Is Corrosion of Materials overlooked by Regulatory Agencies/Asset Owners when they perform Environmental Audit/Impact Assessment?

[Valliappan Manickam]

Environmental Clearance (EC) as per the EIA Notification 2006, Ministry of Environment & Forests calls for incorporating necessary environmental safeguards at planning stage.

There is no specific reference on Corrosion of Materials found in EIA Notification. Is it necessary to include Corrosion as an Environmental Hazard and recommend for suitable prevention practices in Environmental Clearance process?

Environmental Impact Case Reported in the News Hindustan Times and The Hindu. There are numerous cases of water leakage reported across the country.

Oil spill in 100 acres farmland in Nagapattinam, Tamilnadu.

A pipeline carrying crude oil for refining developed cracks and spilt oil in about 100 acres of farmland in a village in Nagapattinam district, officials said.

They said people of Manjavadi village detected the leak after they found their farmlands flooded with oil. The oil was being transported through pipeline from the Oil and Natural Gas Commission owned oil well at Adiyakkamangalam to Narimanam for refining, they said. Officials said it was not clear whether the pipe had broken due to recent heavy rains or the soil becoming loose.

ONGC officials said the pipes might have got corroded due to the saline condition in the area.

Ruptures from the old pipeline at intermittent points have been a recurrent feature causing anxiety to the farmers.