement of open hearth furnaces with basic oxygen furnaces; and, upgradation of the slag granulation plant integrated with blast furnaces.

For better waste management through re-cycling, the thrust is on increased usage of sinter in blast furnace feed, supply of slag from LD converters (improved version of steel melting shop), use of LD slag as replacement for lime in the sinter plant and other uses, and supply of granulated blast furnace slag to cement plants besides increased scrap consumption in the steel melting shop.

Officials say the measures have vastly improved the environmental standards of the steel plants and the mines, and will look up further with more money to be spent and newer clean technologies to be used in Ninth Plan period.