Chunnakam waste oil contamination

Groundwater Contamination of Chunnakam Sri Lanka Causes

● Suspected Company name with full profile:­ AGGREKO, NPCo Ltd.(NPC)

Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB),

● Material of OIL (HFO) content : Mostly waste oil could be from filtering HFO and the Lubricating oil which is changed every 1000 to 1500 hours of operation of each machine ● Company installation done by whom? CEB plant ­ Uthuru Jenani By Lanka Transformers Ltd subsidiary of CEB AGGREKO plant by AGGREKO itself and NPC plant by NPC itself.

Environmental safety policies :­ ​ Our Commitment Environmental Policy Statement

Ceylon Electricity Board will manage all its business activities in a manner, which cares for the natural and man made environment and contribute to sustainable development. By means of openness in dealing with environmental issues, we intend to create confidence in our activities on the part of the public, customers, authorities, employees, and owners. We will actively pursue a policy of incorporating and integrating environmental considerations into our activities. http://www.ceb.lk/sub/environment/ourcommitment.html

● Governments policies of Power plants Falsified ­ The tampering, misrepresentation, or otherwise altering of documents, permits, certifications, or any other records required by environmental statutes and/or regulations.

Issue of licence makes makes a requirement to keep all records of wastes produced how stored and how disposed. If transported even these details with date time etc be maintained and monthly provided to the CEA representative in Jaffna ● Is the suspected violation (wastage disposal­ liquid wastage) still occurring?:­ On a Magistrate court order the NPC plant has been sealed. AGGREKO had completed the contract to run the plant with CEB and have removed the plants.Uthuru­Jenani is just commissioned by CEB how they manage waste is unknown as the plants are within High

security Zone The suspected waste dumped into abandoned well with suspected deep drill down to about 100 ft is making the wastes to seep into ground water system ● Have you already notified your state/tribal? Yes. Temporary sealing of the NPC plant has been done by the Mallakam courts. The plant operators have made an appeal. Hearing is in April in Jaffna courts ● What was the initial issue and current issue. In 2012 some oil was found in wells next to the Power station. Now it has spread to almost 6 Km around Chunnakam ● People complain full history (who was logged first/start time/places/officers/departments) MC/2982/PC/14 Courts case by Dr.Rasalingam Sivasankar and many others ● Action taken /any solution and any alternative steps by violator/ any reply from the related departments / It is understood that on an initial complaint to the LA and GA jaffna who reported to CEB Chunnakam and Water Board and CEA the matter was taken up at a meeting held in the Secretary to the Minister of Power where GM CEB instructed NPC not to pollute with waste oil and grease as these were found by tests done by the Water Board in wells close to the Power plants

● Population peoples surround affected area (Families, Children, number of schools include names) Now more than 4000 families more than 20schools ● I would characterize the suspected violation as Dump/Buried and Spill by Company...AGGREKO Northern Power Co. Ltd. all within the Ceylon Electricity Board Chunnakam Premises. ● Applied to LAND and Water​ ? Yes dumped into abandoned well and intentionally or by mistake drilling deep so as to get rid of the waste which seems to have entered the underground water system in the peninsula ● Please describe the incident or hazard in as much detail as possible. Use descriptive terms, such as gas drilling, drum dumping, tank truck discharging into drain, fish kill, leaking containers, Bio solids, etc., and if the alleged environmental violation has been recorded via video or photographs please include that fact in your description: Waste oil and grease from HFO/Diesel operated power plants of Northern Power Co. Ltd. and AGGREKO who operated the plants on an Power purchase agreement with CEB to Provide power in Jaffna Peninsula with or without being connected to the National Grid of CEB on short term and 10 Year agreement. These could contain waste Lube oil which

is a waste every time the lube oil is changed in each engine once in 1000 to 1500 h as the case may be.

Original Oil Pools

Present situation

During the Construction of the New Grid Substation by CEB

Present disposition of the plant lay out at Chunnakam Power Station.

● About the soil mean 100% farming usage Valigamam Chunnakam are about 80% farming area ● About the ground water usage (100%) Ground water collects in dug wells 20 to 30 feet deep as the water table is at about 20 feet down. These well water is used by household for drinking washing and home garden etc. The farm wells are used for Farm land where mainly Vegetables are grown ● Human activities too can add to the quality of groundwater. Yes use of Pesticides and Fertilisers could add pollutions to the ground water. ● Effluent (wastage disposal­ liquid wastage) Waste oil while filtering centrifuging fuel oil used by these Diesel plants operated by Furnace oil/Heavy Fuel oil Grease used for Lubricating Joins and moving parts Lube Oil change of Engines every 1000 to 1500 h of

operation or at times of failure of moving parts as well as waste produced on continuous filtering of the lube oil. ● Extended of area ● Court case Mallakam courts.MC/2982/PC/14 Courts case by Dr.Rasalingam Sivasankar and many others

● Why want to complain to other outside Sri Lanka? The extend of damage is very large and very slow action by the Northern Provincial Government and the local authorities.

The oil is spreading fast and Sri Lanka doesn't have the capability to detect/arrest the proper source of contamination and to rectify same which we feel could take several years Effects Human effect ● Aquifer poisoning I. II.

Birth defects (Average data from last 3 years) Still birth (Average data if possible)

● Chronic poisoning ●.i. Neurotoxin ●.ii. Skin effect ●.iii. Respiratory 2) Current Symptoms of human. And agriculture.

3) Any data’s from Jaffna hospital (From the effect area admin of people, any bad symptoms, increase number of people before 2011 and now currently ) 1) Animal effect 2) Agriculture effect, current observation of agriculture.

3) Environmental effect 4) Feature Long­term effects

5) Current control or people worried ● What was the solution for drinking water ●.i. Who helps? ●.ii. People minds steps taken by innocent people.. ●.iii. People thinking. ●.iv. Any court order taken or flowed?

Solutions 1) Imitates needed action 2) Sort team action 3) Permanent order and action 4) Any expectation from company 5) Compensation from related company and department.

Needed: 1. All copy of complain include in Tamil with all clear details as much as can.

2. Any copy of response from all departments.

3. Court case statements.

4. Current state of court case From our site: ● How we have to handle this matter from your option ( Effected area or working team at Jaffna) ● Any medical help ●.i. Need to any medical camp? ●.ii. Relevant medical items? ●.iii. If possible do we need to any pressures out to by media, Related department with?

●.iv. Any other help from us?

Health hazards due to heavy metal poisoning of groundwater in Jaffna peninsula Many wells that have been contaminated were found to contain the heavy metals Lead, Iron, Chromium and Arsenic. Ingestion of contaminated water may and will lead to heavy metal toxicity.

Lead Lead, a common ingredient in battery acid, is hazardous to health in even small amounts. Young children are particularly vulnerable to the toxic effects of Lead and can suffer profound and permanent adverse health effects as stated by the World Health Organisation (WHO). They affect the development of the brain and nervous tissue where they accumulate. Children are more susceptible to the harmful effects of lead contaminated water because they absorb 4 – 5 times as much ingested Lead than adults.

At higher levels of toxicity, Lead attacks the brain and nervous tissue to cause coma, convulsions and even death. Children who survive severe lead poisoning may be left with severe complications such as mental retardation and behavioural disruption. These neurological and behavioural effects of Lead poisoning are believed to be irreversible.

Lead also causes long term harmful effects in adults, including increased risk of hypertension (elevated blood pressure) and kidney damage, including anaemia (disruption in the production of red blood cells that carry oxygen to the tissue), immunotoxicity (more susceptible to infectious diseases) and toxicity to the reproductive organs often resulting in low sperm counts and erectile dysfunction in males and subfertility in females.

Exposure of pregnant women to the harmful effects can cause miscarriages, stillbirths, premature birth and low birth weight, as well as congenital malformations such as neural tube defects (problems with the spinal cord and vertebrae) and hydrocephalus (abnormal collection of cerebrospinal fluid within the skull)

Chromium Chromium, used in many dyes, pigments and in the production of metal alloys, is harmful as well as carcinogenic (agent that causes cancer). Chromium toxicity is associated with lung cancer is it causes damage to the precious yet fragile Deoxy ribo Nucleic Acid (DNA), found within the nucleus of cells. Several researches conducted internationally have documented the carcinogenicity of Chromium.

After ingestion of chromium contaminated water and upon entering the blood stream, it damages the kidneys, liver and blood cells. Chromium has also found to cause premature dementia.

It can also cause allergic skin reactions and irritations resulting in ulcers and blister formations.

The use of contaminated water for irrigation of crops also poses health hazards as they tend to get absorbed by the roots of the plants and accumulate through the levels of the food chain, increasing in concentration and in toxicity. Heavy metals such as Lead and Chromium pose a threat not only to humans but also to animals that consume contaminated food as well. When we humans ingest contaminated food, the harmful effects mentioned earlier manifest.

Arsenic Arsenic occurs naturally in the environment as both inorganic (the less abundant, more toxic form) and organic (the less toxic, more abundant form) arsenic. The most common route of exposure in humans is consumption of arsenic­containing food or drinking water. Seafood contains the highest concentrations of organic arsenic; cereals and poultry are also sources.

Arsenic can also be inhaled (the predominant route for occupational exposure) or absorbed through the skin. Inorganic arsenic binds to hemoglobin in red blood cells once absorbed and is rapidly distributed to the liver, kidneys, heart, lungs, and to a lesser degree the nervous system, GI tract, and spleen; it can also cross the placenta. Some inorganic arsenic can be converted to organic arsenic compounds in the liver (monomethylarsonic and dimethylarsinic acids) that have less acute toxicity.Most inorganic and organic arsenic compounds are excreted by the kidneys, with a small amount retained in keratin­rich tissues (eg, nails, hair, and skin).

Arsenic binds and depletes lipoic acid in cells, interfering with the production of chemical energy (adenosine triphosphate ­­ ATP); it can also directly bind to and inactivate ATP. Acute exposure to inorganic arsenic may cause nausea, vomiting, profuse diarrhea, arrhythmia, a decrease in red and white blood cell production, loss of blood volume (hypovolemic shock), burning or numbness in the extremities, and encephalopathy. Organic forms of arsenic have little acute toxicity compared to inorganic arsenic and arson gas, the other two chemical forms of arsenic, which are more. Chronic inorganic arsenic exposure can result in anemia, neuropathy, or liver toxicity within a few weeks to months. Longer exposure (3­7 years) can also result in characteristic skin lesions (areas of hyperpigmentation or keratin­containing lesions) on the palms and soles of the feet.

Severe exposure can lead to loss of circulation to extremities, which can become necrotic and gangrenous (“black foot disease”). Chronic exposure to arsenic has been associated with several types of cancer (skin, lung, liver, bladder, and kidney). Chronic exposure to dimethylarsinic acid, a form

of

organic

arsenic,

may

cause

kidney

damage

(ATSDR

2007a).

http://www.lef.org/Protocols/Health­Concerns/Heavy­Metal­Detoxification/Page­04 Relevance of these details on future Jaffna It is old knowledge that exposure to chemicals can harm human reproduction. Ancient Romans were aware that lead (Pb) poisoning can cause miscarriage and infertility. Today it is well established that human pregnancy and fetal development are susceptible to parents’ environmental exposure to chemical, biological and physical agents.

Heavy metals especially lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic and chromium are well known for causing birth defects. Although, the mother may be unaffected and unaware of the contamination, infants exposed to such agents in­utero may have a number of side effects as these substances readily move across the placental barrier.

Heavy metals are dangerous because they have the tendency to bio accumulate in biological organisms over a period of time. The foetus and newborns are much more sensitive to the effects at low levels of metal exposure and this is mainly due to body weight being less and higher rate of food consumption rate, higher gastrointestinal absorption rate, less effective renal excretion, and a less effective blood­brain barrier.

On the other hand, lead is tightly bound to red blood cells, thereby enhancing the transfer from maternal circulation through the placenta to the foetus. Placental transfer begins as early as the twelfth week of gestation. Arsenic is found in drinking water and is a potent toxicant but scanty research has been done on its effect on maternal health. Chromium (Cr6+) accumulates in placenta and impairs foetal development in the placenta. Therefore, the fertile population should prevent themselves from exposure to chemicals, drugs and other environmental agents. (​ http://article.sapub.org/pdf/10.5923.j.als.20120202.06.pdf​ )

A new concept of the developmental origins of health and disease has also emerged which is defined as the process through which the prenatal environment, or the environment during infancy, shapes the long­term control of tissue physiology and homeostasis.

We know that even slight perturbations caused by chemical exposures during sensitive periods of fetal development can lead to increased risks of disease throughout the life of an individual .

It is well­known that exposure to stresses alters the in utero development of a human fetus and has adverse health consequences for the offspring, including a short gestation period, reduced birth weight, increased risk of metabolic, cardiac and psychiatric disease, and overall reduced lifespan.

An analysis on prevalence of birth defects in a hospital at Fallujah,Iraq says that, Intermittent bombing of populated cities in Iraq has occurred since 1991. Most significant was the bombardment of Fallujah, a city in central Iraq, and Al Basrah, a city in southern Iraq. Fallujah was heavily bombed in 2004. Subsequently, unusual numbers of birth defects have been surfacing in that city.

Fallujah mothers who participated in this study did not take any medication and described their diet as “good” during pregnancy. Only one couple was first cousins. Mothers did not drink or smoke during pregnancy. All families consumed water from local aqueducts or locally bottled waters. Siblings of the parents had no history of children with congenital defects. Figure ​ 1​ shows a chronological increase in the percentages of birth defects and miscarriages in these Fallujah families. Mercury and Pbo toxic metals readily used in the manufacture of present­day bullets and other ammunition, were 6 and 5 times higher in hair samples from Fallujah children with birth defects compared to Fallujah children who appeared normal .Though statistically not significant, the hair of parents of children with birth defects had more uranium,

Pb

and

Hg

than

the

hair

children.​ (​ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3464374/​ )

of

parents

of

normal

From ​ aranee maruthainar