More than two months after the Supreme Court ordered the installation of anti smog guns at all large construction sites among other locations to reduce dust pollution, the devices have been installed at 14 of the 47 large projects in Delhi
The Supreme Court Judgement:
The court made it compulsory for authorities to use of anti-smog guns in Delhi-NCR at the site of projects that require environmental clearance from the State/Central level and which have a built-up area of more than 20,000sqmt including excavation, material handling and other dust-generating activities.
The authorities would have to prepare a ‘polluter pays’ policy to cover the cost of installation of the anti-smog guns at these sites.
What are Anti Smog Guns?
The anti-smog gun sprays nebulised water droplets into the air through high-pressure propellers, which help dust particles settle down.he device sprays atomized water (tiny droplets of water) up to a height of 50 metres, creating artificial mist, which is in turn expected to stick to air-borne pollutants and bring them down to the ground.
The gun is attached to a water tank built on a movable vehicle, which can be taken to various parts of the city.
The idea behind the machine is that it reduces air pollution by binding dust and other particulate matter, and bring them down to the ground level. The plan has been reportedly made keeping in mind three major sources of pollution–transport, industry, and road dust and fugitive emissions.
Smog Tower
Smog towers are structures designed to work as large-scale air purifiers. They are usually fitted with multiple layers of air filters, which clean the air of pollutants as it passes through them
The smog tower installed at Lajpat Nagar is capable of treating 6,00,000 cubic metres of air per day and can collect more than 75 per cent of particulate matters (PM) 2.5 and 10, PTI reported. After the cleaning, the tower releases clean air.
The Delhi government is planning to install a smog tower at Central Park in Connaught Place. The 20-metre (65 feet) high tower will trap particulate matter of all sizes suspended in the air. Large-scale air filters shall draw in the air through fans installed at the top before passing it through the filters and releasing it near the ground.
The project is a collaboration between the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, IIT-Delhi and the University of Minnesota, the latter having helped design a similar tower of over 100 metres in China’s Xi’an city. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) will also be involved with the project
(Anti smog guns)
Example from China:
China, which has been battling air pollution for years, has two smog towers — in its capital Beijing and in the northern city of Xi’an.
The Xi’an tower is dubbed the world’s largest, and has reportedly brought down PM 2.5 by 19% in an area of around 6 sq km in its vicinity. The 100-metre (328 feet) high tower has produced 10 million cubic metres of clean air every day since its launch, and on severely polluted days, is able to bring down smog close to moderate levels.
The tower in Beijing, built by Dutch artist Daan Roosegaarde, has been able to compress the carbon waste generated during purification to produce gemstones, according to the TED Conferences website. Upon compression for 30 minutes, the smog particles turn into dark gems, which are used for rings and cufflinks.