ISLAMABAD, Feb 21: In a landmark decision on Wednesday, the Supreme Court ordered closure of two steel mills in the federal capital for not complying with the set environmental standards.

The eight-member bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry decreed that Modern Steel Mills and Potohar Steel Mills would remain closed until they adopted environment-friendly measures. All employees of the mills would keep on getting their salaries during the time of closure.

The apex court had taken suo motu notice of adverse environmental conditions in the Industrial Area and sought action against the industrial units under the Environmental Protection Act 1979 for not observing the environmental standards and posing a serious threat to the life of the residents of I-9 and I-10 sectors.

The court directed Commissioner Mansoor Ali Shah to conduct a survey of the Industrial Area to ascertain whether or not the Environmental Protection Act was being implemented by the industrial units and submit a report to the court within two months.

The court directed the Director-General Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (PEPA) Asif Shuja to hold meetings with the provincial environmental agencies and submit a report on the outcome of the meeting.

Asif Shuja told the court that out of over 200 industrial units in Islamabad, 115 had the potential of generating pollution. These include eight steel melting furnaces, 11 re-rolling mills, 25 steel mills, 25 flour mills, five oil and ghee mills, 31 marble cutting and polishing units, 10 pharmaceutical companies, two galvanizing mills, 23 metal working and 23 engineering units.

He said eight units had been issued notices for violating the environmental standards, out of which four had so far complied with the orders, while response from the rest of the four, including two steel mills, was still awaited.

Industrial Estate Islamabad (IEI) was established in 1963. It houses more than 200 industries. In the Master Plan of Islamabad, it was isolated from the residential area through a buffer zone, but now the residential area has developed very close to it to the south and west due to elimination of buffer zone by the CDA.

The IEI, therefore, is posing a serious threat to the residents of the I-9 and I-10 sectors. From October to May, wind blows from the estate towards the residential area, while during summers it blows towards the north and northwest towards Islamabad.

The Capital Development Authority (CDA) is supplying water to the industries in the area but a number of them have now installed their own tube wells due to inadequate supply of water. The waste water drains originating from the industrial units are connected to the natural drains within the industrial estate.

A comprehensive ambient air quality survey of the IEI was recently carried out by Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency. Various ambient air quality parameters were monitored to assess the status of ambient air in the industrial area. The findings revealed that higher concentrations of PM10 and TSP were due to industrial as well as vehicular activities in the vicinity.

The concentration of PM10 and TSP were 2.5 and 10 times higher than the acceptable standards respectively. These two ambient air parameters are basic to assess the ambient air quality with regards to steel furnace operation.

The major environmental problem at the IEI is emissions from the steel melting furnaces. These industries had already been directed to install efficient pollution devices in a specific timeframe.

Practically, pollution is generated due to use of poor quality scrap consisting mainly of spent containers of edible oils, paints, lubricants and even rubber. Maximum pollution is generated at the time when temperature is low in the furnace and scrap is contaminated with oil. The steel melting industries are contributing heavily to air pollution in the industrial estate of I-9 and I-10.