ISLAMABAD: The capital city is facing some serious air pollution as the number of vehicles, construction works, and toxic smoke from the factories including the steel mills keep increasing, reported a local media outlet on Sunday.
“Islamabad may not have the worst air quality but it is high enough to have drawn the attention of the Supreme Court over the past years, issuing directions to monitor emissions from steel mills in particular. The declining air quality is the biggest environmental issue in Islamabad,” said an official of the ministry.
According to officials at the Ministry of Climate Change, some areas, in particular, are the most affected such as I-8, I-9, I-10, and I-11 sectors. These areas reportedly have the worst air quality as compared to the other parts of the city.
The residents of these areas usually witness black smoke which in actual is black carbon that contains particular matter 10 and is the result of poor manufacturing setups by the steel mills and furnaces using poor quality oil and paint canister which not only are anti-atmosphere but can also be the cause of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases.
“But the worst is PM 2.5, a mixture of solid and liquid particles that circulate in the air. Inhaling these particles can increase the risk of lung cancer, heart attacks, strokes and emergency room visits from people with asthma or heart-related problems.”………. A lot of these problems could be resolved if the steel mill owners switched on their filtering equipment,” he added.
The locals have been experiencing deterioration in health and also expressed apprehension towards the issue.
“We open our eyes to a toxic fog mixed with tons of poisonous soot when the steel mills start their engines every morning after 5 am. Our children breathe the same air,” said one resident of I-9.
Though the locals have been suffering from this problem for a while, when asked Ministry of Climate Change Secretary Khizer Hayat Khan why didn’t he take action on the issue, he denied having any prior knowledge of the problem.
“This issue was never brought to my attention,” he said.
He stated that after discussion and verification of the issue the steel mill owners now have been ordered by the Pakistan Environment Protection Agency to install filters and have also been given a warning that failure to comply with the now standing regulations may lead to cancellation of their leases.
“More action is expected along these lines next week,” he added.
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