EPA report exposes failure of Punjab’s smog tower in controlling pollution

LAHORE: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Punjab, has submitted a report showing that the anti-smog tower in Lahore is not aiding in controlling pollution. The report exposes flaws in the design and operational efficiency of Punjab’s flagship anti-pollution initiative.

Initially, the Pakistan Air Quality Experts group conducted a study that declared the anti-smog tower to be ineffective. As a result, Punjab EPA formed a nine-member committee to further delve into the issue. Now that committee has prepared a report which shows disheartening results.

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The committee of environmental experts, academics and public sector researchers, installed four air quality monitoring stations and analysed data from different distances. This practice was carried out to test the claims that the anti-smog tower purifies the air within a one-kilometre radius.

Punjab government had not incurred any costs for the smog tower installation. It was a pilot project of a private company, which is trying to resolve the issues and improve its technology.

Punjab Environment Secretary Raja Jahangir Anwar

While the recording devices proved a strong correlation between faster winds and rainfalls with lower pollution, they did not yield hopeful results vis-à-vis the tower.

According to a news report published by Express Tribune on Monday, “observations during the installation phase showed that approximately 373 kilograms of airborne particles were present within a one-kilometre radius and up to 0.5 kilometres in height.”

The poor performance of the tower’s purification system led the researchers to dig deeper into the tower’s electrostatic dust collection system. They found poor voltage regulation, coupled with ineffective electrostatic electrode design and inadequate filtration system as the primary causes for the tower’ inability to serve its purpose.

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As a result of the report, concerns were raised on the cost incurred on the project. In response to those, Punjab Environment Secretary Raja Jahangir Anwar informed that the provincial government had not incurred any costs for the smog tower installation, adding that it was a private company’s pilot project.

The said private company has been allotted three months to improve the design and technology of the tower. The environment secretary said that the company has acknowledged existing flaws and is working towards resolving them.