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Norms, at last

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has notified the emission standards for small size/portable gensets of 19 kilowatt, which are largely operated by spark ignition engines run on petrol and kerosene. The first phase of these standards will come into effect from June 1, 2000 in Delhi. The second phase will be enforced from June 1, 2001, when standards will be made more stringent.

The standards were finalised after studying the emissions from some existing genset engines. CPCB had commissioned the testing of these generator engines, both at the manufacturers' end and also at three different organisations/laboratories. This data was then analysed with the emission norms prescribed in countries such as the US and the UK. The CPCB had set up two national committees to look into the formulation of standards for air and noise pollution from generator sets about a year ago following a high court order. Says Professor H B Mathur, who chairs the national committee looking into air pollution from generator sets: "The committee has already outlined the testing procedure to check whether the gensets actually meet the standards, and has identified four national laboratories/ organisations to carry out these tests.' The responsibility of enforcing the standard will now rest with the CPCB and its implementing agencies.

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