The Anti-Sterlite People’s Movement (ASPM) has submitted a complaint to the Tamil Nadu government seeking an investigation into Vedanta’s Sterlite Copper Smelter unit for reportedly tampering with ambient air quality monitors to hide real pollution levels.
The ASPM said the data from Vedanta’s air quality monitoring network was neither legally compliant nor reliable as per the details obtained through an RTI from the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board.
RTI data
Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitors installed by Vedanta reported wrong values or failed to report data on some occasions during 2017-2018, according to the RTI data obtained from TNPCB’s CARE Air Centre, the ASPM said.
According to the ASPM, the Meelvittan monitor reported wrong or no data on 132 days during 2017-2018. Air pollution levels vary daily as they depend on fluctuating parameters such as wind, temperature and sunlight.
“As on date, only 8 out of 13 air quality monitoring units maintained by Vedanta are continuous monitors. None of the units reports fluorine levels – a toxic gas emitted by Vedanta’s phosphoric acid plant. Fluorine damages teeth, bones and the skeletal system, and can deform children’s bones,” it said. Vedanta did not respond to a request for comment on the issue.
