KARACHI, April 6: Participants at a seminar on environment have stressed the need to maintain proper and sufficient water supply, sewerage system, solid waste management, and minimum ecological disturbance for improving the environmental conditions in Karachi. The seminar on ‘Impact of environmental pollution on health, economy and natural resource management’ was jointly organized by the Department of Microbiology, University of Karachi and the Pakistan Society for Microbiology, in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment.

Participants also recommended effective measures to minimize substantial economic losses due to corrosion of building and other material, saying environmental factors responsible for corrosion should be given due consideration while planning constructions.

Since lettuce, cabbage, spinach and other vegetables have a tendency to accumulate heavy metals it was recommended that before selecting a site for their cultivation it be insured that soil and irrigation water there be free from heavy metal contamination. However, such vegetations may be used for phytoremediation for reclaiming heavy metal contaminated sites.

Occupational hazards at workplaces was seen to be a common phenomena, calling for recommendations that proper safety measures be taken to ensure a safe working environment free of health hazards.

It was also pointed out that the use of chemical agents in industries, agriculture and households may lead to toxic alterations in various host organs, while exposure to these substances on the other hand may suppress the host’s defence against infections.

It was, therefore, recommended that to have an immunocompetent immune system, exposure to heavy metals and other environmental pollutants through water, food be avoided at home and workplaces.

“We should try to develop biomonitoring systems to quickly detect heavy metal pollution of the marine environment, which may otherwise have serious consequences due to ecological disturbances of the food chain,” participants said.

It was observed that microbial species including pseudomonas and Escherichia coli be utilized for the degradation of phenolic waste coming from different industries to help protect the environment from the toxic effects of phenol.

The seminar also called for discouraging the indiscriminate use of pesticides, while suggesting the introduction of various integrated waste management techniques in the agriculture sector. Natural methods including crop rotation should be encouraged in order to avoid the excessive use of agrochemicals, it was further observed.

Participants also said that effective and sustainable measures should be adopted to check the unwarranted migration of population from rural to urban areas, in this regard stressing the need for providing all basic facilities of health, education and job opportunities to the rural population.

The seminar recommended that in order to save Karachi from environmental degradation, unauthorized squatter settlements should be discouraged so that population growth could be controlled.

Authorities in Karachi should try to properly maintain water and sewerage systems, solid waste management and minimum ecological disturbance, besides implementing laws to control the exposure of communities to pollution contributed by industrial and urban sectors, it was said.

Effective planning for methods and measures should be undertaken on priority basis for water disinfection, supply and storage in emergency situations at regional and country level, participants at the seminar observed, while laying stress on legislation for ensuring proper and sustainable disposal of biomedical waste.—APP