CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu-based Ramco Cements is under Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) scanner for allegedly violating emission norms. A show cause notice was issued to the cement manufacturer last week.
SP Singh Parihar, Chairman of CPCB, has issued the notice as to why Ramco Cement should not be directed to stop operation of the Ariyalur plant and why environmental compensation of Rs 30,000 per day be not imposed for violation of emission norms as per Environment Compensation Policy framed in compliance with National Green Tribunal order dated August 31, 2018.
It is learnt that the regional directorate of CPCB from Bengaluru inspected the cement unit at Ariyalur on March 11 and 12 to verify compliance status and found the nitrogen oxide emission and particulate matter was exceeding emission standards.
The regional directorate of CPCB has recommended that the unit needs to ensure continuous data transmission to CPCB server without any data gaps, smoothing effects, tweaking into settings to increase the response time, bracketing and setting excessive background correction.
It also recommended that calibration of all online dust monitors should be performed as per CPCB Online Continuous Emission Monitoring Systems (OCEMS) guidelines and online gas analysers properly with zero and span gases without any variations to provide realistic results.
Similarly, the unit has been asked to maintain the stacks with continuous temperature and pressure sensors and values generated shall be integrated in calculation for normalisation of the measured emission value by various online analysers.
It has also asked the unit to ensure the distance of signals transferred from the instruments to the data receiver as per instrument manual in order to prevent attenuation.
Ramco Cements officials could not be contacted.