India to become capital for lead poisoning?

BANGALORE: India’s quest for green and alternative energy can prove to be a double- edged sword. This boomerang can lead to environmental disasters which is capable of making India the worst hit lead poisoned country very soon.Dr Thuppil Venkatesh, Principal Advisor, Quality Council of India (QCI) and National Referral Centre for Lead Poisoning in India (NRCLPI) says that India will become the world capital of lead poisoning by next decade.As per current policies, India aims to produce an additional 12 giga Watts by 2022, blue print includes the distribution of 20 million small battery-powered ‘solar lanterns’ in rural areas.“Introduction of solar lanterns in rural areas means usage of lead-acid batteries (LABs) in solar panel to store the power until it is needed.LABs comprise about 80 per cent of all lead consumption,” added Dr Venkatesh.According to studies, a battery can lose up to one-half of its lead over its life cycle due to poor mining practices.“According to a study, In India, there will be an estimated 22 per cent loss in lead. And a grand total of 2,030 tonnes,” added Dr Venkatesh.The government and battery makers need to make mining and smelting safer, and move early to set up sound recycling programs.Without specific government regulations that mandate how used batteries will be collected LAB companies and solar power distributors have little incentive to institute policies to improve product stewardship.MeasuresDr Thuppil Venkatesh suggests that this problem is preventable. With few important measures the government can prevent planned solar power expansions from causing massive releases of the toxic element. Measures suggested are implementing the lead acid battery takeback policy, environmental monitoring on a continuous basis at gram panchayath level and developing India to stop importing cheaper inefficient lead acid batteries available at lower cost.