Brahmapuram waste plant fire

Two out of five fire tenders that were stationed as a precautionary measure pressed into action and brought the situation under control. Though the fire and rescue officials brought the situation under control, the smoke is still emanating from the heap of waste. Unfortunately, the fire broke out in Sector 7, the same place where the massive fire broke out on March 2. "The fire watchers who were deployed on duty at the plant noticed and informed the fire officials. Two fire tenders were pressed into action to douse the fire. Within 15 minutes, we were able to bring the situation under control. The efforts are on to contain the smoke emanating from the heap of waste. We are fully monitoring the situation," said NSK Umesh, District Collector, adding that the Regional Fire Officer and Sub Collector are also monitoring it. As per the preliminary reports, smoldering is assumed to be the cause of the fire. "The chances of similar incidents are high as the temperature is soaring. Keep this in mind, we have already deployed fire watchers, home guards, fire and rescue officers, and a sufficient number of Hitachis to initiate action in case of any emergency. People do not have to panic," said the collector. Meanwhile, Mayor M Anilkumar said that all the necessary measures have been taken to douse the fire at Brahmapuram in coordination with the district collector and fire and safety officials. "At the site, there are five fire tenders to douse the blaze and more will be called if re...

A pungent smell of burnt plastic welcomes you to Kerala’s commercial capital Kochi even a fortnight after the Brahmapuram waste management plant under the city corporation caught fire.The garbage mounds spread over 60 acres in the plant caught fire on March 2, 2023, posing severe challenges to the firefighting mechanisms in the state. The fire was finally brought under control on the evening of March 13, 2023.But toxic emissions continue to engulf the city, making everyday life extremely miserable. But, even as the state government remains in denial about the magnitude of the disaster, critics have pointed out plausible reasons behind the blaze. Civil society movements active inKochi said the incident exposed two things: The inability of the state government and the local body to contain thefire in the shortest possible duration and the unscientific solid waste management system that prevailed in Brahmapuram for over a decade. On another level, it has exposed the outdated ways Kerala’s cities managed their accumulating waste. Also read: In Brahmapuram, in all probability, the fire broke out from thick layers of dry plastic waste heaped for several years. The firefighters failed to contain it even after continued efforts for 12 days. While Kerala has been promoting segregation of waste at source for more than a decade, the Kochi Municipal Corporation (KMC) and surrounding local bodies founded Brahmapuram as a centralised facility where theycould dump unsegregated waste with...

Kochi: Biodegradable waste generated in Kochi Corporation will be moved to the waste management facility at Brahmapuram for two more months. The decision has been taken considering the delay in fully implementing the plan to dispose of biowaste with the help of private agencies. The decision was taken at an online meeting attended by Local Self-government Minister M B Rajesh and Industries Minister P Rajeeve. Movement of biowaste to Brahmapuram was suspended following the massive fire at the facility there in March. As per the decision taken on Friday, only a maximum of 50 tonnes of biowaste is allowed to be taken to Brahmapuram a day. A task force will be deployed to ensure that the limit is not exceeded. Dumping of garbage will not be allowed as in the past. The existing shed and RRF building will be renovated and used for waste management, an official statement issued after the meeting said. The corporation has been tasked with finding more private agencies to solve the crisis within two months. Two companies are already engaged in this. The meeting decided to identify apartment complexes that do not have a legal waste management system and slap them with hectic fines. MLAs T J Vinod, P V Srinijin, K J Maxy, Uma Thomas, District Collector NSK Umesh, and Kochi Corporation Secretary M Babu Abdul Khader also attended the meeting. The comments posted here/below/in the given space are not on behalf of Onmanorama. The person posting the comment will be in sole ownership of it...

The Editorial | There was In May last year, the Kerala government told the South Zone Bench of the NGT that Zonta Infra Tech Private Limited had begun the process of ‘biomining’ — segregation and conversion of old dump yard waste into reusable resources — at Brahmapuram in January 2022, and that 28% of the work was over by May. But with talks veering towards a new waste-to-energy plant at the site, which would require a regular supply of huge quantities of waste, the Kochi Municipal Corporation slipped into a slumber and failed to ensure that the fire hydrants at the yard remained operational. This along with the toxic smoke emanating from the mounds of garbage proved to be a double whammy for the firefighters. Brahmapuram fire: NGT’s Principal Bench imposes ₹100 crore penalty on Kochi Corporation It is small wonder that the State Pollution Control Board has now imposed a fine of ₹1.8 crore on the Municipal Corporation. The NGT, on its part, asked the civic body to deposit a penalty of ₹100 crore with the Chief Secretary. Meanwhile, the State government launched a health survey in the smoke-hit areas of Kochi. But there are deeper concerns about prolonged exposure to compounds such as dioxins that are carcinogenic. When the Thiruvananthapuram-based National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology conducted studies at Brahmapuram in the aftermath of the fire episodes in 2019 and 2020, alarming levels of dioxin were detected in the air. The institute recommend...

"Experts from the health sector are checking whether this smoke can cause health problems. But diseases caused by smoke have not been detected much. Similarly, no irregular increase in the number of patients arriving at the hospital was found. However, the elderly, children below 12 years of age and those with asthma should be cautious," Renu Raj advised.

Kochi: The toxic smoke from the Brahmapuram has reached Aroor in Alappuzha district on Monday as authorities failed to douse the fire at the solid waste plant here for the fifth consecutive day. Though the fire is under control, giant plumes of smoke continue to rise from the Brahmapuram waste plant as hundreds of firefighters, including Naval personnel, battle to extinguish the fire. Industries Minister P Rajeeve on Monday informed the Kerala Assembly that the fire would be extinguished soon and that it was under control. Though the Minister had assured that the fire would be doused by Sunday evening, it continued to smoulder on Monday. Smoke continues to pose threat A senior police officer said that the fire appeared to be extinguished, but huge amounts of smoke was still rising from the site and therefore, it may not have been quelled completely. Aerial visuals of the site aired on various channels showed huge and thick plumes of smoke billowing from the site which appeared to be completely ravaged by the fire. Meanwhile, the district administration declared Monday as a holiday for Anganwadis, kindergartens, day care centres and children of classes 1 to 7 of government, aided, unaided, CBSE and ICSE schools located in Kochi city and neighbouring gram panchayats and municipalities. Kerala Industries Minister P Rajeeve had on Sunday said that the fire was under control. He and State Health Minister Veena George said that the smoke due to the blaze was not a matter of conc...

For the past 12 days, firefighters have been trying to douse the smouldering fire that spread on waste heaps at Brahmapuram in Kochi, a massive dump site spread over 110 acres housing an unwieldy mix of garbage — biodegradable and otherwise. Multiple fire tender units are pumping in several thousands of litres of water per minute into the dump with help of earth movers which upheave the mounds so that water can reach the layers beneath. Local administration and ministers have claimed that the fire is under control and the smoke from smouldering dumps would be contained soon. An update from the District Collector on March 12 said they have been successful in containing fire in five out of the seven sectors of the dump site, identified to streamline the firefighting operations. The remaining two sectors were both marshy lands where the fire tender units could not venture in. Brahmapuram fire and history of toxic emissions Brahmapuram dump yard isn’t new to fires and an outbreak was witnessed as recently as in A NIIST’s 2020 report also noted that the average dioxin levels observed in the ambient air at Brahmapuram was 3.2 picogram (pg) TEQ per cubic metre air, which is 16 and 2.5 times respectively higher than field blank and control site measurements. In 2019, the levels were even higher - 10.3 pg TEQ per cubic metre air, which were 50 and 10 times respectively higher than reference and field blank data.Toxic equivalency (TEQ) is a value that allow researchers to compare th...

Kochi residents have been advised to stay indoors and wear masks while stepping out as thick toxic fumes from the Brahmapuram waste plant fire covered Kerala's port city Kochi and neighbouring areas. Even a week after the fire, residents are struggling to breathe as toxic fumes keep spreading from the smoldering dump yard. Amid complaints of breathing difficulties and dry eyes by residents, the local administration has advised locals to remain indoors and use N-95 masks when they step out. Local authorities have also announced that schools would remain shut till Friday. The local administration has stationed several fire tenders and are dumping water on the heaps of garbage in order to contain the toxic smoke. The Brahamapuram dump yard is spread across 110 acres. THE BRAHMAPURAM FIRE A massive fire broke out at the waste plant in Brahamapuram on March 2 and the air quality in the port city of Kochi and neighbouring areas worsened as they were engulfed in dense smoke. The government, however, said no health issues or emergencies were reported as a result of the smoke. According to municipality officials, such incidents of fire happen every year around this time due to the extreme heat. But what's unusual this time is that the smell of burning plastic has left residents breathless. RESIDENTS DIZZY, BREATHLESS Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly, VD Satheesan, on Wednesday urged the state government to declare a health emergency in areas around the Brahampuram waste ...

"Experts from the health sector are checking whether this smoke can cause health problems. But diseases caused by smoke have not been detected much. Similarly, no irregular increase in the number of patients arriving at the hospital was found. However, the elderly, children below 12 years of age and those with asthma should be cautious," Renu Raj advised.

Kochi residents have been advised to stay indoors and wear masks while stepping out as thick toxic fumes from the Brahmapuram waste plant fire covered Kerala's port city Kochi and neighbouring areas. Even a week after the fire, residents are struggling to breathe as toxic fumes keep spreading from the smoldering dump yard. Amid complaints of breathing difficulties and dry eyes by residents, the local administration has advised locals to remain indoors and use N-95 masks when they step out. Local authorities have also announced that schools would remain shut till Friday. The local administration has stationed several fire tenders and are dumping water on the heaps of garbage in order to contain the toxic smoke. The Brahamapuram dump yard is spread across 110 acres. THE BRAHMAPURAM FIRE A massive fire broke out at the waste plant in Brahamapuram on March 2 and the air quality in the port city of Kochi and neighbouring areas worsened as they were engulfed in dense smoke. The government, however, said no health issues or emergencies were reported as a result of the smoke. According to municipality officials, such incidents of fire happen every year around this time due to the extreme heat. But what's unusual this time is that the smell of burning plastic has left residents breathless. RESIDENTS DIZZY, BREATHLESS Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly, VD Satheesan, on Wednesday urged the state government to declare a health emergency in areas around the Brahampuram waste ...