[Environment] Chief Editor Iftikhar A. Raja comsats institute of Information Technology Abbottabad (Pakistan)

ABSTRACT

The study was conducted to observe the occupational health and safety issues and its protective measures in Lucky Rice Mills, 7-Km, Burewala Road, Vehari, Rice industry falls in the category of agricultural industry. Some issues are expected in rice industry including: dust, fly ash, noise, suffocation, waste water contaminants and solid waste etc. These issues can badly effect on the health of workers such as breathing difficulties, chronic respiratory disorder, skin allergic reactions etc. Poor maintenance of machines can cause serious injury of workers also. The industry was visited many times to observe the OSH practices in industry. Data regarding the age of workers, the relations between workers, their satisfaction about monthly expense, their overall health, their mental health, and coughing or breathing difficulties due to dust and sleeping difficulties were collected through questionnaire survey. Checklist was prepared to conduct gap analysis and the results of checklist were analyzed with OSH standards. A good Housekeeping was observed throughout the industry such as the floor, storage areas, worker rest room, cupboards and shelves were clean, and the floors were free from dripping of any hazards and the ventilation system was good with excessive light. Fire extinguishers were placed in a proper place but sign boards and emergency alarms were not present. There was a trained first aider for emergency. OSH policy was also not displayed. The emergency contact numbers were not displayed at all the important points. Switches, plugs were in good condition. Samples of ambient air, drinking water and waste water were taken and analyzed in the laboratory of industry. It was seen that drinking water and waste water were within limits and the ambient air qualities were also within limits except PM10. Noise was monitored in different unit of industry although noise level was high in boiler unit that was 82.5 dB. Personal protective equipments were in use but ear muffs were not provided. The industry should keep the record of accidents of workers, warning signs should be displayed and raise the awareness among the workers with respect to OSH. The overall conditions of OSH in industry were observed good.
HSW-03

Assessment of Health Risk Associated with Exposure of Labors to High Concentration of PM10 in Construction Activities. A Case Study of District Swat [North of Pakistan
Rowaidullah, Muhammad Nafees*, Sifatullah**, Bashir Ahmed*** Asmat Ali

Department of Environmental Sciences, COMSATS Institute of information Technology Abbottabad, Pakistan

* Department of Environmental Sciences University of Peshawar, Pakistan 25000.

** Japan International Corporation Agency Kabul, Afghanistan.

***United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) Peshawar Pakistan.

[e-mail], [e-mail], [e-mail], [e-mail]

[e-mail]
Abstract

This study was conducted during 2011-12 in district Swat, with the objective to determine the emission level of PM10 and its impact on public health. The study area was divided into four sites. Each site was monitored periodically after every 4 months with the regular interval of 3 hours. By comparing the acquired data with Pakistan National Environmental Quality Standards (Pak-NEQS), significant increase was observed. The highest value was observed at Asphalt plant (Site IV) which was 172.25µg/m³, followed by site I, III and II which were 162.75 to 162.50µg/m³ against the accepted limit 150µg/m³. To assess public health, two different questioner surveys were carried out among the labors and the Community. Labors at Site IV (Asphalt plant) were highly prone to PM10 due to fumes. Labors along the road side at site-I was comparatively more vulnerable to PM10. Common diseases, like skin problems, chest problem, eyes irritation and other injuries were common. It was concluded that labors at works without occupational safety are more likely to serious health diseases. Therefore proper mitigation measures as mentioned in the EIA report of the project should be taken.

Disaster Management and Environmental Risk

IDI-01

The Tsunami Disaster and its implications on Sri Lanka in the context of Hambantota District
S.W. Amarasinghe¹ and Riddley Jayasinghe²

University of Ruhuna, Matara, Sri Lanka ,

National Institute of Social Development, Sri Lanka,

[e-mail], [e-mail]

AbsTract

The 9.1~9.3 magnitude earthquake which took place in Coastal Sumatra triggered tsunami on 26 December 2004 and Sri Lanka was the second largest number of casualties after Indonesia. Around 35000 civilian lives were lost, over one million people were displaced and about 4000 children left without parents to this disaster. Many people lost their homes, land and properties and mostly their loved ones causing immense trauma in these families even today. Other than the damages caused by tsunami to the lives and infrastructure of the affected communities, it drastically damaged the fishing economy and the livelihoods of the people living in the coastal belt of the island. Goonatillake 2007. The impact on coastal fishing communities and residents of the affected area, some of the poorest in the region, has been devastating with high losses of income earners as well as boats and fishing gear. Preliminary estimates indicate that 66% of the fishing fleet and industrial infrastructure in coastal regions have been destroyed by the wave surges, which will have adverse economic effects both at local and national levels. FAO 2005. The destructive impacts on the coastal environment and infrastructure caused by the tsunami was vicious to emerge various other negative outcomes to affected communities. Spread of solid and liquid waste and industrial chemicals, water pollution and the destruction of sewage collectors and treatment plants threaten the environment even further, in untold ways. The damage to the environment will make it even more difficult for coastal populations to rebuild their livelihoods and resume agricultural or freshwater aquaculture activities. Rego 2015.

The research problem of this study is to investigate the role and the significance of incorporating social work and counseling methodologies in the implementation of rebuilding and rehabilitation strategies in the tsunami affected areas of southern Sri Lanka in the context of Hambantota district.

IDI-02

BALOCHISTAN EARTHQUAKE OF 2013 AND EMERGENCE OF A NEW ISLAND IN ARABIAN SEA

Javed Iqbal, Ishtiaq A K Jadoon and Iftikhar A Raja¹

Department of Earth Sciences, ¹Department of Environmental Sciences,

COMSATS Institute of Information Technology Abbottabad, Pakistan

[e-mail]

Abstract

An earthquake of 7.7 magnitude struck south-central Pakistan on September 24, 2013. The epicenter of the earthquake was 63 km north-north-east (NNE) of Awaran in Baluchistan. In addition to Pakistan the earth quake also affected different cities of Iran, India and Afghanistan. According to U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) the original cause of the earthquake was displacement along oblique-strike-slip fault at a depth of only 15 km. The earth quake has led to the creation of an island in the Arabian Sea which is unusual in case of strike-slip faulting and it raises the question of the nature and original mechanism of the earthquake. The formation of the island indicates that there is a significant push of the northward moving Indo-Pakistani plate along with oblique-strike-slip faulting which was the original motion of the earthquake.
Keywords: Baluchistan earthquake, Pakistan, Awaran, Island, strike-slip fault, Arabian Sea


IDM-01

Flood Modeling of Kunhar River using Hydrologic and Hydraulic Modeling

Arjumand Z. Zaidi

Department of Remote Sensing and Geo-information Science

Institute of Space Technology, Karachi, Pakistan

[e-mail]

ABSTRACT

The study presented in this paper uses the advance geospatial hydraulic and hydrologic techniques to model the extent of flood in Kunhar River, a tributary of Jhelum River flowing through the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Data acquired for flood modeling are 30 meter ASTER Digital Elevation Model (DEM), Google Earth image of 2015 and flow gauge readings. The watershed boundaries and Kunhar River main stem are delineated with the help of DEM using ArcGIS software tool Arc Hydro. HEC-RAS and HEC-GeoRAS are used for hydraulic modeling. HEC-GeoRAS is an extension of ArcGIS that is used for pre-processing of data to create a geo-referenced HEC-RAS geometry layer. Hydraulic analysis is done in one dimension flood simulating model HEC-RAS by importing RAS layer, inputting flow data and running the model. Post-processing of HEC-RAS modeled flood is conducted by importing RAS output file in HEC-GeoRAS. Flood mapping using geospatial techniques and hydraulic modeling are helpful for disaster management authorities to develop early warning systems in the vulnerable areas and to respond and recover from emergency situations during flood events. The extent of flood modeled in this study can also be used for delineating flood risk zone in Kunhar River basin.

IDM-04

How to transform pakistan into flood and drought proof country

A. H. Malik*, F. R. Amin, W. Niaz, N. Saqib**

COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad

Centre for Climate Research & Development (CCRD)

** DESIGNMEN Consulting Engineers (Pvt) Ltd., Islamabad

[e-mail], [e-mail],

[e-mail], najam23091 @yahoo.com
ABSTRACT

Pakistan is currently close to using all of the available surface & ground water resources, but yet it is projected that over 30 percent more water will be needed for the next twenty years to meet increased agricultural, domestic, and industrial demands. Average annual escapade below Kotri, the last barrage on the Indus River, going to the sea, is about 35 to 38 Million Acre Feet (MAF), indeed, a provision has to be made for certain flow requirements of about 10 MAF below Kotri Barrage to meet the ecological needs under the Water Accord of 1991, that means, the largest additional water potential can come from the average annual flow to the sea which is about 25 MAF annually, mostly in form of flood water that can be stored for example under-ground in the wet season. The idea is to divert this surplus flood water in the wet season in the Indus River System in Pakistan, especially in Punjab & in Sindh mostly from the western rivers towards eastern rivers through gravity flow groundwater recharge canals to reduce flood burden in the downstream of different barrages, to avoid any flood disaster and also to utilize this surplus diverted flood water to recharge the over mined aquifers, and also to improve its quality, may be dried older river beds can be utilized already available of the eastern rivers, Ravi, Sutlej & Bias after the Indus Water Treaty (IWT), to compensate their water quality & quantity and also for groundwater recharge purpose for the coming droughts and also to save it from evaporation losses.

Special Symposia
SEI-03

IMPACT OF CLIMATIC VARIABILITY ON SALT PRODUCTION IN SAMBHAR LAKE, A RAMSAR WETLAND OF RAJASTHAN, INDIA
Aamir Bhat and K.C. Sharma

Department of Environmental Science,

Central University of Rajasthan,

NH-8 Bandarsindri, Kishangarh 305817, Ajmer, India

[e-mail]
ABSTRACT

Climate and weather conditions affect almost every industry in nearly every country. Over the coming decades climate change could potentially have impacts on many industries. For example, salt production, particularly in developing regions of the world is likely to be hard hit by climate change over the coming decades. Sambhar Lake has a wealth that support diverse and unique habitats of ecosystem. In this context, the importance of temperature and rainfall for salt production is highlighted in this paper. This paper briefly describes Indices such as frequencies of daily minimum and maximum temperature, monthly rainfall, number of rainy days in each month, annual rainfall and total number of rainy days in a year. The analysis of the data revealed that the rainfall pattern has changed slightly during the years of study. The monthly number of rainy days has increased during the monsoon season for the period from 2010 to 2013.The analysis shows that the change in temperature and rainfall patterns of climatic shift which may affect the salt production. It was observed from data that during the years in which annual rainfall was less the salt production was while as during the years in which annual rainfall was higher the salt production was low.

SEI-04

Financial Mechanism for Renewable Energy Technologies - Designing Climate Change Investment Bank for Pakistan

Seeme Mallick

Centre for Climate Research and Development (CCRD),

COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad

[e-mail]
ABSTRACT

Climate change is a subject matter for meteorologists/climatologist; ecologist; geologist and oceanographers. With the Stern Review and Garnaut Climate Change Review, climate change appeared on the horizon of financial and economic resources debate. It became imperative that new mechanisms that link financial investment with mitigation and adaption for climate change are designed. When economist and financial experts, start debating climate change, it means that the subject matter now includes costs for factors of production that are linked to and are being affected by climate change. Energy resource, particularly, the fossil fuels are the bases of this discussion due to the links with CO2 emissions and other GHG emissions. There is a need for regular financial resource: To cover the abatement costs of pollution; designing renewable energy technologies and markets for renewable energy. The debate is now focused on financial instruments for climate change. With global Green Climate Fund (GCF) becoming functional, there is a need to design national GCFs. This is where the review of experience of established financial institutions will set the guiding lines for new country initiatives. The Climate Change Investment bank will prepare Pakistan for future economic development that is sustainable and prepared for climate change.

SEI-05

DELINEATION OF CATASTROPHIC EFFECTS OF CLIMATE MODIFICATIONS IN PAKISTAN USING GIS and REMOTE SENSING
Hafsa Bashir, Shiekh Saeed Ahmad*,

Department of Environmental Sciences,

Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan.

[e-mail], [e-mail]
ABSTRACT

With the increased urbanization, the phenomenon of global climatic modification is observed. The global climate change has more effects over developing countries like Pakistan. The change in climate varies over time scale as well as from country to country and region to region. The changing scenario has increased the risk of deforestations, glacier melting’s, temperature fluctuations and unexpected increase or decrease in river catchments. This review paper will give a brief view about the climatic modification and hazards that were observed as a result of it in Pakistan.

SEI-06

ALLEVIATING THE THREATS OF CLIMATE CHANGE OVER HYDROLOGICAL RESOURCES OF ASIA-REVIEW PAPER
Sana Ghaffar, Hafsa Bashir, Shiekh Saeed Ahmad

Department of Environmental Sciences,

Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan.

[e-mail]
ABSTRACT

Water resources, being non renewable resource, have large impact over society and ecosystem. The increase in temperature is responsible for changing weather which is in return affecting hydrological resources of Asia. The changing temperature is found to be modulating the precipitation rate. The changes in precipitation rate is posing threat towards the economy of Asian Countries as floods, droughts are becoming common. This paper will give a brief view about the impacts of changing climate over hydrological resource.

SEI-07

BIOCHAR UTILIZATION AS A STRATEGY FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND CLIMATE MITIGATION- A REVIEW PAPER
Habiba Khalid*, Amir H Malik**

*Environmental Consultant, Abbottabad,

Centre for Climate Research and Development (CCRD),

COMSATS Institute of Information Technology (CIIT), Park Road, ChakShahzad, Islamabad

[e-mail], [e-mail]

ABSTRACT

Climate change presents one of the greatest challenges facing humanity. The anthropogenic emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases are widely considered to be the primary driver of global warming and climate change. Climate change mitigation strategies are being considered and implemented by government and non-government organizations worldwide. One practice that has attracted attention as a tool to offset and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases is the manufacture and application to soil of charred biomass, commonly referred to as biochar. As a soil amendment, biochar can stabilize carbon below ground and potentially increase agricultural and forest productivity. It is also resistant to decomposition when incorporated in soil , and can serve as a significant carbon sink. Researchers have examined the potential of biochar to produce multiple environmental benefits including energy production and agronomic improvements,while simultaneously sequestering carbon and reducing net greenhouse gas emissions. This paper reviews current scientific literature to evaluate biochar’s potential to stabilize carbon below ground, all while producing a number of other environmental and economic benefits. The feasibility of implementing biochar systems is considered in the context of carbon-market incentives that may be adapted to motivate investment in biochar production. It is produced by different techniques, pyrolysis being the most popular one, where biochar produced from organic waste not only reduces solid waste but also limits harmful emissions and climate relevant greenhouse gas generation.