ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The Minister of State for Climate Change Zartaj Gul has said that in the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), 20 out of 64 brick kilns have now turned over their kilns on the newly environment-friendly zig-zag technology.
Reply to a question by Dr. Mahreen Razzaq Bhutto in writing, the state minister told the National Assembly on Wednesday that the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (Pak-EPA) directed brick kiln owners to adopt zigzag technology on an immediate basis.
Zartaj Gul told that the zig-zag kiln technology has been established to embellish fuel efficiency, energy savings, and lessening in emissions.
The minister said that all the owners of brick kilns, who have not yet installed the pollution control technology, have now submitted affidavits to convert their kilns to environment-friendly zig-zag technology.
Recently, the Pak-EPA has sealed five brick kilns who were operating their kilns in Sector H-16 Islamabad without the installation of pollution control technology.
Furthermore, she told that in the ICT, there are approximately more than 185 industrial units including the different scale of sizes.
Zartaj Gul told that major industries in Islamabad are steel furnaces, marble industries, and pharmaceutical industries which are also under observation by the Pak-EPA. She told that among all, steel industries are being considered as a major air polluting Industry in the Capital.
The minister told that all six operational steel furnaces situated in the ICT have now installed pollution abatement technology which is being monitored by the Pak-EPA regularly for ensuring the compliance of the National Environmental Quality Standards (NEQS).
The House was apprised that the ICT has fairly low levels of air pollution as compared to other Cities of Pakistan. It was told that on average, the levels of most air pollutants including 2.5 microns (PM2.5) remains within the NEQS limits.
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