|
|
 |
 |
| Sunday, 21 March 2004 |
 |
|
 |
News |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
|
'Clean' project to commence in Colombo soon : Beira most polluted lake by Shanika Sriyananda In a novel kind of community work, schoolchildren from four major cities deemed most polluted in Sri Lanka are measuring the ambient air quality, noise and water quality under the 'CLEAN' - Community Led Environmental Awareness Network - project. The motto of the project 'Air wise and water wise makes us healthy and wise'. According to a recent survey, air, water and noise levels in Colombo, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya and Kurunegala are high. The USAID/USEP funded school-based pilot project to measure the pollution levels, commenced in the Kurunegala district three months ago. The main objective of the project is to get schoolchildren directly involved as messengers of environmental protection. The CLEAN project, involves measuring Suspended Particulate Matters (SPM), Carbon monoxide (CO), Sulphur Dioxide (SO2) Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), Ozone (O3) and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC), in the environment using both simple and sophisticated instrument. The pilot project launched by the Wayamba Integration Growth and Sustainability (WINGS) has been a great success, paving the way for the expansion to the other cities. According to WINGS officials, Advanced Level students from 10 schools participated in the pilot project, where they measured air, noise and water quality twice a week. " They get samples, and kept records" he said. The second CLEAN project was launched in the Kandy district last week and the third is scheduled to commence in Colombo before the end of next month. Dr. Ruwan Wijemuni, Deputy Chief Medical Officer of Health at the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) said that the pollution levels of air, water and noise were high in Colombo, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya and Kurunegala compared to other cities in the country. " Colombo is the most polluted city in the country. Kurunegala city, though it is small has a sever pollution problem. Kandy is covered with a mountain range and has bad air and contaminated waterways. Noise pollution is also bad in Kandy. The air and water pollution is relatively bad in Nuwara Eliya", he said. According to Dr. Wijemuni, most of the lakes in these four cities are in a bad state and need to be cleaned. " The most polluted lakes in the four cities are Beira in Colombo, Gregory Nuwara Eliya, the Kandy lake and Kurunegala lake. The students have to get samples from the lakes, do the testing and keep records", he said. Dr. Wijemuni said that this student based project would enable the younger generation to learn the true meaning of pollution and learn about mitigation steps. "The main aim of the project is to make the future generation aware of the value of conserving the environment. The lack of understanding the sources and health impacts of pollution in Sri Lanka is a problem," he said. The CLEAN project is designed for a period of one year. The results and the recommendations to bring down the levels of existing pollution will be submitted to the city authorities so that steps too could be taken. Air Emission Display Boards will be erected in selected places in the four cities to make the people aware of the quality of air they breath. According to Dr. Wijemuni, the selected 'hot spots' of high air pollution levels in the Colombo are Borella, Bambalapitiya, Colpetty and Fort. Four boards will be erected in these four places. |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security Produced by Lake House |
