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Pb. Current Affairs

March 19, 2020.

Brick kilns of Punjab creating an environmental nuisance by using ground rubber as fuel.
Brick kilns in Punjab have started using ground rubber of used tyres as a fuel.
But, the kilns are not allowed to do so because they are legally supposed to use only coal or sawdust as fuel.
Ground rubber is also known as crumb rubber.

Crumb rubber is recycled rubber produced from automotive and truck scrap tires.
During the recycling process, steel and tire cord (fluff) are removed, leaving tire rubber with a granular consistency
In the ground rubber market, there are two classes of particle sizes: “ground” rubber (10 mesh and smaller ) and “coarse” rubber (larger than 10 mesh, with a maximum size of a one-half inch).
The use of this rubber is leading to the release of more sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere.
Worse, detection of the usage of this fuel is not as easy as the fumes emitted by the use of ground rubber is colourless.
Also, the ground rubber is quite cheap as compared to coal.
Coal is available for ₹10 per kg whereas ground rubber is available for ₹7 to ₹8.
The bus and truck used tyres are being used in the kilns mostly.
Also, the ground rubber is giving a lighter colour to the bricks.
Punjab has around 2700 Kilns and out of these, around 60% of them have started switching to the use of ground rubber.

Punjab Pollution Control Board ( PPCB) has launched a campaign to check this menace.
The PPCB is also trying its best to help the kilns transit to Zigzag Technology for better environmental pollution control.
Besides, PPCB has set a limit of 60 micrograms as the permissible limit for sulfur dioxide, but this limit would be breached.
So, now state government and PPCB would impose the environmental guidelines in a Stern manner and would also impose fines on the kilns