Fire at Norochchole
Posted by Editor on October 24, 2010 - 10:57 am
A sudden fire has broken out at the Norochchole Thermal Power Plant in Kalpitiya today morning. According to the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) Chairman, Vidya Amarapala the fire has irrupted due to the clogging up of a chimney that emits waste from the combustion of coal.
Mr. Amarapala added that there are no human casualties from the fire. While almost 90% of the fire has been extinguished, additionally Sri Lanka Air force and Navy personnel have also been deployed in order to assist with the task, Ada Derana correspondent stated.
Courtesy: Ada Derana
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The Green Lanka claims that the cost of damage is more than Rs20M. Why is that no press is reporting on this. Are we waiting for GoSL report.
Normally in any large Power project the first thing to do is to obtain a fire risk insurance against any fire damage during construction. Was this done?
This is just the beginning of the many disasters to come from coal power plants, even before this one is commissioned. In Europe coal power plants are being closed and the existing ones are under strict laws to prevent emitting carbon particles, carbon dioxide and monoxide gases and sulpher particles and sulpher dioxide gas as waste to the atmosphere. These wastes are by-products of coal power plants. The sulpher dioxide gas ejected into the atmosphere mixes with rain to form acid rain i.e. sulphuric/sulphurous acid. This acid destroys forests. In a few years time our forests will be decimated. Our agriculture would be affected. People living in the vicinity of the power plant will breathe noxious fumes from the power plant emmissions. This will result in lung diseases and early death. What a cost for man and the Health Ministry! When forests are destroyed our fauna and flora will be destroyed. So much for the pearl of the ocean! Our tourist industry will be destroyed when the luscious green vegetation of the island are destroyed. When this happens our island will be turned into a desert as there is no forest cover to attract rain. There is a symbiotic relationship between forests, rain, and the carbon cycle. Forests breathe in the carbon doixide in the atmosphere and give out oxygen for us to breathe. That cycle is broken when the forest cover is destroyed. Forests also cause and attract rain. China does not care about what happens to our forests. They want to sell their coal power plants and coal to us. It is a big income-generator for them. The Minister of Power seems to have closed his eyes to this fact. Does he not care for our environment? The pine trees of Sacandinavian countries which is specially grown for their timber industry were destroyed by the coal power plants of Britain, as the wind blew the pollutants from the British coal power plant chimneys to Scandinavia. Under European conventions strict laws were enforced on Britain for filteration systems to be fitted in the chimneys before such noxious gases/pollutants were emmitted to the atmosphere. Because of the cost of such filteration systems some coal power plants in Britain had to be closed, as otherwise they would have to pay huge compensation to Norway and Sweden. This is an object lesson for SL. I do not think the Minister responsible for approval of coal power plant had conisdered the effect of such an industry by its waste products on our people, fauna and flora and the forest cover. I hope he would take notice and insist on proper filteration systems to be fitted to chimneys as in Britain so that noxious fumes are not liberated to the atmosphere.
Please do not build any more coal power plants in our country. Eouropean countries have shut them down.
I hope our Hon President heed my warning and insist on China providing an effective filteration system in the chimneys of coal power plants before they are commissioned. It should be added to the contract with China who built the power plant. Now is the time to act to avert a great disaster to our people, the flora and fauna, as well as to our buildings, and our Sri Maha Bidhi and Sigiriya etc through acid rain. Our country will end up ruined. So much for the ‘Miracle of Asia’!
In Britain powerful blasts of air is driven trough the coal power plant chimneys every night after shutting down the power plant for a short while. This is in order to get rid of the soot and sulpher which gets accumulated in the chimney walls over a period of time. Otherwise, the chimney will get very hot and cause a dangerous explosion. That is what happened during the trial runs. Policies must be drawn-up about the proper running of the power plant for Health & Safety of the people operating the power plants , and also of the people living in the vicinity, and to protect the environment.
Catholic Church campaigned against coal power plants to highlight environment concerns, through lessons learnt in other countries, but its voice was not heared. I hope no more coal power plants are built in SL. Let us develop green energy resources such as Wind Farms, more hydro electric projects etc.