Dr Prakash Lalwani talks about the health risks of coal power
Dr Prakash Lalwani, M.B.B.S, M.S, is a general physician and the founder of Wakewar Hospital in Parli, where he has been practicing for eight years. Less than 2km from Parli town is Parli Thermal Power Station, a 920MW coal-fired power station that has been operating – and expanding – for nearly forty years. The plant in its current form uses 1100 metric tonnes of coal per day, producing 3500 metric tonnes of fly ash per day and an unspecified amount of waste gases. Construction work for another 250MW unit is underway. Like many other coal-fired thermal power plants, Parli TPS has been criticised for its lack of proper waste management, which means much of its waste fly ash is blown from the dump to surrounding areas. We asked Dr Lalwani about the health consequences of living in these areas.
What are the health problems associated with living near Parli Thermal Power Station?
There are three major types of health problems associated. The first are lung problems. [Ash consists of] very minor particles, which go inside the lungs and block the bronchioles, and cause Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases (C.O.P.D), bronchial asthma, things like that. Bronchial asthma is seen more often. Obviously pollution is not the only factor causing lung disease, but C.O.P.D lowers the resistance of the lungs to secondary infections such as Tuberculosis. A physician in this area performed a survey that showed a seven-fold increase in lung disease in our area over a five-year period. This is a result of air pollution, which is produced by the thermal power station and now also by the cement factories which have started up around it. The lung conditions are definitely associated with this ash.
The second type is skin problems – chronic skin diseases have definitely increased here. All the people who work on the fly ash ponds have skin problems – eczema, allergic dermatitis. As the ash is mixed with water they can get fungal infections too. The chances of skin cancer are there too, in the long term.
The third thing is allergies. I haven’t performed clinical studies, but I’ve been seeing these problems in my patients for the last ten years, and the number of patients with these diseases has increased. If you talk to any physician over here they will also tell you the same thing.
How widespread are these problems?
The chances of developing diseases are of course higher for those who are in very close contact with the ash, but there is a risk for the people who stay near it too. If it’s not the rainy season, the ash is like a fog, covering a 20km area [around the power plant]. If you go up to my roof [here in the city] and mark a 1ft by 1ft square, by morning it will be studded with these particles. It stops for 8 hrs after it rains, but apart from that it is constant, and it’s worst in the summer.
The problem is that chronic diseases caused by this pollution don’t affect people immediately. It is a slow process. If I work in these conditions in 2009, I may only develop the diseases in 2014, for example. So it’s hard to hold the contractors responsible.
The drinking water for this area comes from a small open dam not more than 2km by air from the power plant, so I would say the water is definitely being affected. The vegetables we eat are also polluted by the chemicals contained within the fly ash.
What could improve the situation?
Legally, this thermal power plant should be eight kilometres away from the city. It is just touching now. Twenty-five years back, before the city expanded, it was still just two kilometres away. We understand it might not be feasible to shift the power station, but at least when they are building new plants they should be built a proper distance away from the city! It’s cheaper for them to build the power stations close to one another, as they won’t need as many managerial staff to run them. There’s also ample manpower and water near the cities.
The transportation of the materials is also not proper. Sprinkling is also required – legally – for the transportation of coal, but it is being transported dry, in open containers. Ash should be [transported] mixed with water, but it’s not being. If you come in summer season you will see the air looks like this is a hill station. But this is not a fog. It is the presence of that ash in the surroundings. For cement factories etc., the ash is directly taken from the power station site, with no water involved.
The people who work with the fly ash wear no protection – no boots, no face masks. Lack of awareness may be one reason for this, but the main reason is poverty. If a worker is earning Rs.100-150 per day, how will he pay for these things after he has provided for his family? So it should be the responsibility of the contractors, or the government, to see that they are given the proper protection.
What’s being done?
Nothing. Every 3-4 months, the local people hold a protest. On paper, you’ll find that there are boards displaying the amount of air pollution, like they display temperature in some places. But paper is the only place you’ll find these boards – they haven’t been implemented in reality.
How is the power situation here?
The power situation is the worst. At least what we demanded was: if we are giving electricity to half of Maharashtra, at least we should not have power cuts. We are suffering all types of losses. At least give us the benefit [of full power supply]. In towns, we have 6-10 hours of powercuts per day, depending on the season. In my farm, which is in a rural area just beside the thermal power station, I get power for only 4-6 hours per day. We use gensets instead, which run on diesel. Yet the leaves of the small amount of sugarcane I grow are grey with ash, even in rainy season.
