KARACHI, May 11: While the resentment of people over the dumping of toxic industrial waste in an open area in SITE increased, officials of the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency sealed the chemical wings of two factories on Thursday.

According to a SEPA official, the chemical processing units of Ghani Dyeing Industries and Gharib Sons Limited were stopped from further functioning, as the two were allegedly discharging effluents or waste concentration, of levels much higher than the prescribed environmental standards.

After receiving instructions from the Adviser to Chief Minister on Environment, Noman Saigol, the Director of SEPA, Dr Iqbal Saeed, along with two other officials, Ashfaque H Pirzada and Ashiq Langah, and a scientist from the Sindh University, Dr Ahsan Siddiqui, inspected the two factories in question.

He was satisfied that both factories worked in contravention to the provisions of the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act 1997, added the official.

The sealing was necessary to check the irresponsible disposal and discharge and careless handling of hazardous substances, including highly reactive chemicals at the two industrial units, said SEPA's Director, Dr Iqbal.

Replying to a question, he told Dawn that one of the factories belonged to Mr Farooq Gharib, who had been arrested by police on suspicion of having generated highly toxic waste dumped in an open area of Abidabad, SITE, which caused the death of a boy and severe burn injuries to over a dozen other children.

Justifying the sealing action at another unit, Ghani Industries, Dr Iqbal said that it was involved in a very injurious operation.

The factory was found using chemicals like formic acid, anhydrous sulphides and chromium, but failed to treat related waste and liquid effluents prior to their discharge, which demanded its immediate stoppage to minimize or remedy adverse environmental effects, he added.

A source privy to Thursday's exercise by SEPA in the SITE area said there was pressure on the team not to carryout sealing, but it was due to the presence of police and support of people that things had materialized.

In the meantime, the HRCP has also condemned the tragic incidents of deaths and injuries as a result of the chemical waste dumped in the SITE area.

When contacted by Dawn, a programme coordinator of the HRCP, Ejaz Ahsan said that it were the family members of Iftikhar — who had died at the NICH — that maintained that a relative of theirs, Siddique, had also expired after succumbing to injuries caused by the waste in question.