A thermal power plant in Kahalgaon, India, will set up bagging machines for its flyash production in response to local concerns regarding the open filling of flyash. The NTPC-owned plant supplies flyash to cement producers in the northeast and is putting in six packing machines filling a total of 4800 bags/hour or 4000 tpd. The plant had received a warning from the pollution control board, which has asked the company to deposit Rs.10 lakh as security against the prescribed environmental measures and has threatened the plant with closure should it continue to violate the ‘norms’ by open filling of sacks.
Flyash is transported from the power plant to cement customers via train. The company has said that the collection, packing and transportation of flyash is outsourced to private contractors who have been accused of failing to follow environmental regulations. The company has since intervened and hopes to further improve the situation through the installation of the new bagging equipment.
Edited from various sources by Katherine Guenioui
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