After taking successful action against the unauthorised recycling of lead batteries in Hyderabad, the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa) is now planning to take a similar action in Karachi.

A couple of months ago, Sepa had demolished around 150 units in Hyderabad where worn out lead batteries were being recycled. The lead from old batteries was extracted and being used in news batteries.

Sepa officials said they had also suspended one of its officers for patronising the illegal practice and took the strict action by demolishing all such furnaces and facilities along River Indus in Hyderabad.

Health and environmental experts consider the practice of lead extraction through melting a highly hazardous practice as it can cause lead poisoning to humans while the process also generates over 3000 carcinogens.

Officials in Sepa said that action against such recycling units is being planned on the directives of Sindh Environmental Minister Shaikh Muhammad Afzal, who has asked the authority to take the issue seriously as the practice was polluting the environment.

“There are scores of furnaces and recycling units operating in Gadap Town where lead is melted for extraction from used batteries and in the process, severe environmental pollution is caused,” the minister had said. He further directed Sepa to make arrangements for shifting of such units from residential areas of the city.

Confirming the development, Director Technical Sepa, Waqar Phulpoto said that they were planning action against the recycling units but no deadline was decided by them so far.

Talking to The News, he said, “Poverty compels people to resort to such practices which are not environment friendly. We know that people earn their livelihood by recycling lead but they are unaware of the hazards that they are exposing themselves to as well as the community around them. Unfortunately, being an illegal and unauthorised business, these recycling units are not registered and we don’t have any data about them,” he acknowledged, adding that lack of adequate manpower with Sepa could hamper their actions.

To a query, Phulpoto said that awareness would also be created among the people working in this business and they would be informed about the health hazards and consequences of their work on human health.

Another Sepa official said that the agency’s high-ups were in the planning stage and trying to find an appropriate person to head a committee for taking action against such units.

The official, who requested anonymity, said there were practical issues involved in taking action against units in Karachi as currently no exact data was available of these furnaces and re-cycling units in Karachi.

“Roughly, there are over 1000 such shops and small units working in Gadap Town, Garden, Orangi Town, Baldia Town and some other low-income localities of the city where lead is extracted from the used batteries and there are thousands of people involved in the business” he maintained.

“Any action against such furnaces and recycling units would deprive a large number of people of their only mean of earning livelihood and eventually would result in eruption of protests and political intervention. There would be legal as well as political issues after Sepa starts this activity as the law binds the agency to adopt a proper course before initiating any such action. At the same time, depriving people of their livelihood can also result in protests and law and order situation in the city,” he warned.

A shopkeeper in Garden area said that recycling lead batteries was a profitable business and there were scores of people who were earning their bread and butter through it.

“Used batteries are purchased by scrap dealers and they sell it to us. We extract lead, plastic and other valuable material from them and sell it to big industrial units,” Arif Khan, the shopkeeper told.

He said there were some experts who replaced the lead of used batteries with new ones and sell it to customers who can’t afford purchasing new batteries of reputed companies.

Environmental experts believe that recycling and refurbishment of lead-acid or car batteries in a relatively unsafe condition can be extremely harmful for human health as lead poisoning can lead to brain and kidney damage, hearing impairment and respiratory problems.

“Lead poisoning leads to brain damage and blood disorders as it reduces the ability to absorb oxygen by the red blood cells. It also affects bones, heart and tissues of humans and can cause cancer and other fatal diseases among them,” Syed Tahir Ali, an expert informed.

He said that exposure to lead, especially while dealing directly with lead containing products, could lead to lead-poisoning while lead that makes way into air, soil and water and can be equally harmful for human health.

“I’m sure that if blood lead-level of the workers and the community is checked, it would be alarmingly high and could prove fatal,” Tahir added.

When asked if the government should ban the process of lead-acid batteries recycling to prevent environmental hazards, he said this was being done in developed countries for decades. “There they adopt all sorts of precautionary to prevent or minimise environmental concerns. Here in Pakistan, an uneducated person recycles the used car-battery in a small shop in a busy market or residential area without knowing the hazards. It is the job of the authorities concern to educate such persons and stop this practice immediately,” he added.