India has switched on its first public air purifier in the heart of its capital, New Delhi, as part of an experiment that backers say could help other smog-choked cities in emerging countries.
The maker of the 7 tonne machine, Italy’s Systemlife, claims the box-like structure can purify 10,000m³ of air every hour, scrubbing out pollutants such as carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide.
The unit, plugged in last weekend on a traffic-clogged street of central Delhi, is a pilot that could lead to more being installed in other areas of the city, ranked the world’s fourth most polluted by the WHO.
PHOTO: AFP
“It is the first such project in India and if it works, then we would acquire a number of them and place them at strategic locations,” said P.K. Sharma, the health chief of the New Delhi Municipal Council.
He said a state environmental agency would monitor the performance of the machine, which costs about 25 million rupees (US$551,000) and works like a vacuum cleaner, sucking in air and releasing it in purified form from a roof vent.
“Money does not matter when health is in question,” Sharma said, adding that the purifier would be tested for three months at the site, which is drawing curious onlookers.
The electricity-driven unit, installed free of cost, uses a five-stage filtering process, including electrodes to remove health-threatening solid and gaseous pollutants.
“Almost all Indian cities and especially New Delhi needs them,” said Ritika Modi, director of the Indian partner company of Systemlife.
The Italian company has installed similar public purifiers at 26 locations in Spain, six in Switzerland and seven in Italian cities, including in the capital Rome, a statement issued by the firm said.
Environmentalists said they could only give a thumbs-up to the machine after the tests were over, which will include an examination of the filters by the Italian firm after three weeks of operations.
“We have to examine the variation in air quality, but this can be done only after we analyze the readouts,” said Vivek Chattopadhyaya, an air analyst with the Center for Science and Environment, an environmental research and lobby group.
Environmental scientist D. Saha from the Central Pollution Control Board said the state-run watchdog would also keep a check on the success or failure of the Italian unit.
In November, the city government vowed to enforce a single standard for industrial and residential pollution as part of plans to tighten air quality rules.
Previous rules allowed lower air quality in industrial areas compared with residential areas.
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