Environmental Technology, National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science &

Technology (NIIST-CSIR), Thiruvananthapuram

April-2018

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EIA REPORT FOR MINING OF HEAVY MINERAL SAND IN ALAPPAD, PANMANA

AND AYANIVELIKULANGARA VILLAGES IN KOLLAM DISTRICT FOR AN AREA OF

180 HA IN NK BLOCK IV EE BY INDIAN RARE EARTHS, CHAVARA, KOLLAM,

KERALA

Draft Report

Submitted to

Indian Rare Earths Limited

(A Government of India Undertaking)

Chavara, Kollam

Executive summary

Indian Rare Earths (IRE) has been granted mining lease to collect heavy

mineral sand in Alappad, Panmana and Ayanivelikulangara village in Kollam

district for an area of 180 Ha vide G.O (Rt.) No. 746/07/ID dated

08/06/07 by the Government of Kerala.

IREL has been accorded Environmental Clearance & CRZ Clearance for

this mining project as per F.No. 11- 36/2008 IA- III dated 01.03.2011.

The study was conducted by CSIR-NIIST for the proposed production

of 2,37,150 TPA. The public in the lease area wanted the land to be given

back at the earliest and requested IREL for enhancing the mining rate.

Accordingly IREL propose to go for enhancement of mining from 2,37,150

TPA to 7,50,000 TPA. IREL as per work order No 21/T.No37/1314 dated

12/06/2013 has appointed CSIR-NIIST Thiruvananthapuram,to evaluate

the environmental aspects and their possible associated impacts to

workout environmental management plans and environmental monitoring

programme to prevent, control, minimize or eliminate the adverse

environmental impacts envisaged from the proposed mining activity in the

180 Ha.

Application for Prior environmental clearance was submitted in Form-1 to

Ministry of Environment & Forests, Government of India. TOR has been

finalised based on the presentation on June 2015.

The source of information are desk research, discussion with local

panchayats, NGO’s, affected people, officials of state and central

government relevant offices, literature survey and field studies. Primary

and secondary data on meteorology, air, noise, water, soil, traffic, land

use, ecology and socio-economics were collected and analyzed by CSIR -

NIIST. The field studies were carried out from March 2015 to May 2017

for the study area (buffer zone) within 10 km radius with the IREL-ML

area (core area) at the centre. No major or minor industries exist in the

core area except M/s. Kerala Minerals & Metals Limited (KMML) which is

9.34 km and IREL main plant at Chavara at about 15.4 km road distance

from the northwestern end of the proposed ML area. The mining lease

area of 180 hectares has Vattakayal at the south and Pannikarkadavu

bridge in the north.

EIA study is a well-recognized, effective planning tool that ensures

environmentally sound activity. In this report, the impacts on relevant

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discipline of environment due to the operation of the proposed project

have been identified and assessed quantitatively, as far as possible.

Environmental management programmes for mitigation of impacts are

delineated. An environmental monitoring programme has been suggested

for post operational phase of the project. The monitoring programme

specifies the locations, parameters, and frequency of monitoring of

significant aspects. Capacity building in terms of staff, technical

expertise and monitoring facilities are also suggested.

The proposed project lease area encompasses ‘vatta kayal’ which is part

of the waterway called TS canal. The entire plot has heavy deposit of

beach sand minerals. The mineable reserve of ilmenite, rutile, zircon,

sillimanite, leucoxene and monozite is about 6.02 Million Tons as per the

plan which is submitted for the period from 2016-17 to 2020-21, and the

area proposed for production is in the western side of TS canal, the

reserves of 6.025 Lakh tonne are calculated with the available data. As

the report is awaited for the study carried out as per the UNFC

classification which covers the entire lease area of 180 Ha. The average

heavy mineral content of the area proposed for mining in 01 to 05 years

is about 17.62%. The location of the site is given in the report.

Quantification of the impacts was carried out applying mathematical

models. For quantifying and predicting the air quality the Fugitive Dust

Modelling Software has been used and hemispherical modelling has been

used for the noise quality modelling. Battelle environmental system has

been used for evaluation of impacts of environmental pollution, ecology,

human interest and aesthetics.

Dredge mining is a wet process and no dust pollution arises out of it.

Total about 375t/day of raw material will be conveyed through 38 trips

from mining area to mineral separation plant, assuming capacity of tippers

as 10T.

The present air quality has been evaluated by setting up four high volume

samplers at four different locations. Ambient air quality for PM10, SO2,

NOx were monitored. Upwind downwind and cross direction location as

well as the land use, wind rose were considered in selection of the

sampling locations. Ambient Air Quality monitored at Vellanathuruthu

PHC, Project Location, Amrithananthamai math and Maravana Junction

for PM10, SO2 and NOx.

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The air pollutants of interest in this project are PM10. The main sources

are emissions during mining and transportation. However dust emission is

not significant in dredge mining as the ore and rejects are in wet or

slurry form. Road transportation of ore on the haul road is the only

source of dust emission. On commissioning of mining activity there will be

increase in truck movement by 46 trips. Due to this increase in truck

movement there will be increase in dust emission.

For prediction of dust emission the modelling software Envitrans MINE

Fugitive Dust Modelling Pro was used. The model shows incremental

increase in pollution caused due to the area due to truck. However the

incremental values are within the CPCB limit prescribed for PM10, which

is 100µg/m3 for 24 hour. This value is based on the prediction obtained

without any control measures.

The maximum value of PM10 for an average of 24 hours was 63 µg/m3

observed inside the mine lease and minimum value for PM10 for an

average of 24 H was 45 µg/m3. Similarly SO2, NO2 values showed, less

than 10 µg/m3 for all stations. The permissible limits as per NAAQ std’s

for PM10 is 100 µg/m3and for SO2 and NO2 the limits are 80µg/m3.Thus

the observed values for air quality taken over the period of February to

April 2016 and February to May 2017 in core and buffer zone is within

the permissible limits.

The report looks into the viability of barge economics which appears to

be a feasible option for transporting mineral concentrate using TS canal (

part of NW3 water way) to IREL plant. The distance to IREL plant site

is only 6.85 km as compared to 15.4 km road distance from northern end

of the ML area. Considering the existing traffic congestion along the NH

- ML area road , the availability of canal adjacent to the ML area ,

shorter distance to plant via water transport and provision of local

employment to fishermen community, it is recommended that a trial run

using water transport be conducted by IREL.

Country boats can be considered on environmental and socio-economic

grounds. The loading and unloading of mineral concentrate from country

boats has to be worked out. The loading of concentrate can be carried

out by allowing concentrate slurry to flow into the boat or barge.

Advantages and cost economics of barge transport which is ecofriendly

best suited compared to road transport are covered in the report.

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Another option for transportation of the slurry is by pumping. A seven

stage pumping at a rate of 65 tph is proposed The total estimated cost

of the project is Rs.500 lakhs.

Water quality changes are widely considered to be the most significant

consequence of mining activities. The surface and ground water

characteristics have been established through field monitoring data at 13

locations generated during the study with respect to physicochemical

characteristics and pollutant levels and the same has been compared with

quality criteria for drinking water. The details are given in chapter-4.

The Ground water contour map indicated that the flow/movement of

water direction is predominantly towards South West and to the eastern

side of the lease.

Maximum noise level during the study period was observed at Near

municipal Corporation office, Karunagapally Junction which are busy

junctions along the national highway which can be ascribed due to

commercial activities, movement of continuous vehicular and other

traffic and location of bus stand. Minimum ambient noise level observed

was 50 - 60 dB at the Primary Health Centre Vellanathuruth,

Pandarathuruth. The low values could be attributed to considerably less

traffic and calm environment.

The noise level at dredge is about 70 dB that fades off at less than 50

meters and beyond 50 meters there was no effect of dredge operation.

The modeling results also show almost the same results. Nearest

habitation is beyond 100m distance and hence there is no need for noise

control measures. However, the impact on staff at dredge should be

minimized by introducing shift system, automation wherever possible and

practicing safety measures.

Surface mining usually renders the land unsuitable for other uses unless

it is restored or rehabilitated. The consultant suggests simultaneous

refilling of the mine in progression with mining. After the recovery of

HM concentrates the reject sand is used for refiling the mined out area.

As the back filling is integrated into the mining process, the excavated

land will be subsequently reclaimed and the ground surface of the

reclaimed land will be brought back to the contours matching with the

surrounding topography. No temple or any sensitive locations will be

disturbed. The reclamation will improve the overall landscape

considerably in a phased manner by green belt development and ponds for

water conservation and ground water recharge, to improve the water

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quality / quantity. It will also be a sustainable source for water, availing

infiltration of water wherever feasible. The management plan also

suggests rip rap bank protection, green belt development , conversion of

mined area to sand dunes, creation of wet land ideal for mangrove

afforestation which can serve as barrier in preventing sea water

intrusion to the inland as well as recreation purposes. The deepening of

the TS canal also enables smooth navigation of waterways.

NW-3 is the project of the Inland Waterways Authority (IWA) of India,

Noida They aim at developing waterways upto a certain standard so that

Inland Waterway Transport operators can operate the vessels for cargo

and passenger transportation, State government is also interested in

developing the NW3 as this will ease the congestion on roads. Moreover,

it is a cheaper means of transport compared to roads. IWA has plans to

develop 11 terminal for NW-3. Land acquisition for 10 terminals is over

and 7 terminals are under construction. Widening of narrow canals and

installation of navigational aids like day markings are in progress.

Improved roads and communication, electrical facilities and employment

opportunity are the other immediate outcome of the project which is

beneficial to the public. However, construction of black topped roads and

its regular maintenance should be ensured to prevent fugitive dust

emissions. The report lays stress on the probable occupational health

hazards involved and the remedial measures.

The proposed ML area does not come under ‘forest land’ and hence no

compensatory afforestation is required. No existing mangrove areas will

be mined, however the project facilitates mangrove afforestation

enhancing the total mangrove area to 2.73 ha in lieu of the existing 1.32

ha.

The company is now planning certain steps to recover the land lost to the

sea. To reclaim the shore in Block IV EE and Block IV, it is proposed to

construct Groyenes in the NK Block IV EE area between Thazhchakadavu

(IREL Boundary) and the VT bus-stand. Four groynes will be constructed

in this stretch with a distance of around 200 meters apart. Kerala

irrigation department with a total cost expected to be Rs. 10 crores has

taken up the work.

Another positive outcome of the proposed activity is that the mining of

sand and separation of HM concentrates eventually contributes to a

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reduction in the overall level of radiation in the environment, which is a

relief to the inhabitants in the area. However, it is recommended that

external exposure be measured at selected locations round the year.

Data regarding the existing socioeconomic conditions were collected by

circulating questionnaire among the families living in the project affected

areas of Alappad, Panmana and Ayanivelikulangara of Kollam district. 550

families were covered under the survey. Water borne diseases are

frequently reported and acute water shortage is experienced by the

villagers. They depend on water supply schemes for potable water.

The R & R scheme has been formulated after tripartite discussion

between district administration, affected people and project authorities.

The scheme has been approved by district authorities. General welfare

measures for the fishermen community as well as for the general public

are also highlighted in the report. The summary of the socio-economic

report is given in Chapter-4.

The last chapter includes post project monitoring to ensure that the

mitigation measures planned by way of environmental protection, function

effectively during the entire period of the mining and reclamation. These

include (1) Meteorological Observatory (2) Periodic topographic survey

(3) Measures for Coastal protection & its monitoring (4) Water

Resources management (5) Socio-economic development (6) Greenbelt

development (7) Occupational health & Biological monitoring (8)

Radiation Exposure monitoring (9) Organisational set-up & staff

requirement for post - project monitoring. In addition to this a separate

Environmental Monitoring Committee (EMC) is recommended comprising

senior officers, external experts and representative of the Alapad

panchayat to ensure implementation of recommendations as per the EMP.

An amount of Rs. 159.00 lakhs will be required for post-project

monitoring initially which include capital and recurring expenditure. The

recurring expenditure will be about Rs. 113 lakhs/year. This project

provides opportunity to reduce the existing radiation levels, increase in

mangroves areas, prevents sea erosion, enhancement of wet land etc.

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CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 General

Beach Sand Heavy Minerals such as ilmenite, rutile, zircon, monazite, sillimanite etc. are

used in considerable quantities as raw materials for the manufacture of various essential

industrial products like titanium dioxide, welding electrodes, ceramics etc. In India these mineral

deposits are found in the eastern and western coastal stretches at various locations. The major

deposits along the west coast are the Quilon deposit at Chavara along the Neendakara -

Kayamkulam belt in Kerala and the Manavalakurichi deposit in Kanyakumari district of Tamil

Nadu that extends from the Midalam to Kolachal. The economically exploitable deposits of east

coast are at Chatrapur in Odisha and Bhimulipatnam in Andhra Pradesh.

The beach placer deposits along the southern coast of India was explored and exploited

by various agencies since the accidental discovery of monazite by a German Chemist Sir. Herr

Shomberg in the year 1909 at Manavalakurichi in Tamilnadu.

The beach placer deposit in kollam district of Kerala is commonly known as "Chavara

Deposits". It occurs in a 22.5 km. long barrier beach with an average width of 200 m between

the two tidal channels at Neendakara in the south and Kayamkulam in the north. The deposit is

bounded by the Arabian Sea in the west. The deposit is seen to extend beyond Kayamkulam

estuary (or Pozhi as it is known locally) up to Thottapally in the North, which has not been

mined so far. The area south of Kayamkulam Pozhi has been under intensive mining since 1932.

During this period, it was the main center for export of Ilmenite. This has been the only deposit

so far in the Indian coast, to have a heavy mineral content running as high as 60 to 70%. Also

the Chavara ilmenite known as Quilon grade or 'Q' grade Ilmenite has high TiO2 content of 59 to

60%.

In the year 1965, Indian Rare Earths Ltd. (IREL), an organization under the administrative

control of the Department of Atomic Energy, succeeded in taking over the assets of two

companies viz. M/s. Travancore Mineral Concern and M/s. Hopkin & Williams Ltd., and since

then rationalized and reorganized the production of the economic minerals from the Chavara

sand deposits. Initially, their activities were confined to the mining and separation of heavy

minerals from the beach washings collected over the beach by the wave action between high and

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low water marks. Later on the Atomic Minerals Division (presently Atomic Minerals Directorate

for Exploration and Research) under the Department of Atomic Energy carried out geological

exploration of the area and since 1990 the company is engaged in inland dredge mining

operation.

Besides Chavara, IREL has plants at Manavalakuruchi in Kanyakumari district (Tamil

Nadu) and at Chatrapur in Ganjam District (Odisha).

This stretch of deposit between Neendakara and Kayamkulam (NK ) was divided by the

Govt. of Kerala into 8 blocks, for mining lease purpose. The even numbered blocks (II, IV,VI

and VII ) have been leased to Indian Rare Earths Limited (IREL) and odd numbered blocks to

Kerala Minerals and Metals Limited (KMML), Kollam in the year 1970.

In the year 2007, IREL has been granted mining lease to collect heavy mineral sand in

the Eastern Extension of the NK Block IV in the Alappad, Panmana and Ayanivelikulangara

villages in Kollam district for an area of 180 ha vide G.O (Rt.) No. 746/07/ID dated 08/06/07 by

the Government of Kerala.

This study is conducted for carrying out the mining in Block IV EE. The TS canal passes

in between the proposed mining block. The deposit covers an area of 180 hectares with

Neendakara at the south and Kayamkulam in the north. The mining method is open cast method

of inland mining (dredging using DWUP).

A mining project may significantly contribute towards economic development but it may

also bring in its wake associated ill-effects. These include the problems related to air & water

pollution, solid waste management, land degradation, noise, human settlements, and impact of

mining on the ecology. The coastal area of Kerala is one of the most densely populated area. As

per 2011 census the population of the villages of the present project, Alappad, Panamana and

Ayanivelikulangra villages are 21,655; 29,008 and 24,268 respectively. The main occupation of

the people here is fishing.

Degradation and inappropriate utilization of coastal areas adversely affect aesthetic and

environmental values. These could be avoided through proper management based on the

assessment of ecological values and potential damages from the project. The unique

environmental and ecological values of the coastal areas require conservation, improvement and

effective controls on the causes that imply environmental deterioration.

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To fulfill the statutory requirements of Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate

change, Government of India, for Project appraisal procedures, Environment Impact Assessment

(EIA) study needs to be carried out for the project. EIA is one of the most valuable,

interdisciplinary objective decision making tool considering various alternate routes for

development, process technologies and project site options. It is an anticipatory mechanism

which establishes quantitative and qualitative values for parameters indicating the quality of

environment and natural systems before and after the proposed mining activity.

IREL F.No. 11- 36/2008 IA- III dated 01.03.2011, IREL obtained EC and CRZ clearance

for this block for mining of minerals for a quantity of 2,37,150 TPA, Now IREL propose to

enhance the production capacity to 7,50,000 TPA, hence this project is a capacity expansion

project.

IREL as per the work order No 21/T.No37/1314 dated 12/06/2013 has appointed

National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science & Technology NIIST-CSIR,

Thiruvananthapuram, to evaluate the environmental aspects and their possible associated impacts

that would arise due to the enhanced capacity of the project proposed for heavy mineral sand

mining operations. Environmental management plans and environmental monitoring program are

proposed to prevent, control, minimize or eliminate the adverse environmental impacts

envisaged from the proposed mining activity. TOR has been finalised based on the presentation

before the central appraisal committee on June 2015. NIIST has carried out the field study during

March 2015 to May 2017.

IREL is an organization having integrated certification on ISO on 9002, 14001 & 18001.

The Environmental policy of IREL is as follows:

IREL, Chavara is committed to sustain the growth of company in the supply of beach

sand minerals & mineral products through:

Product Quality

Customer satisfaction

Prevention of pollution

Conservation of natural resources

Compliance with legal requirements

Prevention of incidents & ill health

Safe working Environment

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Continual improvement

1.2 Resources

IREL has already obtained mining plan approval for Mineral Sands (including

Sillimanite) mineral from Indian Bureau of Mines vide Ltr.No. 279/1031/2009/BNG/1079,

Dated 25.06.2009 for the period 2011-12 to 2015-16 and from AMDER vide letter No.

AMD/MPA/3M/IREL/180Ha/2008, dated- 01.12.20 for a capacity of 2,37,150 TPA. Now IREL

submitted modified mining plan for approval to AMDER. The present study was conducted as

per the modified mining plan. The mining activity at Block IVEE involves inland mining using

dredger. The average depth of the deposit is 7.7m and the average grade is 10 to 18.85 %.

1.3 Need of the project

Based on the available mineral reserves IREL has been granted mining lease to collect

heavy mineral sand in NK Block IVEE, in Alappad, Panmana and Ayanivelikulangara in Kollam

district for an area of 180 Ha. The minable reserve of sand containing ilmenite, rutile, zircon,

sillimanite and leucoxene (brown ilmenite) is 6.025 MT as per the approved mine plan.

The mined out sand is pre concentrated and transported to IREL plant for further

separation. At the plant the mineral separation is conducted solely based on the physical

properties of the minerals, such as magnetic susceptibility, electrical conductivity, grain size,

specific gravity etc.

The mineral sand from different mining areas as well as dredged sand from DWUP site is

fed to HUP, where it is passed through a set of spirals and is separated into heavies and tailings

(lighter) fractions. The heavies are passed through Wet High Intensity Magnetic Separator

(WHIMS) to get magnetic and non-magnetic fractions.

The dewatered WHIMS magnetic fraction from HUP is dried in Fluidised Bed Drier

(FBD) and is fed to the ilmenite plant, where the conducting, Ilmenite product is separated by the

high tension separators and the non-conducting fraction, which is enriched in Monazite, is sent to

the monazite plant for further processing.

The dewatered WHIMS non-magnetic fraction from HUP is dried in another Fluidised

Bed Drier and fed to High Tension Separators in Rutile plant to get conducting fraction and non-

conducting fractions. The conducting fraction is fed to Magnetic separators to get three fractions

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viz, (1) Magnetics (ilmenite product), (2) Non-magnetics (Rutile product) and also a middlings

fraction (Leucoxene product).

The non-conducting fraction from the Rutile High Tension Separators in Rutile plant is

fed to another set of Magnetic separators. The magnetic fraction rich in Monazite content is fed

to Monazite circuit. The non-magnetic fraction is fed to the spirals circuit. The heavier fraction

from these spirals is further upgraded through Wet tables, Magnetic separators, HTS etc. to

produce Zircon product. The tailings from the spirals are treated in Kelsey Jig and wet tables to

recover Zircon. The tailings fraction from Kelsey Jig is treated in Spirals, Flotation cells etc. to

produce Sillimanite product.

1.4 Use of Minerals:

Ilmenite (FeO.TiO2) is the main raw material for the Titanium Dioxide Pigment industry. It is

used as white pigment for paints, lacquer, enamels, rayon, etc. It is also used in the welding rod

coating.

Rutile (TiO2) is used for the manufacture of TiO2 pigment, for the manufacture of welding

electrodes, titanium metal and its alloys. Titanium is very light, corrosion resistant and erosion

resistant and is used in highly corrosive environment as alloys.

Zircon (ZrO2.SiO2) is used in the production of foundry moulds, refractory bricks and crucibles,

and in the ceramic industry as opacifier. Zirconium alloys are used for nuclear power reactors

and as jet engine parts in Aircraft industry in the manufacture of surgical instruments, high

intensity electric arc lamp etc.

Monazite (Ce, Y, La, Th (PO4)) is a phosphate of rare earths with variable amounts of thorium

usually combined with silicate or phosphate. Thorium is largely used as a breeder in the Nuclear

Reactors. Mixtures of rare earths are used in glass polishing, arc carbons, flint for lighters. They

are used in optical lenses, prisms, television tubes, faceplates etc.

Sillimanite (Al2O3.SiO2): This finds the largest application in the manufacture of refractory

products for lining furnaces and it is also used in ceramic industry.

1.5 Scope of the present study

The scope of study includes detailed characterization of the Environmental status in

respect of environmental components viz. air, noise, water, traffic, ecological and socio-

economic components covering an area of 10 km radius from the project site with the boundary

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of mine lease as its central nodal point. Thus the study area comprises the central nodal point and

its surrounding area within 10 km radius.

1.6 Terms of reference

1.6.1 Objective

The objective of the study is to identify the environmental impacts on the lease areas due

to the proposed enhanced dredge mining activity. The study will identify the existing

environmental conditions, predict impacts and suggest environmental safeguards and develop

post project monitoring programme to ensure environment friendly mining and transportation of

the concentrate.

The above objectives are planned to be completed in three main steps as detailed below:

Determination of current environmental baseline conditions;

Assessment of impacts on the environment due to proposed activities

Preparation of EIA document delineating mitigation measures, environmental monitoring

programme with cost.

The details of ML areas are as follows:

NK Block-IV EE : 180 ha

The detailed monitoring was carried out for one season and representative sampling is

done for other seasons for significant aspects observed. Secondary data from previous studies

were also used.

1.6.2 PLAN OF APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY

The study comprises of Environmental Impact Assessment, Environmental Management

Plan as per the Guidelines and norms laid down by the Ministry of Environment EIA notification

2006 applicable for mining projects.

The buffer zone is 10 kilometers all around the periphery of the core zone (ML area). The

scope of services includes literature survey, field studies, impact assessment and preparation of

the EIA document.

The significant areas of a sand / dredge mining include air emissions due to

transportation, change in land use, noise generation, traffic, sea erosion, marine ecological

survey and social impact assessment including R&R. Other minor aspects include geology

indicating seismic zone, water body ecology, flora & fauna, surface drainage pattern, vehicular

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traffic density, hydrology, baseline meteorology and occupational safety and health and radiation

studies. Based on the data collected, Coastal Regulation Zone map issued from NCESS and

mining plan, the impacts on air, water, noise, land, socio-economic environment and ecology are

assessed. For mitigation of adverse impacts, an Environmental Management Plan is prepared.

For monitoring of critically affected parameters, environmental monitoring programme is

designed. Rehabilitation & Resettlement plan as per the approved IRE pattern are also

formulated.

NIIST has engaged a (1) Mining engineer with valid license as RQP from Indian Bureau

of Mines, Government of India (2) Geologist having experience in geological mapping and

mineral surveys (3) Sociologist / NGO group with more than 5-year experience in carrying out

Social Impact Assessment studies for the mine leases (4) Ecologists and (5) Marine Ecologist for

carrying out aquatic ecological survey of TS canal and the Arabian sea. Based on the TOR

submitted, the following studies were carried out as part of the project.

1.6.3 Baseline Meteorological and Air Quality data

Although dredge mining with electrically driven dredges has little impact on air quality, the

existing ambient air quality of the area is important for evaluating the overall impact of mining.

Baseline air quality data available with adjacent mine (KMML) are also used for analysis.

Secondary data available with IRE/KMML/PCB are also collected and compiled in the report.

In the absence of stack (point emission source) the ambient air quality is expected to be

affected only in and around mining areas and transportation routes up to a limited distance

depending on wind speeds / direction.

Wind rose pattern was plotted season wise based on Trivandrum IMD data. Data on

temperature, relative humidity were also recorded during the study period. Two ambient air

quality monitoring stations were installed in the core zone and one in the mine lease area. The

predominant wind direction is determined by studying the wind rose pattern in the study area.

The samples were collected and analyzed as per IS:5182 guidelines. The monitoring was

done for four months (twice a week) covering one season.

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Landuse

For the ML area, land use patterns were classified into the following land use/land cover

categories from the maps and GIS analysis

Build up area

Agricultural land

Forest

Waste Land

Water bodies

Mining

Others.

Water Quality

Mining and related activities have significant impacts on surface as well as the ground water

resources. Therefore water availability and water quality were considered for the preparation of

base line status of water environment. A sampling network for surface as well as ground water

was designed to characterize the water quality of the area. The samples were collected once in

each season over a period of one year at a minimum of 5 (five) stations per core zone. The

following water quality parameters were analyzed:

Temperature TSS Phosphates Copper

Taste and Odour Total Hardness Calcium Zinc

Turbidity Chlorides Magnesium Oil& Grease

Dissolved Oxygen Free Chlorine Sodium Cadmium

BOD Sulphates Potassium Mercury

pH Fluorides Iron Lead

TDS Nitrates Manganese MPN

Water Quantity

To assess the surface water potential in the project area, the following aspects were studied per

core zone:

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Field monitoring of well details

Hydro geological characteristics from the available literature.

Review of hydrological records/field studies and analysis

Surface water:

The contours were generated in the ML area and also distance to water bodies were l be marked

in a map .Seasonal fluctuations during summer & post monsoon season were also studied. The

water samples (surface as well as ground water samples ) from both core as well as the buffer

zone were collected, and the analytical results for both surface water and ground water were

prepared separately and interpretation of the water quality is done comparing with the drinking

water specification IS 10500 and CPCB water quality criteria.

Ground water:

. The study area falls within coastal zone where the aquifer systems discharge ground water to

the sea or estuarine portion. The intra-coastal canals and lacustrine extensions of the tidal effect

add complexity of the hydrodynamic equilibrium of the coastal tract... Seasonal fluctuations i.e.

along summer and post monsoon season were monitored .The samples were collected both from

core and the buffer zones. n.

Geology & Soil characteristics

The baseline data on geology were collected from the available literature. Regional geology

with type of ore formation are e discussed along with the tectonic history and seismicity of the

region. . The local stratigraphical sequence of the mining area is interpreted from the geological

map .The lithological sequence of the mining area is also interpreted from the existing mines,

open wells and cuttings. Geological map of the study area is prepared and geologic cross

sections (longitudinal and transverse) are drawn.

The topics such as natural and geologic features, terrain topography, geological disturbance, ore

grade, mineable reserves, production rate, estimated life of mine are detailed in the report.

Representative soil sampling in the core zone and buffer zone covering 10 kms radius from

mine lease area was conducted. The depth of sampling is dependent upon the nature of soil

profile, type of structures, land use/cover etc. The soil samples were collected at the rate of one

each representing different land use areas. Total 15 samples were e analyzed during the full

period of study. The agricultural crop in the study area is mentioned by collecting the data from

the concerned departments/agencies and limited ground truthing by field survey.

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The physical parameters that were analyzed for soil are colour, texture, water holding

capacity, Electrical conductivity, Permeability, and Porosity. The chemical properties were

include pH, Chloride, Sodium Absorption Ratio.

Demography & Socio-economics

The project is in a densely populated area and therefore social impact assessment is of major

importance. Mining activity in an area has long term irreversible impact on local, sociological,

cultural and economic situation. In order to evaluate socio-economic impact of the project, an

extensive study on the existing socio-economic status is carried out. The project also bring

benefits to local people. The displacement of people and loss of livelihood are the major

social/economic impact of the mining projects.

For the same the report l covers the following for each mine lease:

1. Demographic growth profiles and Socioeconomic status of all the villages in the

affected mine lease area

2. Collection of details of religious places and historic monuments in the mine lease

3. Determine opinions, expression on the project;

4. Assess the nature of existing resources and means of livelihood

5. Ascertaining reasons and various social and political driving forces causing complaints

and obstruction of existing and proposed activity;

6. Examine possible impact of the project on local population due to their displacement;

loss of land, and other means of livelihood .;

7. Work out mechanism for consultation with all stakeholders and influential forces in order

to address issues related to the proposed activity

8. Evolve suggestions , creative recommendations for getting the co-operation of local

communities and work out guidelines for an effective R&R of the ‘project affected

persons’ (PAPs) under focus.

9. Delineate R&R based on the result of the survey and in line with government and IREL

policy.

Terrestrial Ecology

As a part of the study the phyto-geographic region in which the relevant part of the project area

lies were identified through field studies. A one season study on inventory of the common flora

1-11

& fauna was prepared. Presence of rare and endangered species were not observed in the mine

lease area. Data from previous studies with respect to buffer zone were also analysed. .

Aquatic ecological survey

The T.S canal and the Arabian sea ecology were studied through literature survey and field

studies. As part of the study, primary productivity, the densities of phytoplankton, zooplanktons,

benthic macro-invertebrates, fish and macrophytes were assessed.

The data on the prevailing fish species were collected from local fisheries offices, publications of

Zoological Survey of India. Information on fish production, total catch, as well as on the number

of fishermen and their income were collected from local, Central/State/NGO offices,

Fishermen's Co-operatives (e.g. Matsya Federation etc.).

Noise

Equivalent continuous noise level value measurement was done using integrated sound level . A

total of 100 measurement were carried out covering the mine lease under study.

Topography & Drainage

Topography of the study area is shown in topographical map and analyzed to describe the terrain

. The physiographical features of the study area is explained using satellite imagery. The

ASTER DEM data were overlaid with Land use layer to analyze the physiographic conditions of

the mining areas.

Environmental Radioactivity

Natural background radiation data were collected from the existing data available with the

KMML and IRE. Data also collected for the ML area under study from Natural Background

Radiation Registry (NBRR) project located at Neendakara.

Coastal erosion

Analysis is done based on five year data using satellite Imagery.

Traffic

Vehicular traffic during mine development and operation results in excessive use of existing

public infrastructure and cause congestion and pollution. Baseline information / data on existing

public utility infrastructure and service were also be collected.

The traffic survey was monitored at various locations to find the total traffic at various village

roads connecting the mine lease area. Assessment and carrying capacity analysis for the increase

1-12

in traffic due to the proposed mining activity is assessed. Alternate management plans were

formulated to minimize the impact due to traffic.

1.6.4 Impact Assessment

In the proposed IRE lease, the option of alternate site has little relevance since it is

mainly guided by mineral deposits. Identification of all potential environmental impacts due to a

project is an essential step of Environmental impact Assessment. These are critically examined

and major impacts (both beneficial & adverse) were further studied. In case of this particular

project activity the significant impacts are increased vehicular traffic and mining related social

impact assessment and R&R.. The nature and characteristics of impacts are taken into

consideration while evaluating the magnitude of impacts.

The impacts of the project on air, water, traffic, land use, ecology, socio-economic

environment were assessed. BEES environmental evaluation was used for evaluation of impacts.

Based on the project details, fields studies, the impacts with regard the following were assessed:

Anticipated impact on the land environment

Impact on water environment

Impact on Air environment

Impact due to vehicular traffic

Impact on beach environment

Impact on the biological environment

Impact on Noise

Impact on workers health

Impact on socio-economic environment

Social Impact Assessment

1.6.5 Environmental Management & Monitoring Plans

A management plan to mitigate the adverse impacts is suggested. Accordingly, he various

issues to be addressed are:

Dust emission control

Traffic

Sea erosion

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Land use and mine closure

Socio-economic conditions of the region

Human settlement and rehabilitation

Afforestation plans

Occupational Safety & Health

Organization and methods for environmental management

Post-project monitoring programme for critical environmental parameters

Estimation of cost required for management and monitoring plans

1.6.6 Risk Analysis and Disaster Management Plan

Risk Assessment aims at prevention of accidents and to take necessary steps to prevent it

happening. The main components that are covered in the ML will be

Protect workers in mines from accident

Prevent or reduce the incidence and severity of injury during mining operations

To respond immediately and adequately in case of an accident

1.6.7 Public Hearing

The issues raised by the people during public hearing and the response of the project

proponent together will form the final EIA report.

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1.7 Main elements of the study

The main elements of the study are:

Chapter – 1 Introduction

Chapter - 2 Project Description.

Chapter - 3 Analysis of Alternatives (Technology and Site)

Chapter – 4 Description of environment (baseline data)

Chapter - 5 Impact Analysis and Mitigation measures

Chapter - 6 Environment Monitoring Program

Chapter - 7 Additional Studies

Chapter – 8 Project Benefits

Chapter – 9 Environmental Management Plan (EMP)

Chapter – 10 Summary and Conclusions

Chapter – 11 Disclosure of Consultants

2-1

CHAPTER -2

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

2.1 Location and Accessibility

Figure 2.1: Location map showing accessibility

2-2

The plot lies between Latitude 09°00' 55.97" N & Longitude 76°31' 17.19" E and Latitude

09°02' 03.80" N & Longitude 076°30’ 29.90" E (Toposheet No.58 C/8). A village road

passes through the plot. This road connects the plot to NH 66 at Karunagappally at a distance

of about 6 km. through Panikkarkadavu bridge, on the north. The broad gauge railway line is

about 1 km. to the east of NH 66. The nearest railway station is Karunagappally station at a

distance of about 8 km .M/s Kerala Minerals and Metals Ltd (KMML), a State Govt.

undertaking engaged in beach sand mining, beneficiation and pigment production & Indian

Rare Earths Limited (IREL) are the only two major industries in this area.

Table 2.1: Site Details

District and State Kollam District, Kerala State

Taluk Karunagappally Taluk

Villages Alappad, Panmana and Ayanivelikkulangara

Khasra No./ Plot No./

Block Range / Felling

Series etc.

87.2980 hectares in

Sy.No.253to259,267,268,269,278,279,290,291,292,293,2

94,295,304,305,306,311 to 316,333 to 448 (Alappad)

6.6534 hectares in Sy.No. 1 to 29 (Panmana)

86.0486 hectares in Sy.No. 2140 to 2270,2330 to 2386,

2535 to 2569 and 2570 to 2682 ( Ayanivelikkulangara)

Area ( hectares) 180

The modified mining plan for the capacity expansion from 2,37,150 TPA to 7,50,000 TPA is

approved by AMD under Rule8(9)of AMCR 2016and Rule 23 of MCDR2017.

In 1970 the coastal strip from Neendakara to Kayamkulam Pozhi was divided into 8 blocks

for sanctioning mining lease. Block I, III, V and VII are leased to Kerala Minerals & Metals

Ltd and Block II, IV, VI and VIII were leased to IREL Ltd. The present mining lease is to the

east of NK block IV.

The new lease area extends from the eastern boundary of Block IV into the Canal and

Vattakayal, a lake at the boundary of IREL and KMML sea shore into the Kayamkulam lake

(Kayal). This lake (Kayal) is connected to Travancore-Sherthalai Canal (T.S. Canal) which

2-3

passes by the side of IREL Chavara Plant. Hence, in addition to road transport, water

transport from the mining area to the plant is also feasible.

2.2 Lease Details

The lease is for the extraction of mineral sands (Ilmenite, Monazite, Rutile, Zircon,

Leucoxene and Sillimanite). Monazite rich fraction coming out of the process plant are stock

piled as per AERB guide lines at plants premises.

The lease area can be divided into the following geographical types.

2.2.1 Beach area to the east of Block IV

This area is part of the beach deposit. The land is flat and the elevation is generally within 2

meters of MSL. The area was mostly patta lands/ government purambokk lands owned by

private persons. M/s IREL has purchased part of the land and the company is in the process

of buying rest of the anticipated ML area. All the land required for commencement of mining

operation are in IREL possession. The company offers a very attractive rehabilitation

package and the company does not expect any problem in procuring the required extent of

land. Details of rehabilitation policy are indicated in chapter-5.

Table: 2.2 Year wise production details for last 5 years

Year

Raw sand production

G.O.(MS)No746/07/I

D dt08.06.2007–in

inlandareas(inlakh

tons)

Remarks

2011-12 Nil

The proposed production was not done

due to the agitation of the previous land

owners and asking for more

compensation for the lands and

employment.

2012-13 Nil

2013-14 Nil

2014-15 Nil

2015-16 Nil

Total Nil

2-4

Figure 2.2: A view of the southern end of the leasehold

2.2.2 Canal and Lake area

About 25 % of the area is canal or lake. The canal (NW 3) area is generally shallow with

depth of 1.7 meters. NW- 3 is the project of the Inland Waterways Authority (IWA) of India,

Noida. The central and state government is interested in developing the national waterway by

maintaining depth and width for operating the cargo and passenger transportation.

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Figure 2.3: A view of the lake being dredged by National Water Way Authority for

deepening the lease area is in back ground

2.2.3 Area to the east of T.S. Canal.

This area is mainly private land used for agriculture and homestead. The area will be required

only towards the latter half of the lease period of 20 years. IRE will be buying this land as

and when required. The company offers a very attractive rehabilitation package and the

company does not expect any problem in procuring the required extent of land.

The Mineral Separation Plant (MSP) of IREL is located on the Block 2 leasehold of IRE at

about 15.4 Km from the proposed ML area and 1.5 km from the NH 66, that is Kanyakumari-

Salem Highway, and this is at 13 km from the district headquarters at Kollam and 80 km

from the capital city, Trivandrum. It has all the infrastructural facilities for operating the

mines and processing plant. Export of the minerals is through Cochin Port which is 130 KM

to the North of the IRE plant.

2-6

Figure 2.4 : Another view of the southern parts of the leasehold

2.3 COASTAL REGULATION ZONE STATUS

The present study area is within or close to Coastal Regulation zone (MoEF, 2011) and falls

in Map No. 17 of the Coastal Zone Management Plan of Kerala (CZMP, 1995; MoEF,

1996). All the development activities in CRZ are regulated through the CRZ Notification

(MoEF,2001). The Government of India Notification [S.O.19(E) dated 6.1.2011] under

section 3(1) and section 3(2) (v) of the Environment (Protections)Rules ,1986 has defined

CRZ. The CRZ notification (2011; 1991) defines “High tide line (HTL) as the line on the

land, up to which the highest water line reaches during the spring tide”. The HTL/LTL has

to be identified based on the coastal geomorphologic signatures in the field/satellite

imageries/ aerial photographs following the guidelines of MoEF (MoEF, 2011; 1991). The

coastal zone report of the project site prepared by NCESS is appended as Annexure-9

The mining site is in Alappad, Panmana and Ayanivelikkulangara villages. The HTL, LTL

and CRZ mapping was done on large scale maps of 1:4000. The HTL and LTL are

demarcated by taking into consideration the geomorphic signatures that are discernible in

the field such as berms, mangroves, seawalls and embankments. The HTL, shoreline and

nature of beach are getting modified at the mining sites.500m landward of the HTL is the

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CRZ along the seacoast. The CRZ on the banks of kayal/backwater and canals is 100m or

width of the water body whichever is less. The CRZ categories are identified based on the

CZMP of the State and coastal ecosystems and morphologies identified during field

mapping. Being in panchayat, the CRZ except those categorized as CRZ IA, CRZ IB and

CRZ IV belongs to CRZ III. The seasonal beach and other intertidal zones are CRZ IB.

Mangrove vegetation are present as small isolated patches on the banks of backwater/canal

and these belong to CRZ IA. Mining of placer deposits rich in heavy minerals is

permissible in CRZ subject to conditions.

KCZMA has recommended the project for CRZ clearance to MoEF vide letter number

2933/A1/2018/KCZMA dated 22/10/18.

2.3 Justification for the Project

The heavy minerals have substantial demand in India and abroad. Substantial gap exists

between actual production and demand for the minerals. Chavara deposit which has heavy

mineral content as high as 60 - 80% and is the richest deposit in Asia and one of the

important beach sand deposits in the world.

Considering the important aspects, viz., meeting the internal demand, earning valuable

foreign exchange, generating additional employment and further economic development of

the region, continuation of mining and allied activities at Chavara deposit is essential and is

the need of the country.

2.5 Geology of Beach Sand Deposit

The prominent geological feature of the region is the beach sand deposits of Neendakara to

Arattupuzha coast. The coastal plain of Neendakara to Arattupuzha extends inland for several

kilometers. It is a raised marine plain and is marked by retreat dunes, which extend to inland

for some distance. The present coast is marked by a raised barrier dune behind which there is

a canal which links a series of lagoons between the tidal channels at Neendakara on the

Ashtamudi estuary and at the Kayamkulam lagoon.

Block II, where IRE's plant is located, has been divided into two major parts: the Beach zone

(consisting of the beach-front and the mid-zone) and the easterly extension.

The economically valuable minerals occur dominantly in the beach zone. Valuable minerals

extend to the west for a mile or so under the waters of the Arabian Sea (Rao 1968b) and on

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land to the east, across the coastal plains. The lease boundaries are well defined but the

reserve of heavy minerals continues eastward beyond the lease boundary also.

The beach is subjected to intermittent marine erosion and to replenishment of heavy minerals

from abundant off-shore, submarine deposits (Rao, 1968b). Hence, it is probable that

economically valuable minerals could occur intermittently for some miles to the east across

the plain. The mineralized layer is of the order of 7 m. (22ft) deep but the grades are

generally much lower than those of the beach zone.

The beach zone is very rich and grades near 90% total heavy minerals are found near the

surface. The average grade of the beach front zone is 45.7% and remaining of the zone (the

mid zone) is 38.3% heavy mineral.

The eastern extension is lower in grade with the majority of the higher grade samples around

20%. There are extensive areas of material with grades between 5 and 15% of total heavy

mineral and the average is 10.8% heavy mineral. The deposit along the sea coast is formed by

the tidal waves of the sea. The origin of the sand deposits is attributed to the weathering

action on the Archean crystalline rocks in the hinterland including the Western Ghats. The

minerals were carried down along the rivers to the sea and sorted by tidal action.

There is no over burden in the area. There is no wall rock etc. and the deposits have quartz,

shells etc. as gangue mineral. The chemical characteristics and physical characteristics of the

minerals are given below (Table 2.3).

Table 2.3: Physical & Chemical Characteristics of the minerals

Mineral Physical ( Grain size) Chemical

Ilmenite 50 mesh/140 mesh TiO2-59%,Fe2O3-17%toFeO- 23.5%

Sillimanite 50 mesh/100 mesh Al2O3-60%, SiO2- 36.34%

Zircon 50 mesh/140 mesh ZrO2-65%

Rutile 50 mesh/140 mesh TiO2-95%

Monazite 80 mesh/200 mesh ThO2 8 to 10 %

2-9

2.6 Exploration already carried out in the area

The area was prospected by AMD in October 1981 to April 1982 under “Heavy Mineral

Investigation of Eastern Extension of Block IV, Chavara (Eastern and Western sides of TS

Canal).

A series of boreholes were drilled in the area. These are along lines spaced at a distance of 30

meters and the lines were numbered 118 to 196. In each line, boreholes were located at a

spacing of about 30 meters and named as A, B, C etc. Some of the boreholes were in the old

lease hold of Block IV and the rest in new lease area. In each bore hole, samples were taken

every 1.5 meters and the HM content was checked. The boreholes were restricted to the area

to the west of TS canal. There were 274 boreholes in the land purchased by IRE and

adjoining areas.

Based on the Heavy Mineral data of the boreholes, the weighted average of heavy mineral

content of the boreholes in the area in possession of IRE was worked out. The grid lines

from 118 to144 relate to this area, which is planned for mining in the next five years.

Weighted average of the data from the core analysis for this area is seen to be 18.85%.

Summary of the current land usage of study area is shown in Table 2.4. Estimate of Mineral

reserves in the area in possession of IRE is shown in Table 2.5.

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Table 2.4: Current land use of the study area

Sl.NO. Activities As on date

(H)

1 Area under inland mining 0.000

2 Storage of topsoil 0.000

3 Overburden/dump/Waste dump 0.000

4 Mineral storage 0.000

5 Infrastructure (Plant area, Pump

house, workshop etc.,)

2.000

6 Road 0.000

7 Railways 0.000

8 Tailing pond 0.000

9 Effluent treatment plant 0.000

10 Mineral Separation Plant 0.000

11 *area under the sea 5.000

13 Mines, Refilled, and afforested area 0.00

14

Inhabited Village areas–TS canal widened, lake area and

safety for water body, coastal replenishment

47.975

15 Undisturbed Area 125.025

Grand Total 180.00

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Table 2.5 Mineable reserve available in Block IV EE

2.7 Mining methodology

The proposed method of mining is similar to the dredge mining conducted by the company in

Block No. 2. No development work is required here. There is no over burden. The beach

sands will be mined by open cast method. The equipment used is DWUP. The dredge has a

working length of 30 meters and width of 14 meters. A drawing of the dredge is shown below

Figure 2.5 : Dredge Operation Details

Classification Block UNFCCode Quantity (MillionTon)

Grade(%) Forest/Non Forest/ Unspecified

(A)Mineral Reserve

NK-IV(EE)

Proved Mineral

Reserve

NK-IV(EE) 111 6.025 17.62 Non-Forest

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Figure 2.6 : DWUP (Dredge and Wet Upgradation Plant) located

in the dredge pond at IRE Chavara Plant

Figure 2.7 : Heavies Discharge from DWUP at Chavara Plant

The Dredge-WUP combination has a maximum capacity of 125 TPH. However, average

capacity reached in operation is about 40 TPH. The DWUP comprises of a dredge which is

the main excavating equipment with a bucket wheel cutter mounted on a ladder lift. The

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Bucket Wheel ladder is lowered and lifted by hydraulically operated winches. The bucket

wheel and the gravel pumps are also driven hydraulically. Anchoring ropes are provided for

swinging the dredge and bucket wheel. Spud carriage ways are provided for movement of

the DWUP and also for anchoring the plant when there is no operation. The sideway

movement of the dredge is achieved by hydraulically operated slew winches. Two rear

anchors area provided for additional safety during rough weather conditions.

The pond is man-made and the pond advances by the cutting action of the dredge. The tailing

is discharged as a heap in the tailings cyclone underflow and is used for refilling the back

side of the pond. A loader is used for handling the tailings. The heavies are also discharged

outside the pond in another heap and is transported to the Chavara Plant by loader- tipper

combination. The dredge is moved to the desired direction by operation of the winches.

Estimated yearly production of raw sand is 7,50,000 tons having an average grade of 15%

THM content. During up-gradation of raw sand, the DWUP can generate about 6 to 6.6 lakh

tons of heavies having about 85 % THM content. Rest of the sand (nearly 85%) of the raw

sand mined, is rejected by the DWUP as tailings.

The area proposed for mining is shown in figure-.2.8.

Figure 2.8: A view of the area proposed to be mined

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Mineral transport can be by tipper trucks. A combination of water transport, or by means of

pumping through conduits can also be explored.

2.8 Mining Methodology Proposed for the new lease area

The entire plot has deposit of beach sand minerals. The prospecting done here has not

indicated any hard rock present upto a depth of 7.5 M below MSL. The dredge can reach

upto depth of 8m. The dredge will work in a pond of water. The pond will move forward by

the cutting action of the dredger. Rejects from the DWUP will be used for refilling the mined

out area of the pond. Hence refilling will go side by side with mining operation. The pond

with the dredger in it will traverse the entire area of the lease area, recovering Heavy

Minerals present in the sand. The refilled area will be free of HM, especially Monazite,

which is radio-active. Thus the dredging and mining of the area will reduce the radioactivity

of the area. The adjoining T.S canal is dredged periodically to maintain the depth required for

water transportation. This also generates good quantity of material that is also used for

refilling the dredge pit. There will have to be one pond dug in the area for accommodating the

dredger and hence no specific and elaborate development programme is necessary for this

project.

The mining will proceed from the southern boundary of the plot. The pond will progress as a

strip parallel to the lease boundary. The excavation during the first two years will be

2,37,150 tons of raw sand and for the coming three years it will be 7,50,000 tons. Estimated

Raw sand production is worked out in table 2.6.

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Table 2.6 Yearwise development and estimated production

Year Pit No. Total

tentative

Excavatio

n (TON)

Top

Soil

(Ton)

OB/

SB/I

B

ROM(Ton) Mineral

reject

ROM/

Waste

Ratio

Ore Mineral

Reject

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

2016

-17

NK

block

IVEE

2,37,150 Nil Nil 2,37,150 Nil Nil 1:0

2017

-18

NK

block

IVEE

2,37,150 Nil Nil 2,37,150 Nil Nil 1:0

2018

-19

NK

block

IVEE

7,50,000 Nil Nil 7,50,000 Nil Nil 1:0

2019

-20

NK

block

IVEE

7,50,000 Nil Nil 7,50,000 Nil Nil 1:0

2020

-21

NK

block

IVEE

7,50,000 Nil Nil 7,50,000 Nil Nil 1:0

27,24,300 27,24,300

Source: Mine Plan

2.9 Site infrastructure and facilities:

The Chavara processing plant which maintains all site services including Electric workshop

and Mechanical will take care of the repairs and maintenance. Main stores, fuel storage

points, hospital and canteen, cooperative store are also situated at Chavara main plant. The

workshop is fully equipped to take care of the repairs and routine maintenance etc. The

electricity is supplied by KSEB to the plant through 11 KV line. The dredge area is supplied

with power from separate grid from Kerala State Electricity Board's main 11 KV lines. The

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stores and fuel storage tanks are located at convenient locations. A hospital with two Doctors

and required number of supporting staff is also maintained in the Plant.

Power supply is available as 11KV line passing through northern side of KMML to Block IV

lease hold. Necessary power distribution arrangements will be made in the mining area. The

proposed employment potential in the proposed ML area are mentioned in below table 2.7.

Table 2.7 Manpower calculations

Manpower calculation for NK-IVEE

Sl.No.

Operations

No. of Persons required

per day

Departmental

1 Mines Manager 1

2 Asst.Mines Manager& Mining

Engineer

9

3 Geologist 1

4 Mines Foreman 3

Sub-total 14

5 UnSkilled(Female) 3

6 UnSkilled 15

Transport will be arranged through tipper even though barge transport is also feasible. One

wheel loader will be engaged for loading the heavies from the DWUP. The same loader will

level the reject material and refill the back side of the pond. The heavies are processed at

Chavara IRE plant to various products.

2.10 Mineral Processing

The beach sand (inland deposit) is mined by open cast method. The raw sand is first up-

graded so that its heavy mineral (HM) content is increased to 85%.This is done in a Dredge &

Wet Up-gradation Plant (DWUP) which not only mines the beach sand as slurry but also up-

grades the HM bearing sand and dumps back the tailing for refilling the mined out area.

The raw sand is to be beneficiated in the WUP, which is mounted on the dredger unit itself.

The DWUP discharges about 75 % of the sand as tailing. The heavies from DWUP, having

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THM content of 75% is discharged through the cyclone mounted on a stand/staker. The

heavies are to be transported to the Chavara Plant where it is first fed to the Heavies

Upgrading Plant (HUP). Product of HUP has about 95% HM content and it is sent to the

Mineral Separation Plant. Here the minerals are separated using their properties like magnetic

attraction, electric conductivity etc. The mineral processed in this system gives the end

products as Ilmenite, Rutile, Zircon, Sillimanite and Monazite. The separation process

ensures the purity of end products and prevents contamination of the product by any other

mineral. The water required for the Spiral Separators in the Dredge and Wet Upgradation

Plant (DWUP) is made available from the artificial pond itself in which the DWUP floats and

the water is being recycled back to the pond. The power required for the plant is supplied by

the Kerala State Electricity Board and in case of electricity failure there are two standby

generators of 1150 KVA each and one of 950 KVA to take care of the plant requirement.

The reject tailings from the DWUP as mentioned earlier will be pumped back to the mined

out area at Chavara. These will be systematically analyzed for the heavies and the mineral

content will be monitored.

2.11 Product Information

Ilmenite, Leucoxene and Rutile are minerals containing mainly TiO2 varying from around

60% to 98%. The fraction that contains an average TiO2 content of about 60% is called

Ilmenite, 75% is called Leucoxene and 98% is called Rutile.

Zircon : Zircon is Zirconium silicate - Zr O2.SiO2

Sillimanite : It is Silicate of Alumina - Al203 SiO2

Monazite : It is a complex phosphate of Thorium and Rare Earth Minerals. This is

radio active.

2.12 Physical properties

The minerals are separated by various physical means depending on their properties viz.

1. Magnetic Susceptibility

2. Electrical conductivity and

3. Specific Gravity.

Ilmenite, Leucoxene and Monazite are magnetic materials. The magnetic susceptibility of

these materials is different. Ilmenite is more magnetic and Leucoxene and Monazite are

feebly magnetic. Regarding electrical conductivity, all titanium minerals (i.e. Ilmenite,

Leucoxene and Rutile) are conducting and all others are non-conducting.

2-18

The specific gravity the various minerals are as below: -

1. Monazite - 5.20

2. Zircon - 4.70

3. Rutile - 4.20

4. Ilmenite - 4.50

5. Leucoxene - 3.50

6. Sillimanite - 3.25

7. Quartz - 2.65

2.13 Separation of Minerals

Ilmenite: Ilmenite is the largest constituent of the raw sand. Its Magnetic Susceptibility is

more than that of Leucoxene and Monazite, which are also magnetically susceptible. Hence a

low intensity magnetic separator can separate Ilmenite.

Rutile: As Ilmenite, Leucoxene and Rutile are electrically conducting materials, these can be

separated from other minerals using High Tension Separators or Electrostatic separators. Of

these conducting materials Ilmenite is highly magnetic, Leucoxene is feebly magnetic and

Rutile is non magnetic. Ilmenite can be removed by using a low intensity magnetic separator

and the non-magnetic fraction will be Rutile.

Leucoxene: The fraction obtained as magnetics of High Intensity Magnetic Separator is

theoretically Leucoxene. This will contain Ilmenite, Rutile and a small percentage of non-

conducting. However since the Leucoxene content in raw sand is very low, this can be sent

along with Rutile without affecting the guaranteed TiO2 content of Rutile.

Flow sheet of DWUP process is shown as figure 2.9.

2.14 Mineral Recovery

The non-conducting minerals, composed of Monazite, Zircon, Sillimanite, Quartz is further

processed to separate the valuable minerals. Zircon and Sillimanite are sold as finished

products and Monazite is stored as a concentrated fraction.

Construction of separate Sillimanite plant was suggested for production of additional quantity

of Sillimanite from plant tails, which was postponed due to low market demand.

2-19

Process flow chart

Figure 2.9: DWUP Process Flow Chart

Monazite-rich fraction is stock piled in demarcated earthen pits / trenches on Northern side of

plant beyond HUP as per the the directions from AERB/HPU for ensuring safety from

radiation. The trenches are covered using 1 m thick sand cover.

2.15 Use of Heavy Minerals

Ilmenite is used for production of titanium-di-oxide pigment which is used in paints, paper,

plastic, rubber and in the electronic industry. Naturally occurring Rutile contains 94-96%

titanium dioxide. Rutile is used for manufacture of titanium dioxide pigment, coatings of

welding electrodes and in the manufacture of titanium sponge and metal. Titanium

tetrachloride, used in the manufacture of aluminum materials is produced by chlorination of

rutile or a mixture of highly altered Ilmenite or leucoxene. Zircon is used in the manufacture

of foundry moulds, refractory bricks and crucibles and in the ceramic industry as opacifier.

Zirconium alloys are used for nuclear reactor as cladding materials for nuclear fuel and in the

aerospace industry for the manufacture of jet engine parts. Garnet is used for manufacture of

abrasives. Sillimanite is an important raw material used for manufacturing high grade

refractories and porcelain goods. Moanazite is phosphate of rare earths with variable amounts

of thorium usually combined with silicate or phosphate.Monazite is used for production of

2-20

rare earth compounds, tri-sodium phosphate, thorium hydroxide and thorium nitrate. Thorium

is largely used as fuel in fast breeder nuclear reactors.

3-1

CHAPTER 3

ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVES

There is no scope of alternative sites as this rare earth as the rare earth

minerals are available only on the coastal stretches of Kerala and concentrated on the

stretches between Neendakara and Kayamkulam.

The minable reserves of minerals in the inland area based on prospecting done

by Atomic Minerals Directorate (AMD) is around 6.02 million tons on IREL Block

IVEE.

The inland mining will be conducted for about 2,37,150 MT/year for first two

years followed by 7,50,000 million tons per year for the remaining 3 years. The THM

content of inland mining is 17.62 % and no beach washing is present in Block IV EE.

The technology adopted is conventional dredge mining. It is a wet process

and no dust pollution arises out of it. The DWUP comprises of a dredge which is the

main excavating equipment with a bucket wheel cutter mounted on a ladder lift. The

Bucket Wheel ladder is lowered and lifted by hydraulically operated winches. The

bucket wheel and the gravel pumps are also driven hydraulically. The ladder lift is

designed for a dredging depth of 6-8 metres. The concentrate of the DWUP is the

feed material for the mineral separation plant (MSP).

No major impacts are anticipated by using this technology. No drilling or

blasting is adopted in this mining project. Since there will be no subgrade material

there will be no dumps. The mining and the separation of the minerals are done by

physical processes and hence there will be no discharge of any chemicals.

The mining of radioactive mineral (Monazite containing Thorium) reduces

the radiation exposure significantly.

The heavy minerals have significant demand in India and abroad. Substantial

gap exists between actual production and demand for these minerals.

Chavara deposit is the richest deposit in Asia and one of the important beach

sand deposits in the world. Considering the important aspects, viz., meeting the

internal demand, earning valuable foreign exchange, generating additional

employment and further economic development of the region, continuation of mining

and allied activities at Chavara deposit is essential and is the need of the country.

Considering the above facts there is no scope for exploring alternate sites and

technology.

4-1

CHAPTER 4

DESCRIPTION OF ENVIRONMENT

4.1General

The Chavara coast of Kollam district, Kerala is world famous for its rich placer deposits. The

heavy mineral content in the beach sand goes up to as high as 95%. Sand extraction by Indian

Rare Earths Ltd (IREL) and its predecessor companies has been going on at various sites

along the Chavara coast since 1930.The occurrence of rare mineral deposits is site-specific

and their exploitation does not allow any options except to adopt eco-friendly mining

operations. IREL aims to adopt environmental equilibrium by ensuring sustainable

operations.

The primary objective of an EIA Study includes determination of the present environmental

status, the study of the proposed activities specifically related to the project and evaluation of

the probable environmental impacts due to these specific activities, thus, leading to the

recommendations of necessary environmental mitigation/control measures.

An EIA Study, thus, necessarily includes collecting detailed information on the existing

environmental scenario or ‘baseline data’ and establishing related data of the proposed

activity. The project data, relevant to environmental aspects, is then superimposed on the

baseline data and the resultant environmental conditions predicted with the help of effective

predictive tools.

The EIA is, thus, a comprehensive study on environmental impacts due to proposed mining

activity, work out plans to assess and mitigate the detrimental impacts on the environment

due to proposed mining operation and other allied activities.

Some of the important aspects considered are:

1. Mine lease area (180 Ha) is the Core Zone

2. 10 km radius from the boundary limits of the mine lease area is considered as a buffer

zone.

3. Maps of the study area (core and buffer zone) showing various monitoring stations,

superimposed on locations of habitats.

4-2

4. Monitoring and testing are done as per standard testing protocols.

5. One season (non-monsoon) primary baseline data on ambient air quality (PM10, SO2

and NOx), water quality, noise level, soil and flora and fauna were collected and the

specific meteorological data were also collected. The locations of the monitoring

stations were selected such as to represent whole of the study area and justified

keeping in view the pre-dominant direction and location of sensitive receptors. As per

TOR, there should be at least one monitoring station within 500m of the mine lease in

the pre dominant downwind direction. Base line data collected during the last three

years by CSIR-NIIST has been incorporated as a part of the report and utilized in

formation of baseline Environmental status and Environmental Management Plan.

6. NABET accredited NGO’s, empaneled experts, NABL Lab Cochin form the team for

carrying out the study in addition to functional area experts and EIA coordinator of

CSIR-NIIST.

4.2 Reconnaissance Survey of project site:

The distance to key locations (refer figure 4.2 &4.3) from the 180Ha mine lease area(north

west end) is as follows:

NH 66 at Karunagappally : 3.45 km

Kerala Minerals & Metals (KMML) : 9.34 km

Indian Rare Earths Ltd.( IREL) : 15.4 km

Kollam (district HQ) : 25 km

Thiruvananthapuram capital of Kerala: : 95.5 km

Karunagappaly town : 3.75 km

The deposit is quite rich with respect to ilmenite, rutile, and zircon and the mineral ilmenite

happens to be of weathered variety analyzing 60% TiO2. The project aims in the mining of

heavy minerals through inland mining using dredge/excavators.

4-3

4.2.1 Key Observation:

The mining area is a human inhabited area. The beach area to the west of the new mining

lease is already subjected to collection of beach washing. Most of the people residing in the

beach zone area are of the fishermen community. The area was devastated by the 2004

tsunami. The block comprises of sensitive locations such as churches and temples, these

religious places likely to be mined subjected to some specific conditions. Company plans to

shift temples or churches to nearby acceptable places with prior permission after observing

the religious formalities. There was a similar relocation in surrounding area (Panmana Sri

Durga Devi temple, Vellanathuruth ).IREL respects people’s beliefs and company will not

indulge in any activities compromising people’s believes. The block also comprises

mangroves to a smaller extent, covering an area of 2.73 Ha

4-4

Fig 4.1: Block IV EE lease area (Core Zone)

4-5

Fig 4.2 Buffer zone of the study area (IREL Block IVEE)

4-6

4.3 Aspects studied

The major environmental disciplines studied include geology, soils, hydrology, meteorology,

landuse, surface and groundwater quality, air quality, noise quality terrestrial and aquatic

ecology, demography and socioeconomics. The radiation data are generated during August

2017 by BARC and this is incorporated in the study. The Report consists of field data

generated over a period from September 2013, (from date of signing of agreement) to

December 2017 along with relevant data collected from various agencies on the above

disciplines. The data and observations carried out in adjacent mining lease of IREL, KMML

which is in the buffer zone is also considered for preparation of impacts and mitigation

measures. The present block have already got EC in the year 2011, the current project is an

expansion project and hence for the present report previous studies data were also considered.

4.3.1Micro-Meteorological Status:

The climate of Kerala, as per Koppen's classification, is tropical monsoon with seasonally

excessive rainfall and hot summer. The entire state is classified as one meteorological

subdivision for climatological purposes. The year is divided into four seasons. The period

March to the end of May is the hot season. This is followed by Southwest Monsoon season

that continues till the beginning of October. From October to December is the Northeast

Monsoon season and the two months (January & February) period is considered as winter

season. The climate is pleasant from September to February. Summer months March to May

is uncomfortable due to high temperature and humidity. The State is extremely humid due to

the existence of Arabian Sea in the west.

The mine lease area which comes in Kollam district has a tropical humid climate, with an

oppressive summer. The hot season from March to May is followed by the southwest

monsoon season from June to September. October - November may be termed the post-

monsoon or the retreating monsoon season. December to February is the northeast monsoon

season. (Source: ENVIS Centre: The Kerala State of Environment and Related Issues)

4-7

Rainfall

The total annual rainfall in the State varies from 360 cm over the extreme northern parts to

about 180 cm in the southern parts. The southwest monsoon (June­-October) is the principal

rainy season when the State receives about 70% of its annual rainfall. Monsoon rainfall as

percentage of annual rainfall decreases from north to south and varies from 83 % in northern

district of Kasaragod to 50% in the southern district of Thiruvananthapuram. Northeast

monsoon rainfall as percentage of annual rainfall increases from north to south and varies

from 9% in north most district of Kasaragod to 27% in south most district of

Thiruvananthapuram. The rainfall amount in the State decreases towards the south with

decrease of height of Western Ghats. The southernmost district of Thiruvananthapuram

where Western Ghats are nearest to the sea coast and its average height is also least in the

State receives minimum amount of rainfall. The thunderstorm rains in the pre-monsoon

months of April and May and that of monsoon months are locally known as 'EDAVAPATHI'.

Rainfall during northeast monsoon season is known as 'THULAVARSHAM' in local

language.

The southwest monsoon sets-over the study area situated at Kollam tentatively on 1st June

and extends over the entire State by 5th June. June and July are the rainiest months, each

accounting individually to about 23% of annual rainfall. The average level of annual rainfall

is quite high when compared to other Indian states. The study area /Kerala does not have

extreme climatical variations like acute summer or acute winter as experienced in northern

states. The study area experiences 4 types of climatic conditions such as winter, summer,

South West Monsoon and North East Monsoon.

Rainfall data collected from the nearest IMD station of the mine lease (Alappuzha) are given

intable 4.1. Owing to its position near the southern end of the Peninsula, the lease area

benefits from the southwest monsoon and to a lesser extent from the northeast monsoon.

Rains mostly in the form of thunderstorm occur in the summer and in the post-monsoon

months constitute a good portion of the annual total of rainfall.

4-8

Table 4.1 Rainfall data

Month Total rainfall (mm)

Temperature (o C)

Maximum Minimum

Oct-14 203.0 31.8 24.4

Nov-14 135.6 31.5 24.1

Dec-14 35.1 31.7 24.2

Jan-15 11.0 32.3 23.5

Feb-15 4.2 33.2 24.0

Mar-15 61.9 33.9 25.3

Apr-15 160.6 33.9 25.4

May-15 184.2 33.4 26.5

Jun-15 451.7 31.9 25.3

Jul-15 283.6 31.3 24.5

Aug-15 274.3 32.4 24.7

Sep-15 258.0 33.4 25.1

Oct-15 349.6 32.4 24.6

Source: IMD, Trivandrum

Temperature

Day temperatures are more or less uniform over the plains throughout the year except during

monsoon months when these temperatures drop down by about 3 to 5°C. Both day and night

temperatures are lower over the plateau and at high level stations than over the plain. Day

temperatures of coastal places are less than those of interior places. March is hottest month

with a mean maximum temperature of about 33°C. Mean maximum temperature is minimum

in the month of July when the State receives plenty of rainfall and the sky is heavily clouded.

4-9

It is 28.5°C for the State as a whole in July, varying from about 28°C in the north to about

29°C in the South. Inland stations experience higher maximum temperatures than the coastal

stations. From May onwards both the maximum and minimum temperatures start falling.

Daily maximum and minimum temperature from October 2014 to October 2015 were

collected from Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) monitoring station at Alappuzha.

The months March, April, and May are the hottest and the mean daily maximum temperature

being of the order of 32.5oC On certain days the maximum temperature reached 33.9oC. In

April and May, the oppressive heat is relieved by thundershowers. With the onset of the

monsoon by the end of May, weather becomes cooler. After September, the day temperature

increases gradually till they reach a maximum in the hot season. The average daily minimum

temperature is 23.5oC.

CSIR NIIST conducted a field study during the period of March-April 2008 for IRE to

evaluate the environmental aspects and their possible associated impacts that would arise due

to the proposed heavy mineral sand mining operations, in the same area. In the study,

meteorological data from Thiruvananthapuram observatory was analyzed and found that

temperature variations through the seasons were fairly uniform. March, April and May are

the hottest months, the mean daily maximum temperature being of the order of 30.5oC. On

some days the maximum may reach 36oC. In April and May, the oppressive heat is relieved

somewhat by thundershowers. With the onset of the monsoon by the end of May weather

becomes cooler. After September, the day temperature increases gradually till they reach

maximum in the hot season. The average daily minimum temperature during December to

February is 22.6 oC. On some individual days in this season the minimum may be lower by

three or four degrees.

Humidity

The State stretches from north to south with the Arabian Sea in its west, relative humidity is

in general high over the State. In the period January to March afternoon humidity reduce to

60-63%, varying from 35% in the interior to 71 % in the coastal area. The diurnal variation in

relative humidity during this period is maximum and ranges from 4 to 16%, depending upon

the proximity of the sea. The relative humidity in the monsoon period rises to about 85% for

the state. The variation in this period is minimum.

4-10

The air is highly humid practically all the year round in mine lease area, the relative humidity

being over 78.93%. Daily relative humidity from October 2014 to October 2015 was

collected from IMD, Alappuzha station. The relative humidity during the months of

December to May is slightly less than that during the rest of the year. The average monthly

relative humidity is given in table 4.2.

Table 4.2 Average monthly Relative humidity

Month Relative humidity (%)

Oct-14 89.19

Nov-14 87.97

Dec-14 83.26

Jan-15 79.74

Feb-15 78.93

Mar-15 82.77

Apr-15 82.47

May-15 85.26

Jun-15 89.77

Jul-15 92.45

Aug-15 91.84

Sep-15 90.53

Oct-15 92.45

4-11

Cloudiness

Skies are heavily clouded or overcast on most of the days in the monsoon months and to a

lesser extent in the post-monsoon months. In the summer and post-monsoon months,

cloudiness generally increases in the afternoons. During the rest of the year, skies are

generally clear.

Winds

The winds over the State are seasonal only in the region of Palakkad Gap where winds are

predominantly from the east in the period from November to March and from west in the rest

of the year. In other parts of the State flow of wind is mainly governed by differential heating

of land and water mass together with mountain winds. Winds have westerly component

during the day and easterly components during the night throughout the year. In general

winds are quite strong during afternoons when the thermal circulation is best developed and

weak during night.

Wind direction and wind speed were measured at site monitoring station by NCESS. Hourly

wind speed and direction for a period of 12 months were monitored. The wind rose diagrams

have been plotted for the site on a seasonal basis from the wind data collected on site for the

duration December 2014 to December 2015 is presented in figures 4.3, 4.4, 4.5.

Fig 4.3 Wind rose –post-monsoon (October 2015 to Nov 2015)

4-12

Fig 4.4 Wind rose – Winter (December 2014 to March 2015)

Fig 4.5 Wind rose – Summer (April 2015 to June 2015)

4-13

4.4 AIR ENVIRONMENT

Ambient air quality monitoring was carried out at four stations considering the downwind,

crosswind, categorization of the area as per land use. The parameters monitored were PM10,

SO2 and NOx. The locations include mine lease area, sensitive location, residential area and

rural area. The air monitoring details are shown in table 4.3

Fig:4.6 PM10 monitoring stations

4-14

Table 4.3: Ambient air quality data of core and buffer zone:

Sl.no Date Location/Sampler

I.D

PM10

SOX NOX

µg/m3 µg/m3 µg/m3

1 22/02/17-23/02/17

Kozhikode/S.4

49 10 12

2 23/02/17-24/02/17 48 < 10 < 10

3 02/03/17-03/03/17 51 < 10 < 10

4 03/0317-04/13/17 52 < 10 < 10

5 09/03/17-10/03/17 39 < 10 < 10

6 10/03/17 -11/03/17 42 < 10 < 10

7 17/03/17-18/03/17 41 < 10 < 10

8 18/03/17-19/03/17 36 < 10 < 10

9 21/03/17-22/03/17 40 BDL < 10

10 22/03/17-23/03/17 42 < 10 < 10

11 29/03/17-30/03/17 38 < 10 < 10

12 30/03/17-31/03/17 40 < 10 < 10

13 06/04/17-07/04/17 44 < 10 < 10

14 07/04/17-08/04/17 41 < 10 < 10

15 13/04/17-14/04/17 39 < 10 < 10

16 14/04/17-15/04/17 49 < 10 < 10

17 18/04/17-19/04/17 51 < 10 < 10

18 19/04/17-20/04/17 48 < 10 < 10

19 26/04/17-27/04/17 49 < 10 < 10

20 27/04/17-28/04/17 52 < 10 < 10

21 01/05/17-02/05/17 48 < 10 < 10

4-15

22 02/05/17-03/05/17 46 < 10 < 10

23 11/05/17-12/05/17 48 < 10 < 10

24 12/05/17-13/05/17 51 < 10 < 10

25 18/08/17-19/05/17 48 < 10 < 10

26 19/05/17-20/05/17 46 < 10 < 10

27 24/05/17-25/05/17 38 < 10 < 10

28 25/05/17-26/05/17 36 < 10 < 10

Sl.no Date Location/Sampler

I.D

PM10

SOX NOX

µg/m3 µg/m3 µg/m3

1 22/02/17-23/02/17

Cheriazeekal S.2

66 10 12

2 23/02/17-24/02/17 52 < 10 < 10

3 02/03/17-03/03/17 58 < 10 < 10

4 03/0317-04/13/17 56 < 10 < 10

5 09/03/17-10/03/17 42 < 10 < 10

6 10/03/17 -11/03/17 44 < 10 < 10

7 17/03/17-18/03/17 44 < 10 < 10

8 18/03/17-19/03/17 42 < 10 < 10

9 21/03/17-22/03/17 36 BDL < 10

10 22/03/17-23/03/17 46 < 10 < 10

11 29/03/17-30/03/17 58 < 10 < 10

12 30/03/17-31/03/17 58 < 10 < 10

13 06/04/17-07/04/17 59 < 10 < 10

14 07/04/17-08/04/17 60 < 10 < 10

15 13/04/17-14/04/17 52 < 10 < 10

16 14/04/17-15/04/17 60 < 10 < 10

17 18/04/17-19/04/17 64 < 10 < 10

18 19/04/17-20/04/17 66 < 10 < 10

4-16

19 26/04/17-27/04/17 58 < 10 < 10

20 27/04/17-28/04/17 No reading

Instrument

not

working

< 10 < 10

21 01/05/17-02/05/17 60 < 10 < 10

22 02/05/17-03/05/17 58 < 10 < 10

23 11/05/17-12/05/17 52 < 10 < 10

24 12/05/17-13/05/17 64 < 10 < 10

25 18/08/17-19/05/17 56 < 10 < 10

26 19/05/17-20/05/17 54 < 10 < 10

27 24/05/17-25/05/17 48 < 10 < 10

28 25/05/17-26/05/17 38 < 10 < 10

4-17

Sl.no Date Location/Sampler

I.D

PM10

SOX NOX

µg/m3 µg/m3 µg/m3

1 22/02/17-23/02/17

PHC

VELLANATHURU

THU/S.1

61 <10 <10

2 23/02/17-24/02/17 44 <10 <10

3 02/03/17-03/03/17 51 <10 <10

4 03/0317-04/13/17 53 <10 <10

5 09/03/17-10/03/17 48 <10 <10

6 10/03/17 -11/03/17 44 <10 <10

7 17/03/17-18/03/17 41 <10 <10

8 18/03/17-19/03/17 38 <10 <10

9 21/03/17-22/03/17 37 <10 <10

10 22/03/17-23/03/17 44 <10 <10

11 29/03/17-30/03/17 58 < 10 < 10

12 30/03/17-31/03/17 56 < 10 < 10

13 06/04/17-07/04/17 60 < 10 < 10

14 07/04/17-08/04/17 62 < 10 < 10

15 13/04/17-14/04/17 58 < 10 < 10

16 14/04/17-15/04/17 63 < 10 < 10

17 18/04/17-19/04/17 62 < 10 < 10

18 19/04/17-20/04/17 63 < 10 < 10

19 26/04/17-27/04/17 58 < 10 < 10

20 27/04/17-28/04/17 61 < 10 < 10

21 01/05/17-02/05/17 58 < 10 < 10

22 02/05/17-03/05/17 56 < 10 < 10

4-18

23 11/05/17-12/05/17 48 < 10 < 10

24 12/05/17-13/05/17 62 < 10 < 10

25 18/08/17-19/05/17 52 < 10 < 10

26 19/05/17-20/05/17 50 < 10 < 10

27 24/05/17-25/05/17 46 < 10 < 10

28 25/05/17-26/05/17 36 < 10 < 10

Sl.no Date Location/Sampler I.D PM10

SOX NOX

µg/m3 µg/m3 µg/m3

1 22/02/17-23/02/17

NEAR

AMRITHANANTHA

MAYI MADAM

(S3)

52 < 10 < 10

2 23/02/17-24/02/17 48 < 10 < 10

3 02/03/17-03/03/17 54 < 10 < 10

4 03/0317-04/13/17 48 < 10 < 10

5 09/03/17-10/03/17 42 < 10 < 10

6 10/03/17 -11/03/17 44 < 10 < 10

7 17/03/17-18/03/17 44 < 10 < 10

8 18/03/17-19/03/17 42 < 10 < 10

9 21/03/17-22/03/17 42 BDL < 10

10 22/03/17-23/03/17 44 < 10 < 10

11 29/03/17-30/03/17 42 < 10 < 10

12 30/03/17-31/03/17 45 < 10 < 10

13 06/04/17-07/04/17 48 < 10 < 10

14 07/04/17-08/04/17 51 < 10 < 10

15 13/04/17-14/04/17 46 < 10 < 10

16 14/04/17-15/04/17 54 < 10 < 10

17 18/04/17-19/04/17 60 < 10 < 10

18 19/04/17-20/04/17 58 < 10 < 10

4-19

19 26/04/17-27/04/17 52 < 10 < 10

20 27/04/17-28/04/17 49 < 10 < 10

21 01/05/17-02/05/17 52 < 10 < 10

22 02/05/17-03/05/17 51 < 10 < 10

23 11/05/17-12/05/17 51 < 10 < 10

24 12/05/17-13/05/17 48 < 10 < 10

25 18/08/17-19/05/17 48 < 10 < 10

26 19/05/17-20/05/17 46 < 10 < 10

27 24/05/17-25/05/17 42 < 10 < 10

28 25/05/17-26/05/17 44 < 10 < 10

Table:4.4 Comparison of ambient air quality (PM10) of the four sampling locations:

S.No. Location Mean Minimum Maximum

1. Kozhikode 45 38 52

2. Cheriazeekal 54 36 66

3. Primary Health Centre

Vellanathuruth

53 36 63

4. Amrithananthamayi Madam 49 42 60

4-20

Table 4.5 Ambient Air Quality Monitoring carried out in buffer zone: Feb to April 2016

Sl.no Date Location PM10

SOX NOX

µg/m3 µg/m3 µg/m3

1 3/02/16

KMML

guest house

63 10 12

2 12/02/16 55 < 10 < 10

3 13/02/16 68 < 10 < 10

4 25/02/16 70 < 10 < 10

5 26/02/16 58 < 10 < 10

6 1/03/16 52 < 10 < 10

7 3/03/16 68 < 10 < 10

8 4/03/16 61 < 10 < 10

9 10/03/16 52 BDL < 10

10 11/03/16 60 < 10 < 10

11 15/03/16 62 < 10 < 10

12 16/03/16 62 < 10 < 10

13 22/03/16 65 < 10 < 10

14 23/03/16 68 < 10 < 10

15 29/03/16 65 < 10 < 10

16 30/03/16 70 < 10 < 10

17 05/04/16 62 < 10 < 10

18 06/04/16 64 < 10 < 10

19 12/04/16 66 < 10 < 10

20 13/04/16 69 < 10 < 10

4-21

Sl.no Date Location PM10

µg/m3

SOX

µg/m3

NOX

µg/m3

1` 3/02/16

M.S Plant

(KMML)

66 < 10 11

2 12/02/16 43 < 10 10

3 13/02/16 85 12 14

4 25/02/16 73 11 12

5 26/02/16 56 < 10 < 10

6 1/03/16 64 11 13

7 03/03/16 65 BDL < 10

8 4/03/16 54 < 10 < 10

9 10/03/16 55 < 10 < 10

10 11/03/16 48 BDL < 10

11 15/03/16 49 < 10 < 10

12 16/03/16 52 < 10 10

13 22/03/16 60 < 10 10

14 23/03/16 60 < 10 10

15 29/03/16 55 < 10 < 10

16 30/03/16 55 < 10 < 10

17 05/04/16 55 < 10 11

18 06/04/16 56 < 10 10

19 12/04/16 58 < 10 < 10

20 13/04/16 60 < 10 12

21 19/04/16 58 < 10 12

22 20/04/16 62 < 10 10

23 26/04/16 60 < 10 10

24 27/04/16 55 12 14

4-22

Sl.no Date Location PM10

µg/m3

SOX

µg/m3

NOX

µg/m3

1 3/2/16

IREL GUEST

HOUSE

81 < 10 < 10

2 12/02/16 65 < 10 < 10

3 13/02/16 58 < 10 10

4 25/02/16 48 < 10 10

5 26/02/16 46 < 10 12

6 1/03/16 40 10 12

7 3/03/16 44 < 10 11

8 4/03/16 50 < 10 < 10

9 10/03/16 40 < 10 < 10

10 11/03/16 48 < 10 12

11 15/03/16 52 < 10 12

12 16/03/16 48 < 10 10

13 22/03/16 52 < 10 11

14 23/03/16 53 < 10 10

15 29/03/16 53 < 10 12

16 30/03/16 56 10 12

17 05/04/16 50 < 10 10

4-23

18 06/04/16

IREL GUEST

HOUSE CONT.

52 < 10 10

19 12/04/16 55 < 10 < 10

20 13/04/16 58 < 10 10

21 19/04/16 56 < 10 11

22 20/04/16 55 < 10 10

23 26/04/16 55 < 10 11

24 27/04/16 56 < 10 10

Sl.no Date Location PM10

µg/m3

SOX

µg/m3

NOX

µg/m3

1 3/02/16

VELLANATHURUT

H

64 <10 10

2 12/02/16 75 < 10 12

3 13/02/16 68 < 10 11

4 25/02/16 58 < 10 10

5 26/02/16 48 < 10 11

6 1/03/16 42 < 10 <10

7 3/03/16 42 < 10 12

8 4/03/16 55 < 10 11

9

10/03/16 54 <10 < 10

4-24

Sl.no Date PM10

µg/m3

SOX

µg/m3

NOX

µg/m3

10 11/03/16 58 <10 <10

11 15/03/16 46 <10 <10

12 16/03/16 52 <10 <10

13 22/03/16 52 <10 11

14 23/03/16 52 <10 10

15 29/03/16 53 <10 <10

16 30/03/16 54 <10 <10

17 05/04/16 VELLANATHURUT

H

(CONT…)

48 <10 13

18 06/04/16 52 <10 10

19 12/04/16 52 <10 <10

20 13/04/16 54 <10 11

21 19/04/16 52 <10 10

22 20/04/16 55 <10 <10

23 26/04/16 55 <10 12

24 27/04/16 52 <10 <10

4-25

Table 4.6 Comparison of ambient air quality (PM10) of the four sampling locations

(Feb to April 2016)

S.No. Location Mean Minimum Maximum

1. KMML guest house 63 85 52

2. MS plant (KMML) 59 85 54

3. IREL guest house 48.7 81 40

4. Vellanathuruthu 53 75 42

Table 4.7: Comparison of Ambient Air Quality Status for summer season –

RSPM (µg/m3) May 2008

S.No. Location Mean Minimum Maximum

1. Project Site (MCH Centre,

Vellanathuruthu)

29.4 13 48

2. MaravanaJn 19.9 14 27

3. Kannety 30 13 56

Table 4.8Ambient Air Quality Status for Winter season –RSPM (µg/m3 )

December 2008

S.No. Location Mean Minimum Maximum

1. Project Site (MCH Centre,

Vellanathuruthu)

33.3 19 51

2. MaravanaJn 22.5 19 29

3. Kannety 41 29 66

4-26

Table 4.4, 4.6, 4.7 and 4.8 shows the comparison of PM10 in study area and its buffer zone.

From the study it can be seen that in all locations PM10 was found within the permissible

limits (100 µg/m3) for three years of various studies. The SOx and NO2 averages will give

negligible values, as in most locations 24 H sampling have given values less than 10

µg/m3.Thus the results shows that all stations have observed SOx and NO2 values within

permissible limits.(80 µg/m3 for both SOx and NO2 )

Source of data: KSPCB.

Source of data: KSPCB.

The air quality status of a major industry (KMML) which is situated within 10 km of mine

lease is being compared with the air quality of Trivandrum and Kochi with a classification

based on the utility of the area i.e. residential, sensitive, commercial and industrial. The air

quality of the Block IVEE mine lease and it’s buffer area is much lower.

Type Location ID KMML TVM* KOCHI*

PM 10 SOX NOX PM10 SOX NOX PM10 SOX NOX

Com

merc

ial

CHAVARA-2016 64.08 8.08 8.16 PLAMOOD

2015 59.11 8.56 28.66 MG ROAD 2013 66.00 2.90 7.85

Ind

ust

rial

MS

PLANT(KMML)-

2016

58.08 8.64 10.0 VELI 2015 59.78 20.3 28.43 KALAMASERRY

2013 82.00 2.94 7.05

Sen

siti

ve VELLANATH -

URUTH

2016

53.88 8.16 10.2 COSMO

2015 60.83 8.61 31.19

Res

iden

tial

IREL GUEST

HOUSE

2016

52.96 8 9.75

VYTILLA 2013 77 2.85 9.85

4-27

4.5 NOISE ENVIRONMENT

Noise measurements have been carried out using Sound level meter (Envirotech SLM 100).

The locations were selected keeping in view the probable noise prone areas (close proximity

to residential and sensitive zones, proposed project site, etc.). The measurements were taken

1 m from ground level, and carried out at each of these stations mentioned in Table below.

The study area includes a few places of worship, schools, health centers etc. (sensitive

locations).

Fig 4.7 Sound level meter

Table 4.9 Location and values of noise levels at different locations in core and buffer

zones

Sl no: Location of monitoring Average Noise

Value in dB

1 Mining road to Block IV EE 62

2 Primary Health Center 54

3 Amrithapuri Junction 69

4 Sree Kurukasseril Bhadra Devi temple 66

5 Alappad Panchayat Office 61

6 Cheriazikkal near to junction

(school,temple) 71

7 Pandarathuruthu 60

4-28

8 Panikarkadavu bridge 70(cont. traffic)

57(normal)

9 Poockattu junction

(Panikarkadavu) 74

10 SV Market, Karunagappaly 54

11 Muncipal Corporation Office, Karunagapally 78

12 Karunagapally Junction 77

13 Karunagapply Govt.Hospital 68

14 KSEB Office, Puthiyakavu 75

15 Market Road, Karunagapallly 75

16 Karunagapally Railway station.(w/o train movement) 56

17 Kanetti Bridge 76

18 MES college of Arts & Science, Chavara (measured

at NH 47) 77

19 Titanium Junction 75

The permissible limits of noise at various localities are:

Table 4.10: Acceptable Outdoor Noise Levels: Norms of Central

Pollution Control Board

Area Code Category of Area Limits in dB (A)

Day time Night time

A Industrial Area 75 70

B Commercial Area 65 55

C Residential Area 55 45

D Sensitive zone 55 45

Note: 1. Day time is reckoned in between 6 A.M and 9 P.M.

4-29

2. Night time is reckoned in between 9 P.M. and 6 A.M.

3. Silence zone is defined as areas upto 100 metres around such premises as

hospitals, educational institutions and courts.

NIIST study on 2008 on the same area, showed a maximum noise level ( 60-65) at NH 66

(KMML), KSRTC-Near Pearl hospital and Karunagapally which are busy junctions along the

National Highway. The higher ambient noise level is due to commercial activities,

movement of continuous vehicular and other traffic and location of bus stand of Kerala State

Road Transport Corporation and private bus Stand. The minimum ambient noise level during

study period was observed to be 35-40 dB at the Panmana Ashramom ( Mahasamadhi

Peedam). The low values could be attributed to considerably large vegetation cover and calm

atmosphere of religious Ashram. In general, on an average the noise levels are well within

prescribed limits.

4-30

4.6 HYDROGEOLOGY

The coastal tract comprises thick pile of semi-consolidated to unconsolidated sediments of

recent to tertiary age, which consists of phreatic and confined aquifer systems. The study area

falls in the coastal sedimentary basin of Kollam – Ponnaniarea. The exploration by the

Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) indicated a maximum depth of 600m for the

sedimentary basin comprising 3 sedimentary formations: Warkallai, Quilon and Vaikom

beds. Of these, the Warkallai and Vaikom beds are the most potential aquifers. A subsurface

geological section along the coastal belt based on borehole data are shown (Fig 4.8 a).The

Vaikom beds form artesian aquifers between Kollam and Ponnani, and Workallai beds cater

to the requirements of drinking water of urban and rural population between Kollam and

Kochi.Water is fresh south of Cherthalla in Workable beds whereas it is fresh south of

Karuvatta in Vaikom beds. The quality of groundwater is brackish in nature at various places

along the coast and was considered due to seawater intrusion. But the detailed

hydrogeochemical survey by the CGWB revealed that the brackishness is also due to

leaching of salts from the formation materials.

Fig 4.8 (a): Subsurface geological section along the coastal belt based on borehole data

4-31

Fig 4.8(b): Geological Map along W-E direction of block IVEE

4-32

Fig 4.8 (c ): Tentative Section along E-W direction in block IV and Block IV EE

The recharge of the tertiary aquifers takes place from direct precipitation as well as by

downward percolation from the overlying recent to sub-recent formations all along the inland

margin of the coastal belt. Natural discharge from these aquifers takes place directly into the

sea or into the tidal lagoon all along the coastal line. The dug wells in the area tap the phreatic

aquifers in the recent sediments whereas the deep tube wells draw water from the semi-

confined to confined aquifers. Groundwater occurs in the porous granular formations such as

alluvium, laterite etc. The Tertiary sediments and weathered and decomposed crystalline

rocks as well as in the fissures, joints, and fractures in the fresh crystalline rocks. In the study

area, recent alluvium to tertiary sediments, groundwater occurs either in unconfined or semi-

confined/confined conditions. Phreatic conditions mainly exist in coastal alluvium.

Groundwater is mainly extracted through dug wells or filter point wells for domestic or

irrigation purposes. In the coastal region, the Quaternary alluvial deposits form potential

water table aquifers.

Laterite: The occurrence and movement of groundwater in laterite are mainly controlled by

the topography. Laterite forms potential aquifers along valleys and topographic lows where

4-33

the thickness of saturated zone is more and can sustain large diameter open wells for

domestic and irrigation use.

Recent Alluvial Deposits: These constitute the most potential phreatic aquifer in the area and

are extensively developed by dug wells and filter point wells for domestic and irrigation

needs. The depth to water level in this formation ranges from 0.50 to 5.9 m which are 1 to 6

m above MSL. The depth of the wells ranges from 2.76 to 10.6 m BGL. The yield of the

shallow dug wells ranges from 15 to 50 m3/day. The area around Chavara, Karunagappally

where the saturated thickness exceeds 5.0 m form a promising area for filter point wells. The

filter point wells are constructed to a maximum depth of 12.0 m BGL and the yield ranges

from 20 to 60m3/day.

The shallow phreatic aquifers in alluvium are developed through dug wells and filter point

wells. Filter point wells are more economical in the alluvium areas in comparison to dug

wells. However, filter points can be constructed only in very restricted areas where the

saturated sand thickness in the shallow zone exceeds 5m. Filter point wells are feasible in

coastal areas especially along Chavara, Karunagappally blocks and the yield from these wells

ranges from 20 to 60m3/day.

4.6.1 Hydrogeological survey of the study area and buffer zone

The field data collection in core zone and buffer zone were carried out and traverse along the

buffer zone were made and groundwater and surface water samples were collected and

analysed. Hydrogeological survey of the project area and buffer zone was undertaken by

conducting a sample survey of the area taking field measurements at a minimum of 24 wells

in the buffer area including the nearby villages. The data generated during the previous study

(2014 to 2017) by CSIR-NIIST for the EIA study of KMML block III, was also taken into

consideration for ascertaining the hydrogeological impact.

The study area consisted of more than 300 wells. However, about Reduced level (RL’s) of

100 wells was taken at regular intervals. The data generated by the NIIST by an inventory of

100 wells previously during the Environmental Impact Assessment of Old Sludge Ponds of

Kerala Minerals & Metals (KMML), has been utilized in the present study (January 2014 to

May 2016).

4-34

Hydrogeological survey of the project area and buffer zone was undertaken by conducting a

sample survey of the area taking field measurements of 22 wells in the study area including

the nearby villages keeping the ML area at the center. Of these 8 wells pertains to the project

area and 14 wells were in the buffer zone. The water levels in the 22nos of wells were

inventoried varies from 0.35 to2.30m .The depth of the wells varies from 1.59mto 5.78m .The

water level of the wells in the project varies from 0.61m to 2.18m and in the buffer zone the

water level varies from 0.35mto 4.53m The depth of the wells in buffer zone ranges from0.97

m to 5.78m It was observed that a in a few of the wells in proximity to the canal in project

area are shallow and with RL likely to be about 1m or even lesser .Thus based on actual

monitored data, it is evident that the working of the mine will intersect water table aquifer .of

the area

Groundwater is influenced by the difference in hydraulic head produced by topographic relief

and unconsolidated formations. The difference in the hydraulic head due to topographic relief

is the most significant driving force for groundwater flow. Along the western part of the area,

the aquifers flow towards the Sea. Water Level Contour maps are generated using this data.

With reference to GPS control points, the well location and its RL’s were determined by

using the total station instrument.

4.6.2 Ground Water level and Flow Pattern

The contours were generated with reference to water level RL’s of wells which are measured

during the field survey for Block no III. The water level RL of well is calculated from the

above table i.e., (Water level RL= Reduced level - (depth to water level from top of parapet -

Height of parapet). The location of the wells and the address of the inhabitants are provided

in Annexure .The contours were drawn for the water level RL’s for determining the ground

water flow direction in the study area extrapolating from the ground water contours in Block

III since contour of block IV EE was not available for reference. Usually sandy layers

facilitate the flow of water whereas clayey layer retards it. The contours were drawn for the

water level RL’s for determining the ground water flow direction in the study area. The

Ground water contour map ( Fig 4.9) indicated that the western part of the area comprising

the Block IV EE the water table aquifers flows towards the Lakshwadeep Sea in the west

and to the T- S canal in the east The ground water contours along the eastern side of the TS

canal show that the ground water flow pattern is generally towards west ie to the adjacent

4-35

canal portion .Ground water is influenced by the difference in hydraulic head produced by

topographic relief and unconsolidated formations. The difference in hydraulic head due to

topographic relief is the most significant driving force for ground water flow.

The tentative geological section in west – east direction along Block IV EE (Fig 4.8 b, c)

also depicts the water table profile which is likely to be intersected by the mining pit

deepening/dredging activity in Block IV and Block IV eastern extension.

The GW flow is predominantly towards east in the T.S canal from the eastern extension

portion west of the canal and towards IRE block IV along the western margin towards

Arabian sea. From the portion of eastern extension on the eastern bank of the T.S canal the

GW flow is towards west into the canal and also to the Vattakayal along the south and south

western side.

4-36

Fig 4.9: Water level contours and groundwater flow pattern of IREL block IV EE

4-37

4.7 WATER ANALYSIS

4.7.1 Saltwater intrusion due to mining of mineral sands

Overexploitation of aquifers, both unconfined and confined may result in contamination of

the fresh water bearing aquifers by saline water intrusion from sea or estuary. The intra-

coastal canals and lacustrine extension of tidal effects add complexity in coastal tract

especially those of the phreatic aquifers. The fresh waters in rivers, block saltwater intrusion,

whereas blocking of the flow of the water in the upper reaches of the rivers by building dams,

sand mining in river bottoms and dredging of the estuarine beds increase the penetration of

brackish and saline water. The actual change in both the coastal penetration of salt water and

depth of subsurface saline layer will depend upon the configuration of the coastline, the

nature of the underlying geology and probable change in sea level and freshwater flow

reduction.

The coastal aquifer is in hydraulic continuity with the sea and thus there is a continuous flow

of subsurface water towards the sea. This flow prevents entry of the saline water into the

aquifer or towards land. The net result of this flow and counter seawater push towards land is

the existence of fresh water in the form of a lens floating on the saline water within the

coastal alluvium. The interfacial boundary within the aquifer is seldom sharp but a brackish

transition zone of finite thickness exists. The first physical formulations of saltwater intrusion

were made by W. Ghyben (1888, 1889) and A. Herzberg (1901), thus called the Ghyben-

Herzberg relation. The Ghyben-Herzberg ratio states, for every foot of fresh water in an

unconfined aquifer above sea level, there will be forty feet of fresh water in the aquifer below

sea level. The salt water is seen underground not at sea level but at a depth below sea level of

about 40 times the height of the fresh water above sea level. This distribution is attributed to a

hydrostatic equilibrium existing between the two fluids of different densities. Saline water

ingress is observed in the shallow alluvial aquifer in the western part of the district which is

in hydraulic connection with the backwater.

4-38

Fig 4.10: the Ghyben-Herzberg relation.

Freshwater has a density of about 1.000 grams per cubic centimeter (g/cm3) at 20 °C,

whereas that of seawater is about 1.025 g/cm3. The equation can be simplified to z= 40h.

This denotes that any attempt to lower the fresh water level in the coastal alluvium by 1 m

will result in upcoming of the saline water boundary by 40 m towards the surface.

4.7.2 Sampling

As part of the field studies groundwater samples were collected and analyzed randomly from

the existing wells as well as from surface water within the study area during Jan 2015 to May

2016. Water samples were collected in pre-cleaned polyethylene bottles, tagged, stored in

ice-box and transported to the lab. The location of water sampling points in the core and

buffer zone keeping the block IVEE ML area at the center and related details are given below

in table 4.11.

4-39

Table 4.11: Location details of sampling points

Sl.n

o

Lat. Long. Label of

sample

Type of

sample

Location Details Zone Remarks

1 9º 1'33.84'' 76º 33'53.34'' W1 sensitive Near health centre core NO

sediment

at

bottom.

Water

not been

used

after

tsunami

2 9º 01'49.44'' 76º 30'43.57'' W2 sensitive near temple core Used for

drinking

3 9º 02'08.60'' 76º 30'33.36'' W3 open well open well buffer Not

been

used

after

tsunami

4 9º 02'22.43'' 76º 30'27.34'' W4 residence buffer Not

been

used

after

tsunami

5 9º 02'15.57'' 76º 30'32.54'' W5 commercial surface water buffer under the

bridge

6 9º 06'04.11'' 76º 31'17.40'' W6 commercial Open well buffer high

sediment

load

observed

7 9º 03'57.19'' 76º 32'43.25'' W7 industrial drinking water buffer

8 9º 02'56.47'' 76º 32'03.22'' W8 residence Other purpose buffer Taste

differenc

e not

using for

drinking

purpose

9 9º 02'43.04'' 76º 31'22.05'' W9 sensitive drinking water for

school students

buffer Used for

drinking

10 9º 02'59.36'' 76º 31'13.03'' W10 residential drinking water buffer yellowis

h colour

observed

11 9º 02'15.23'' 76º 31'00.88'' W11 residential drinking water buffer turbid

used for

drinking

purpose

12 9º 02'02.33'' 76º 31'03.97'' W12 commercial open well buffer presence

of smell

and

yellowis

h colour

used for

gardenin

g

13 9º 02'40.32'' 76º 32'10.41'' W13 sensitive Drinking water buffer Clear

4-40

near to temple and

hospital

water

Used for

drinking

purpose

4.7.3 Water quality

In order to assess the quality of water in the wells of the core and buffer zone, water samples

were collected and analysed for different parameters. The parameters tested in the quality

analysis include pH, conductivity, salinity, TDS, TSS, ammonia, chloride, alkalinity,

calcium, magnesium, hardness, potassium, sodium, sulfates, silicate, phosphate, iron, nitrite,

zinc and lead. According to Indian Standards and Specifications for Drinking Water (IS:

10500:2012) and World Health Organization (WHO), drinking water limits have been shown

below in table 4.12.

Fig 4.11 GW sampling points

4-41

4.7.4 Physicochemical Properties of water samples

Water quality changes are widely considered to be the most significant consequence of

mining activities. This is partly because of the wide variety of undesirable contaminants that

are derived from mining operations and partly due to the frequency and persistence of these

problems.

Table 4.13 shows that all the samples were having pH within the permissible limits as per

Indian Standards. Sample IRE W 2 registered the lowest conductivity (0.202 mS/cm) while

sample IRE W5 showed the highest value of 23330 µS/cm. Portability of water with a TDS

Table 4.12 Standard water quality parameters

Sl.No Parameter Minimum

value(Acceptable Limit),

mg/L

Maximum value (in the

absence of permissible source),

mg/L

1 pH 6.5 8.5

2 Salinity, ppt 0.5 1

3 TDS, mg/L 500 2000

4 TSS, mg/L 100 500

5 Ammonia, mg/L 3 12

6 Chloride, mg/L 250 1000

7 Alkalinity, mg/L 200 600

8 Calcium, mg/L 75 200

9 Magnesium, mg/L 30 100

10 Potassium, mg/L 0.1 10

11 Sodium, mg/L 20 200

12 Sulphate, mg/L 200 400

13 Silicate, mg/L - -

14 Phosphate, mg/L 0.1 1.7

15 Iron, mg/L 0.3 1

16 Nitrite, mg/L 45 100

17 Zinc mg/L 5 15

18 Lead mg/L 0.05 0.05

4-42

level of less than 500 mg/liter is generally considered to be good; drinking water becomes

significantly and increasingly unpalatable at TDS levels greater than 1000 mg/liter. The total

solid content was maximum in IRE W5 (1153 mg/L) sample and the total dissolved solid

contents were found to be the highest in the case of sample IREW6 (10.7mg/l) which is

reflected in its salinity and conductivity values. The minimum TDS was observed in IREL

W11(30mg/L) and similarly min TSS was observed in IREL W11 (1.1 mg/L). Sample IREL

W11 possessed the lowest TSS & TDS values which are in good agreement with its low

salinity and conductivity. All samples except IRE W1, IRE W5, and IRE W 12 exhibited

TDS values less than 500 mg/l. High calcium content was found in sample IRE W5, IRE W1

while samples IRE W5 possessed the maximum magnesium values. All samples except IRE

W5 contained chloride ions at levels less than 250 mg/l (permissible limit). Sulphate levels of

all samples were found within permissible limits (200mg/L) except for IRE W5.

IRE W5 is the sample collected from below pannickarkadavu bridge and from the table it can

be observed that this sample shows high values of salinity, EC, TDS etc.

This place is used as a boat anchoring location and the area is under continuous disturbance

caused by boat cleaning boat movement etc. This may be the reason for the increase in values

of parameters.

4-43

Table 4.13Physiochemical parameters of water sample

Sample pH Conduct

ivity

Salini

ty

TDS Chlor

ide

Alkalinity Calci

um

Magnesi

um

Sodiu

m

Potassiu

m

Sulphat

e

TSS

ID µS/cm ppt mg/L mg/L Carbonat

e mg/L

Bicarbona

temg/L

mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L

IRE-W1 7.87 1367 0.7 670 198.8 0 356 128.26 21.87 220.8 32.8 85.492 1.5

IRE-W2 7.86 26.1 0.1 128 39.76 0 70 28.06 9.72 30.43 2.5 9.553 1.1

IRE-W3 7.71 622 0.3 305 89.46 0 150 56.11 0 84.33 21.38 38.382 2.8

IRE-W4 7.67 543 0.3 266 74.55 0 150 56.11 19.44 57.29 9.42 15.641 1.5

IRE-W5 7.38 23330 14.3 1153 7057.4 0 40 132.26 493.29 7349 198 698.732 9.4

IRE-W6 7.60 506 0.2 248 54.67 0 110 52.1 0 64.1 18.71 70.221 10.7

IRE-W7 7.46 140.9 0.1 210 24.85 0 110 8.02 2.43 60 15 23.539 0.3

IRE-W8 7.57 338 0.2 165 29.82 2 116 40.08 13.61 28.54 12.22 27.03 0.8

IRE-W9 7.32 354 0.2 173 49.7 0 68 30.46 5.83 0.94 0.15 43.377 1.6

IRE-

W10 6.55 265.9 0.1 69 53.68 0 12 16.03 4.86 34.71 4.21 38.113 4.2

IRE-

W11 7.55 62.1 0 30 15.9 0 16 4.81 1.94 16.88 1.75 6.697 1.1

IRE-

W12 7.13 1545 0.8 757 308.14 24 360 73.75 25.27 221 21.46 14.984 1.5

IRE-

W13 7.68 371 0.2 182 59.64 0 66 43.29 1.94 33.12 28.69 72.567 8.6

4-44

4.7.5 Physiochemical parameters of water samples of buffer zone (summer season

:2015):

The physiochemical parameters of water samples collected from buffer zone is presented

below. Table 4.14 shows that all the samples except sample KMW11, possess pH values

within the specified limit. Sample KMW9 registered the lowest conductivity (0.202 mS/cm)

while sample KM2 showed the highest value of 30.8 mS/cm. Potability of water with a TDS

level of less than 500 mg/litre is generally considered good.

Drinking water becomes significantly and increasingly unpalatable at TDS levels greater than

1000 mg/litre. Total solid content as well as the total dissolved solid contents were found to

be the highest in the case of sample W3 (523 mg/l) which is reflected in its salinity and

conductivity values. Sample W4 possessed the lowest TS & TDS values which are in good

agreement with its low salinity and conductivity. All samples except KM2, KMW5, KMW13,

and KMW15 exhibited TDS values less than 500 mg/l. KM2 is the sample collected from

dredging pit of adjacent block of KMML and since it shows high values of salinity, EC, TDS

etc, sea water intrusion is suspected. This is mainly due to poor management of mine pits by

KMML. High Calcium content was found in sample KMW1 and KM2 while samples KM2

and KMW13 possessed the maximum magnesium values. All samples contained chloride

ions at levels 250 mg/l (permissible limit) except for the mine pit water (KM2). KM2

exhibited high chloride value. Nitrite in all the water samples were within the prescribed

limits of specifications. High iron content was found in two of the water samples – KMW2

& KMW3. Phosphate was found in samples KMW2, KMW3, KMW9, KMW13 and

KMW15. Alkalinity and TSS were within the permissible limits in all samples. All samples

except KMW1 and KM2 exhibited high silica content.

4-45

Table 4.14 Physiochemical parameters of water samples of buffer zone-(summer season of 2015)

Sample p

H

Conduct

ivity

Salini

ty

TDS Chlor

ide

T.Alkal

inity

Calci

um

Magnesi

um

Sodiu

m

Potassiu

m

Sulphate TSS Ammonia -N

ID µS/cm ppt mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L

KMW1 8 931 0.5 456 89 77 82 15 140 20 150 2 BDL

KM2 8 30800 19.1 15082 9656 82 240 41 11198 5 2076 19 BDL

KMW2 8 456 0.2 223 36 58 46 10 55 22 22 1 BDL

KMW3 7 759 0.4 372 107 66 48 9 137 16 48 2 BDL

KMW4 8 259 0.1 127 22 28 12 8 44 21 30 0 BDL

KMW5 7 1428 0.7 701 162 134 44 28 267 2 65 1 BDL

KMW6 7 958 0.3 273 71 38 36 8 105 4 52 0 BDL

KMW7 7 520 0.3 255 44 70 32 13 72 3 57 5 BDL

KMW8 7 537 0.3 263 28 52 32 21 43 21 158 4 BDL

KMW9 7 202.7 0.1 99 20 28 10 9 25 1 23 10 BDL

KMW10 7 602 0.3 295 21 78 48 11 35 42 88 1 BDL

KMW11 6 325 0.2 159 53 14 8 11 33 3 11 2 BDL

KMW12 7 925 0.5 452 118 40 36 11 174 13 54 1 BDL

KMW13 8 1712 0.9 839 186 180 56 43 374 47 47 47 BDL

KMW14 8 419 0.2 419 21 73 22 19 26 3 33 0 BDL

KMW15 8 1101 0.5 539 69 118 46 0 24 2 49 0 BDL

4-46

4.8 SOIL CHARACTERISTICS

4.8.1 Introduction

In general, the soils of Kerala are acidic, kaolintic and gravelly with low CEC, low water

holding capacity and high phosphate fixing capacity. Climate topography, vegetation and

hydrological conditions are the dominant factors of soil formation. On the basis of the

morphological features and physico-chemical properties, the soils of the State have been

classified into red loam, laterite coastal alluvium, riverine alluvium, Onattukara alluvium,

brown hydromorphic, saline hydromorphic, Kuttanad alluvium, black soil and forest loam.

(Source: Department of Agriculture and farmer’s welfare, Karsikha Keralam)

4.8.2 Soil properties of study area:

Since the study area belongs to Karunagapally taluk and it is a coastal area the soil category

of the area belongs to Onnatukara Alluvium.These soils are confined to the Onattukara region

comprising the Karunagapally, Karthikapally and Mavelikara taluks of Kollam and

Alappuzha districts. They occur as marine deposits extending to the interior up to the lateritic

belt. The soils are, in general, coarse textured with immature profiles. In low-lying areas, the

water table is high and drainage is a problem. These soils have very rapid permeability. They

are acidic in reaction and are extremely deficient in all the major plant nutrients.

4.8.1 Physicochemical characteristics

Chloride: It is a micronutrient essential for plant development. It is required in small

quantities by all crops .Chloride has a direct role in photosynthesis, is important in osmotic

adjustment of plant. The table 4.15 shows the chloride content of the soil in study area it

showed a range of 10.65% to 0.00018%.

Sulphur: In plants sulfur is essential for nitrogen fixing nodules on legumes, and necessary in

formation of chlorophyll. Plants uses sulfur in process of producing proteins, amino acids,

enzymes and vitamins. Sulfur also helps the plant’s resistance to disease. The table 4.15

shows the Sulphate content in soil of study area.KMW1 showed the highest Sulphate content

of 0.28% while IRES12 recorded the lowest value.

4-47

pH: pH is simply a measure of how acidic or alkaline a substance is, and soil acidity or

alkalinity is important because it influences how easily plants can take up nutrients from the

soil. The pH of the core area and buffer zone ranges in between 5.1 to 8.5.

Table 4.15Physiochemical parameters of soil samples collected from core and buffer

zones

Sample

ID

pH Chloride Sulphate Moisture Silt Sand Clay

% % % % % %

IRES-S2 5.9 0.00018 0.09 11.46 59.14 30.78 10.07251

IRES-S9 8.5 0.00019 0.05 10.09 21.82 54.87 23.30794

IRES-10 8.0 0.00019 0.07 5.71 21.26 50.81 27.92974

IRES-11 8.0 0.00018 0.10 7.72 25.22 48.96 25.82036

IRES-12 7.5 0.00018 0.01 2.22 33.80 50.85 15.35079

IRES-13 8.2 0.00019 0.15 5.29 46.93 30.18 22.88604

KMW1 7.8 6.57 0.28 -- 15.45 84.93 BDL

KMW2 7.9 4.79 0.24 -- 30.28 74.16 BDL

KMW3 8.1 7.10 0.23 -- 11.90 90.68 BDL

KMW5 6.9 12.60 0.19 -- 11.04 92.39 BDL

KMW6 7.2 6.92 0.43 -- 32.09 76.87 BDL

KMW7 7.2 13.49 0.25 -- 17.64 88.13 BDL

KMW8 7.8 9.59 0.14 -- 28.16 73.09 BDL

KMW9 5.1 17.75 0.24 -- 24.82 81.79 BDL

KMW10 8.0 7.63 0.14 -- 58.96 50.85 17

4-48

KMW11 7.9 14.20 0.13 -- 13.33 68.82 BDL

KMW12 7.3 17.75 0.19 -- 29.33 73.86 BDL

KMW13 7.1 13.31 0.25 -- 29.40 75.29 BDL

KMW14 8.2 8.17 0.19 -- 35.52 68.23 BDL

KMW15 7.5 7.81 0.24 -- 22.29 81.38 BDL

KMW16 8.1 10.65 0.15 -- 52 67.69 BDL

KMW17 7.2 8.17 0.14 -- 82.39 43.99 BDL

4.9 ECOLOGY

The ecology of block IVEE and surrounding buffer zone including block III of KMML was

considered for ecological study. A detailed ecological survey was conducted on buffer zone

of block IVEE considering all flora and fauna of the area.

4.9.1 Method of study

Transect walk was the tool used to assess the occurrence of the fauna at all these locations.

All the observations were recorded. The terrestrial, aquatic and aerial species were collected

using suitable contrivances and identified by direct observation and also by referring standard

literature. Discussions with the local natives, villagers, experts and officials were also made.

4-49

Table4.16 :Locations selected for survey

Location

no. Area

Location

1. IRE mine site Block IV(Buffer Zone) 9o 02’ 3.80”N 76o 30’ 29.9”E

2. Block IV EE ( NW of KMML) (Core

Zone)

9 o 00’ 19.24”N 76º 31’ 39.70”E

3. KMML Block 3(Buffer Zone) 8o 59’ 34.74”N 76o 31’ 26.718”E

4.

Amrithapuri –

MathaAmritanandamayi math(Buffer

Zone)

9 o 5’ 15.87”N 76o 21’ 13.53”E

5. Amritapuri – Westside(Buffer Zone) 9 o 5’ 16.14”N 76o 21’ 13.28”E

6.

Kuzhamkulam – towards east side of

KMML along the road to

Shasthamcotta (residential area)

(Buffer Zone)

9 o 00’ 14.17”N 76o 33’ 47.33”E

7. Parimanam – Neendakara (in front of

temple)(Buffer Zone) 8 o 57’ 20.04”N 76o 31’ 57.25”E

8. Kavanad NH 66(Buffer Zone) 8 o 54’ 32.82”N 76o 33’ 37.56”E

4.9.2 Fauna:

A total of 102 animals were cited in the core and buffer area which includes 47invertebrates

and 55 vertebrates. Among invertebrates only two species of annelids were observed in the

core area. Among arthropods, maximum number was represented by insect (33 species), and

all other groups were represented by two species each in crustacean, myriapods and

arachinida. Maximum number of vertebrates was represented by the group aves with 32

species followed by fishes (15 species). Only 8species of mammals were observed in the

study area.

Since continuous mining activities are going on in the buffer area, there is no stability for the

soil habitat and that could be the reason for less soil organisms.

4-50

The buffer consists of 127 animals including 64 invertebrates and 63vertebrates. Two

annelidan species were identified from this area. Insect represents the maximum number of

species (41) followed by crustacean with 7species, and two species each in Myriapoda and

Arachinida. There were four species of molluscans represented in this area. Birds are the

class with maximum number of species (36). A total of 26 species of fishes were observed

and among them, 8species were from brackish water and 7 species from fresh water. The

details are shown in table 4.17

Table 4.17 List of fauna observed in core area

INVERTEBRATES

Phylum – Annelida Whether belong to

Schedule I

1.

2.

Megascolexmauritii (Earth worm)

Pheretimaposthuma (Giant earthworm)

No

No

Phylum – Arthropoda

CLASS I Crustacea

1.

2.

Albunia sp.

Uca lacteal annulipes (Fiddler crab)

No

No

CLASS II MYRIAPODA

1.

2.

Scolopendramarsidents(Centepede)

Spirobolus sp. (Millipede)

No

No

CLASS III INSECTA

1.

2.

Pachlioptaaristolochia(Commomnatturose)

Papiliomormon(Common mormon)

No

No

4-51

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

25.

26.

27.

Papiliopolytes(Common mormon )

Delias eucharis (Common Jezebel)

Bacillus Rosii(Grass hopper)

Gryllotalpa(Mole cricket)

Achetadomestica(House cricket)

Mantis religiosa(Praying mantis)

Phylliumcrucifolium(Leaf insect)

Forficula(Earwig)

Menoponpallidum(Fowl lice)

Leptoflebia(mayfly)

Labella (Dragon fly)

Aphids

Corixa(water boatman)

Notonecta(Back swimmer)

Belostomaindica(Giant water bug)

Myrmeleon sp. (Antlion)

Alcedes sp.

Kallima sp.

Apisindica(Domestic honey bee)

Oryctus rhinoceros (Cococnut beetle)

Rhynchophorus sp. (Red palm weevil)

Cincindella sp. (Tiger beetle)

Coccinellaseptumpunctata(lady bird beetle)

Mylabrisindica(Cantharids beetle)

Sternochaetusmangiferae(mangonutweevle)

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

4-52

28.

29.

30.

31.

32.

33.

Myrmicarubra(Red ant)

Oecopheliasmargadina(Tailor ant)

Monomorumgracilimum(large black ant)

Muscadomestica(House fly)

Anophelusmaculipenis( Mosquito)

Culex sp.

No

No

No

No

No

No

Class IV ARACHINIDA

1.

2.

Palamnaeusawammerdami(Scorpion)

Araneusdiadematus(Garden spider)

No

No

1.

2.

3.

4.

PHYLUM – MOLLUSCA

Pilaglobosa(Apple snail)

Lamellidansmarginalis(Fresh water mussel)

Pernaviridis(brown mussel

Pernaindica(Green mussel)

No

No

No

No

1.

2.

PHYLUM ECHINODERMATA

Clypiasterhumilis(Sand dollars)

Echinodiscusauritus(Sand dollars)

No

No

VERTEBRATA

1.

2.

3.

CLASS I PISCES

Brackish Water Fishes

Gerresfilamentosus (Gerres)

Teraponjarbua

Ambassismola (Glass fish)

No

No

No

4-53

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

Mugilparsia (Mullet)

Mugilcephalus (Grey mullet)

Scatophagusargus (Scat)

Etroplussuratensis (Pearl spot)

Etroplus maculates (Orengechromid)

Fresh water Fishes

Clariasgariepinus (African catfish)

Anabas testudineus (Climbing perch)

Tilapia mossambica (Tilapia)

Labeorohitha(Rohu)

Catlacatla (Catla)

Cyprinuscarpio (Common carp)

Cirrhinusmrigala (Mrigal)

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

CLASS II AVES

Centropussinensis(Greater Coucal )

Meropsorientalis(Green Bee-Eater)

Dicrurusleucophaeus(Ashy Drongo)

Calandrellaraytal ( Indian Short-toed Lark)

Turdoidesmalcolmi ( Large Gray Babbler)

Acridotheresfuscus (Jungle Myna)

Orthotomussutorius ( Common Tailorbird)

Phalacrocoraxniger (Little Cormorant )

Corvusmacrorhynchus (Jungle crow)

Acridotherestristis (Common Mynah)

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

4-54

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

25.

26.

27.

28.

29.

30.

Cospichussaularis (Magpie robin)

Centropussinensis (Crow pheasant)

Nectariniaasiatica (Sunbird)

Turdoidesaffinis(Babblers)

Pychnonotuscafer(Red vented bulbul)

Dendrocittavagabunda (Indian tree pie)

Oriolusoriolus (Oriole)

Ploceusphilippinus (Baya)

Eudynamusscolopaceae (Indian koel)

Columba livia (Pigeon)

Haliaster Indus (Brahmini kite)

Milvusmigrans (Pariah kite)

Alcidoatthis (Small blue king fisher)

Dicrurusadsimilis( Black drongo)

Ardeolagrayii (Pond herone)

Ergettagarzetta(Little erget)

Bulbulcus ibis (Catta\le erget)

Larusridibundus (Black headed gull)

Upupaepops (Hoope)

Vanellusindicus (Red vatted lapwing)

Tringahypoleucos (Common sand piper)

Charadriusdubiusjerdoni (Little ringed plover)

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

CLASS III MAMMALIA

4-55

INVERTEBRATES

Phylum – Annelida

1.

2.

Megascolexmauritii (Earth worm)

Pheretimaposthuma (Giant earthworm)

No

Phylum – Arthropoda

CLASS I Crustacea

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

Penaeusindicus( Indian White prawn)

Macrobrachiumrosenberghii(Giant freshwater prawn)

Balanus sp. (Rock barnacles)

Eupagurus Sp.(Hermit crab)

Macrobrachiumidella(Motta chemmeen)

Scylla serrata(Mud crab)

Albunia sp.

Uca lacteal annulipes (Fiddler crab)

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

Capra bus indicus (Cow)

Capra hiscus (Goat)

Bubalus (Buffallo)

Oryctolaguscuniculus (Rabbit)

Musmuscularis (Mouse)

Canisfamiliaris(Dog)

Felisdomesticus (Cat)

Herpestesedwardsii (mangoose)

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

4-56

CLASS II MYRIAPODA

1.

2.

Scolopendramarsidents(Centepede)

Spirobolus sp. (Millipede)

No

No

Class III Insecta

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10,

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

Pachlioptaaristolochia(Commomnatturose)

Papiliomormon(Common mormon)

Papiliopolytes(Common mormon )

Delias eucharis (Common Jezebel)

Euthaliaaconthea(Common baron)

Ctenolepisma(Silver fish)

Bacillus Rosii(Grass hopper)

Gryllotalpa(Mole cricket)

Achetadomestica(House cricket)

Mantis religiosa(Praying mantis)

Phylliumcrucifolium(Leaf insect)

Forficula(Earwig)

Menoponpallidum(Fowl lice)

Leptoflebia(mayfly)

Labella (Dragon fly)

Aphids

Corixa(water boatman)

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

4-57

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

25.

26.

27.

28.

29.

30.

31.

32.

33.

34.

35.

36.

37.

38.

Notonecta(Back swimmer)

Belostomaindica(Giant water bug)

Myrmeleon sp. (Antlion)

Alcedes sp.

Kallima sp.

Bombyxmori(Silk worm)

Apisindica(Domestic honey bee)

Apis florae (Little honey bee)

Apismellifera(Italian honey bee)

Leptocorisaacuta(Rice bug)

Aspengopus sp. (Pumkinbug)

Oryctus rhinoceros (Cococnut beetle)

Rhynchophorus sp. (Red palm weevil)

Cincindella sp. (Tiger beetle)

Brachinus sp. (Bombadier beetle)

Coccinellaseptumpunctata(lady bird beetle)

Mylabrisindica(Cantharids beetle)

Sternochaetusmangiferae(mangonutweevle)

Myrmicarubra(Red ant)

Oecopheliasmargadina(Tailor ant)

Monomorumgracilimum(large black ant)

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

4-58

39.

40.

41.

Muscadomestica(House fly)

Anophelusmaculipenis( Mosquito)

Culex sp.

No

No

No

No

Class IV ARACHINIDA

1.

2.

Palamnaeusawammerdami(Scorpion)

Araneusdiadematus(Garden spider)

No

No

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

PHYLUM – MOLLUSCA

Pilaglobosa(Apple snail)

Lamellidansmarginalis(Fresh water mussel)

Sepia phoronis(Cuttle fish)

Pernaviridis(brown mussel

Pernaindica(Green mussel)

Sepia (cuttle fish)

Loligo(Squid)

Octopus sp. (Devil fish )

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

1.

2.

PHYLUM ECHINODERMATA

Clypiasterhumilis(Sand dollars)

Echinodiscusauritus(Sand dollars)

No

No

VERTEBRATA

CLASS I PISCES

4-59

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

Brackish Water Fishes

Gerresfilamentosus (Gerres)

Teraponjarbua

Ambassismola (Glass fish)

Chanoschanos (Milk fish)

Mugilparsia (Mullet)

Mugilcephalus (Grey mullet)

Scatophagusargus (Scat)

Etroplussuratensis (Pearl spot)

Etroplus maculates (Orengechromid)

Fresh water Fishes

Clariasgariepinus (African catfish)

Anabas testudineus (Climbing perch)

Tilapia mossambica (Tilapia)

Labeorohitha(Rohu)

Catlacatla (Catla)

Cyprinuscarpio (Common carp)

Cirrhinusmrigala (Mrigal)

Etrplussuratensis (Pearlspot)

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

4-60

1.

AMPHIBIA

Rhacophorus

REPTILIA

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

CLASS II AVES

Centropussinensis(Greater Coucal )

Meropsorientalis(Green Bee-Eater)

Dicrurusleucophaeus(Ashy Drongo)

Calandrellaraytal ( Indian Short-toed Lark)

Turdoidesmalcolmi ( Large Gray Babbler)

Acridotheresfuscus (Jungle Myna)

Orthotomussutorius ( Common Tailorbird)

Phalacrocoraxniger (Little Cormorant )

Corvusmacrorhynchus (Jungle crow)

Acridotherestristis (Common Mynah)

Cospichussaularis (Magpie robin)

Centropussinensis (Crow pheasant)

Nectariniaasiatica (Sunbird)

Turdoidesaffinis(Babblers)

Pychnonotuscafer(Red vented bulbul)

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

4-61

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

25.

26.

27.

28.

29.

30.

31.

32.

33.

34.

35.

36.

Dendrocittavagabunda (Indian tree pie)

Psittaculakarmeri(Red ringed parrot)

Oriolusoriolus (Oriole)

Ploceusphilippinus (Baya)

Eudynamusscolopaceae (Indian koel)

Columba livia (Pigeon)

Haliaster Indus (Brahmini kite)

Milvusmigrans (Pariah kite)

Alcidoatthis (Small blue king fisher)

Dicrurusadsimilis( Black drongo)

Ardeolagrayii (Pond herone)

Ergettagarzetta(Little erget)

Bulbulcus ibis (Cattle erget)

Amaurornisphoenicurus (White breasted water hen)

Larusbrunnicephalus (Brown headed gull)

Larusridibundus (Black headed gull)

Upupaepops (Hoope)

Dendrocopusnanus(Wood pecker)

Vanellusindicus (Red vatted lapwing)

Tringahypoleucos (Common sand piper)

Charadriusdubiusjerdoni (Little ringed plover)

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

4-62

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

CLASS III MAMMALIA

Capra bus indicus (Cow)

Capra hiscus (Goat)

Bubalus (Buffallo)

Oryctolaguscuniculus (Rabbit)

Musmuscularis (Mouse)

Canisfamiliaris(Dog)

Felisdomesticus (Cat)

Pteropusmedius (Fruitivorus bat)

Scotophilus (Insectivorous bat)

Funnambulus (Squirrel)

Herpestesedwardsii (mangoose)

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

The animals in this area are not included in Schedule I of Act 1972. No endangered or

endemic animals were found in the study area during the survey.

4.9.3Flora studies

Changes in the physical and chemical aspects of the environment will reflect in the flora of

the study area. Some of the plants are sensitive to environmental changes, but most of them

can gradually acclimatize to the environment. The ecological studies particularly the study

about the vegetation is very important for the conservation of the environmental quality. The

study area comprises of terrestrial habitat as well as aquatic. The aquatic habitat comprised of

sea beaches, canals and wetlands. The sea beach though a part of the terrestrial habitat is

described along with the aquatic habitat considering that a part of the project site is on the

beach. The large area covered by the wetlands and the canal, considerable extent of the study

area is covered by water. During the survey none of the threatened plant species are noticed.

4-63

Altogether 107 plant species were identified in the buffer zone which includes herbs, shrubs

and trees. In the core zone 63 species of plants were recorded. There was no forest area

located in the area of survey. No endangered species or threatened species or plants included

in the Schedule I of wild life protection act of 1972were observed during the survey.

4.9.4 Mangroves

Mangroves are important floral component of any coastal ecosystems that play crucial roles

in the local ecology and also in livelihood security of human populations. Mangroves are

special kind of flora which can tolerate salinity and can grow in marshes due to the presence

of special kind of roots called pneumatophores. The most effective method for stabilising the

shore is through biological stabilisation provided by the existence of mangroves and its

diversity. The roots of the mangroves not only capture sand, shells, and sediment but trap as

well as reinforce the shore by root branch growth. Mangroves also build land and solidify it

against attacks by waves and currents. The other most important characteristics of mangroves

are its activity in offering breeding grounds for coastal fish and shell fish species. They grow

very quickly, often as much as two feet per year and form a forest of mangroves, which

provide an abode to not only aquatic species but also to various terrestrial and bird species.

Since the mangroves are located in the T.S canal, the area is out of the mining lease. As such

there are no effects of mining or supportive activities in the said area.

Characteristics and Functions: Mangroves

• Form biomass at rates equal to most intensively cultivated tropical agricultural lands, with

only marine grass beds, coral reefs, and tropical rain forests exceeding mangroves in

productivity;

• Export organic matter to adjacent coastal food chains, thereby playing a critical role in

sustaining life in environments such as coral reefs and sea grass beds;

4-64

• Provide habitat for many birds, fish and invertebrates in their maze of trunks, prop roots,

and muddy substrates.

•Protect shorelines, boats, and land-based structures from erosion and wave damage,

particularly during tropical storms and hurricanes;

•Serve as physical and chemical filters for upland runoff and enhances water quality.

The riparian vegetation along TS canal were found to be flourished with mangrove species

where there is no human habitation. The TS canal was identified as National Water Way

(No.3) and NWAI carries out the widening and dredging of the canal for safe navigation.

Mangroves along the construction sites are being destroyed but the local natives are trying to

protect it since the awareness after the Tsunami event. The estuarine system has many island

formations by sediment deposit and many such islands also hold good mangrove vegetation.

Comparatively mangrove floral density was found to be low along the riparian areas of TS

canal, which may be due to the construction and up-gradation work of National Water Way.

Table 4.18 Mangroves and their density around estuarine system, Chavara, Kollam

Species

Density

(No./m2)

Acanthus ilicifolius 9

Avicenniaofficinalis 5

Bruguieraparviflora 7

Rhizophoramucronata 5

Salvadorapersica 3

Ceriopsdecandra 2

Exoecariaagallocha 1

4-65

4.10 WILD LIFE

Wild life was not represented in the study area since there are no forests. The wild species

represented in this area are jungle cat, jackal and few captive elephants.

4.11 FISHERIES

The list of fishes that are commonly seen in this area is listed in table 4.19. Fisheries aspect of

the study was represented mainly by commercial fisheries from the area. Fishes and other

crustaceans like prawns and crabs represents commercial fisheries from the area. In addition

certain molluscan species were also included in the catches. Sampling from different fishing

vessels from different zones of the study area recorded 19 estuarine species of fin fishes, 31

marine species of fin fishes, 8 species of prawns and 4 species of crabs and 2 species of

commercial clams.

Samples from market nearby and Neendakara fishing harbor were also investigated for

assessment and fin and shell fish representation was fairly good when compared to other

landing centers along west coast of Kerala. Almost all commercial fish species were recorded

from the fish catches and other noncommercial fishes may also be present in the area

including migratory forms.

Table 4.19 Fish, shellfish and Fisheries along the Marine and Estuarine system, Kollam

(Fishes and shell fishes obtained from fishermen/Boats during sampling day and secondary

data on fisheries)

4-66

Group/Species

Estuarine Fishes Marine Fishes

Gymnothoraxpseudothyrosidea

Glossogobiusgiuris

Liza tade

Liza parsia

Anabas testuidineus

Boleophthalmusdussumerri

Awaousstamineus

Mugilcephalus

Strongylurastrongylura

Horabagus sp.

Arius dussumeri

Etroplussuratensis

Etroplus maculates

Tilapia mossambicus

Chirocentrusdorab

Panchaxpanchax

Nandusnandus

Gerresfilamentosus

Hyporhampusxanthopterus

Stolephorusindicus

Stolephoruscommersoni

Stolephorusinsularis

Encrasicholinadevisi

Encrasicholinaheteroloba

Thryssamalabarica

Thryssamystax

Opistopterustadoore

Sardinellalongiceps

Sardinellagibbosa

Scomberomoruscommersoni

Scomberomorusguttatus

Sardaorientalis

Auxisthazard

Auxisrochei

Katsuwonuspelamis

Euthunnusaffinis

Carangoidesmalabaricus

Rastralligerkanagurta

Epinephelusareolatus

Epinepheluschlorostigma

Nemipterusrundalli

Coolaeolus japonicas

Psettoeserumei

Secutorinsidiator

Pelatesquadrillineauts

Teraponjarbua

Lutjanusgibbus

Lutjanusjohni

Fi

Leiognathusdussumeiri

Pampusargentus

Prawns Crabs

Peneaeusindicus

Peneaeus monodon

Peneaeusmarguiensis

Penaeusjaponicus

Metapenaeusaffinis

Metapenaeusdobsoni

Metapenaeusmonoceros

Metapenaeusbrivicornis

Scylla serrata

Metapograsussp

Portunussanguinolentus

Charybdis feriata

Clams

Meritrixcasta

Villorita cyprinoids

4-67

4.12 MARINE AND ESTUARINE ENVIRONMENT

Marine and estuarine ecology forms an important part of this project as the proposed project

area is in coastal area. EIA is inevitable if estuarine or marine systems are directly involved

and/or affected due to various anthropogenic activity. Biological and ecological dynamics

forms the major component of any ecosystem, which acts as the major primary or secondary

productivity source of the ecosystem. The biological factors are directly or indirectly

controlled by the abiotic component, which includes physicochemical, and biological

characteristics of water and sediment of the aquatic ecosystem.

Marine and estuarine ecological survey for Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study

was carried out on May 2017. Previously a marine ecological survey was carried out during

February 2016.

A total of 6 stations were identified in the vicinity of Indian Rare Earth Ltd., Kerala Minerals

and Metals Ltd. (KMML), Chavara, Kollam district of Kerala state. Out of the 6 stations,

three were in marine system (Arabian Sea) and three were in TS Canal (backwater), parallel

to the coast. The first station was selected at 10 km off coast in the sea at western side of

IREL plant, (control station) and the second station was at the sea opposite to

Panikkarkadavu bridge (proposed mine lease location block IVEE). Third station was also

selected further north of IREL from sea near to coast, towards western side of IREL plant.

Rest of the three stations was selected in adjoining TS canal. Fourth station was selected

towards eastern side of IREL, (near to plant) Fifth station was at Vattakayal and sixth station

was beneath Panikkarkadavu bridge in TS canal. The figure 4.12 shows the sampling

locations. Biological aspects like phytoplankton and zooplankton diversity and abundance,

primary productivity, Chlorophyll and phaeophytin content, fish and shell fish fauna,

mangroves etc. were collected and analysed.

The data were collected through field investigations, laboratory analysis, desk research,

literature survey, data analysis and computation. The study area and the sampling stations for

marine sampling are shown in table 4.20. Keeping in view the proposed project location, the

inland navigational channel, shallow and deep regions of the ecosystem, point of inflow and

outflow of effluents, water and sediment sampling was carried out at six locations. Both

surface and bottom water samples were collected for analysis.

4-68

Floats were anchored for identification of sample locations. The surface samples were

collected using a pre-acid rinsed plastic bucket and polyethylene bottle and glass bottle.

Bottom water samples were collected using a Von Dorn water sampler.

Parameters like atmospheric and water temperature, pH, total depth, light penetration,

dissolved oxygen, salinity, conductivity and productivity were measured onboard the

monitoring vessel. Samples for laboratory analysis were transferred in well rinsed and labeled

containers. The bottles were tightly capped and transported in iceboxes. Flow meter was used

to measure the velocity and the quantity of water sampled through plankton net. The flow

meter was attached with plankton net to know the actual amount of water passed through the

net.

Table 4.20 Sampling locations for marine and estuarine studies for IREL Block IVEE

Station

Location

Depth (m)

Light

penetration

(cm) Lat (0 ' ") Long (0 ' ")

S1 9 01 47.05 76 28 21.66 15 192

S2 9 02 05.04 76 30 07.45 8 110

S3 9 01 21.88 76 30 19.22 8 110

S4 8 59 29.65 76 31 28.62 3.5 60

S5 9 01 11.61 76 31 23.32 1 50

S6 9 02 17.32 76 30 33.27 2.5 55

4-69

Fig 4.12 Marine sampling locations

4-70

Table 4.21: MARINE ECOLOGICAL SURVEY FOR BLOCK IVEE OF IREL-KOLLAM (On Site) (May 2017)

Parameters

Station 1 Station 2 Station 3 Station 4 Station 5 Station 6

SW BW SW BW SW BW SW BW SW BW SW BW

Time 9.30 am 10.15 a.m 11.00 am 12.45pm 1.20p.m 2.10pm

Temp(degree

celcius) 29.19 28 29.7 29.7 29.8 29.3 35 34 35.7 35.1 36 34.5

Ph 7.2 7.7 7.2 7.68 7.7 7.8 7.8 7.5 6.8 7.5 7.3 7.6

Conductivity

59.9µs 59.2 58.1 56.83 56.14 54.96 11.1 17.7

8.5

milli

semens 8.6 13.3 14.7

Salinity 39.9ppt 39.4ppt 38.7 37.83 37.29 36.4 6.3 10.4 4.68 4.8 7.6 8.5

DO 6.7 5.14 6.89 5.75 6.9 6.3 8.1 6 7.68 7.8 7.5 7.4

TDS 38.94g/L 38.5g/L 37.7 36.9 36.5 35.72 7.2 11.5 5.4 5.6 8.6 9.5

Depth 15m 8 8 3.5 1 2.5

SSG 26.8 26.8 25.6 25.1 24 1.4

ORP 32.5 54.6 176 147 146.9 151 116 81.4 82 71 75 75

4-71

Cont……

Table 4.22 : Physio-chemical parameters of marine &estuarine water (February 2016 )

Parameters pH Chloride Calcium Magnesium TSS TDS Sodium Pottassium

Units

mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L

sw1 7.11 24850 320.6 631.8 276 37600 15637.500 590.000

sw2 7.60 20277.6 288.6 651.24 494 37200 14375.000 527.500

sw3 7.90 20078.8 328.7 602.64 486 38400 15570.000 500.000

sw4 6.90 4671.8 80.2 315.9 68 6800 3058.000 101.000

sw5 7.10 3081.4 52.1 284.31 332 5000 1799.000 67.000

sw6 5.75 5069.4 80.2 340.2 124 9000 3071.000 103.000

bw1 7.60 22265.6 360.7 631.8 342 38800 15657.500 492.500

bw2 7.70 22663.2 352.7 588.06 250 38000 16550.000 532.500

bw3 7.68 22066.8 380.8 571.05 304 37400 15250.000 477.500

bw4 6.75 6659.8 132.3 187.11 174 12400 14092.500 410.000

bw5 7.75 2982 96.2 208.98 150 4600 4515.000 172.500

bw6 7.70 5367.6 92.2 308.61 96 8600 7755.000 237.500

4-72

4.13 Aquatic ecology

Aquatic ecology includes marine and estuarine ecology, which include assessment of

biological component of the ecosystem. The present status of the aquatic biological

components will reveal ecological dynamics and the rate of pollution of the system.

Ecological status of the system will be assessed by exploring each and every trophic levels

right from producer level to tertiary consumer level and the present study investigates the

phytoplankton, zooplankton, aquatic nekton including fishes and shell fishes along with the

estimations of primary productivity, chlorophyll and phaeophytin. Crude biomass is also

estimated to have knowledge on total biomass content over the area.

4.13.1 General methodology

Standard scientific methods were adopted for collection, transportation and preservation of

samples. Identification and analysis of samples were also done by standard keys and

procedures. Samples were collected from surface (SW) as well as bottom (BW) using a

bottom water sampler for all the stations. Results of all the parameters estimated are reported

for surface water and bottom water separately. Plankton samples were collected using

standard plankton nets for phytoplankton and zooplankton collection. Samples were

preserved in 5% formalin in situ and transported to laboratory for further qualitative and

quantitative analysis. Chlorophyll and phaeophytin were estimated adopting standard

filtration procedure. In situ productivity estimation in terms of Gross Primary Production

(GPP), Net Primary Production (NPP) and Community Respiration (CR) were done

employing standard Light and Dark bottle method by estimating dissolved oxygen and

converting it to carbon production per day. Biomass was estimated by dry weight procedure.

4.13.2 Results and assessment

Plankton Analysis

Plankton forms the basic producers in any aquatic environment. Both phytoplankton and

zooplankton constitute basic producer level and forms limiting factor for productivity of the

system. The entire dynamics, especially biological processes depend upon the diversity and

abundance of plankton in any aquatic system. Moreover, many plankton species act as

indicator organism for many abiotic and biotic parameters especially pollution, presence of

fishes/shell fishes etc.

4-73

Phytoplankton composition, abundance and density form the basis of any aquatic ecosystem

as it forms the basic producers. Phytoplankton composition is depended upon many factors

like physicochemical parameters and the quality of the water, light availability, water current,

nutrient content, presence of other fauna and flora etc. Phytoplankton analysis can be used as

an indicator for pollution or health status of an aquatic ecosystem. Moreover, certain

pollutants are indicated by presence of certain species of phytoplankton.

Phytoplankton composition and abundance of Chavara area of Kollam obtained during the

preset study is given in table 4.23.A total of 27 phytoplankton species were identified during

the study period from all the stations including estuarine and marine species. Bottom water

phytoplankton were comparatively low along all the stations and Station 2 need special

mention in having lowest phytoplankton composition and density, which may be due to high

pollution from the mineral plant as well as due to a very low light penetration along with

other worse physico-chemical parameters. Station 2 registered a very low diversity of

phytoplankton, where only 14 species obtained from surface water and only 9 species

obtained from bottom water. Similarly, the total plankton density was also too low compared

to other stations under investigation. All other stations except station 2 registered more than

or equal to 15 species phytoplankton. All possible measures should be taken to reduce the

pollution rate at the site 2.

Table 4.23: Diversity and abundance of phytoplankton (Density Unit: Cells/litre)

recorded from Marine and Estuarine system, Chavara, Kollam

(Phytoplankton collected using 120 m mesh plankton net)

Species SW1 BW1 SW2 BW2 SW3 BW3 SW4 BW4 SW5 BW5 SW6 BW6

Rhizoso

leniasp 19 2 -- -- 11 4 23 11 331 121 332 215

Rhizoso

leniastyl

iformis

21 9 -- --- 02 10 20 2 187 45 141 47

Chaetoc

erossp --- 2 4 1 87 -- 80 24 218 211 22 --

Chaetoc

erosdeci

pens

10 -- -- -- -- -- 241 145 15 12 14 2

4-74

Coscino

discus

sp

65 22 6 -- 54 24 517 347 14 12 201 146

Coscino

discusgr

anii

12 6 -- -- -- -- 112 95 32 15 11 --

Coscino

discus

gigas

55 -- -- -- -- 11 5 5 58 -- 42 11

Coscino

discus

wailesii

32 12 6 2 -- -- -- -- 65 60 28 12

Skeleton

emacost

atum

65 55 -- -- 56 24 54 25 343 214 158 88

Plankto

nella sol 235 14 10 8 136 36 236 114 251 236 147 123

Navicul

asp 99 88 33 13 165 54 405 125 154 124 256 214

Pleurosi

gmasp 122 17 2 -- 11 7 165 111 312 305 365 333

Nitzschi

acloster

ium

-- -- 2 -- -- -- 222 112 354 111 232 --

Stephen

opyxisp

almeria

na

-- 9 -- 3 -- -- -- -- 89 115 66 60

Dictylu

msp 69 12 25 12 -- -- 33 25 68 87 541 252

Dictylu

m sol 59 44 12 -- 35 12 -- -- 23 -- 55 --

Thallass

iothrixfr

aunfeldi

i

9 5 -- -- -- -- 33 23 113 -- 25 --

Astronei

lla

japonic

a

55 50 -- -- 25 -- 25 33 -- 22 36 66

Thallisi

oneman

itshiode

s

-- -- -- -- 22 02 -- -- 22 -- -- --

Biddulp

hiasp 324 225 44 21 -- 02 209 98 154 122 654 541

Biddulp

hiafavus -- -- -- -- 45 -- 12 11 -- -- 21 2

Ceratiu

msp 345 222 59 25 95 12 514 347 681 258 478 245

4-75

Tricerat

ium

reticulu

m

65 55 --- --- 65 -- 309 154 -- -- 56 14

Tricerat

iumsp 254 147 19 -- 25 99 231 256 147 111 365 254

Peridini

umdiver

gens

44 14 -- -- -- -- -- -- 14 -- 8 --

Podium

sp 22 12 7 -- -- -- 6 5 33 -- 25 --

Odontel

lasp 12 -- -- -- 145 111 12 8 23 20 14 11

Unident

ified /

Parts

8 7 6 3 15 22 29 14 16 18 24 19

Total

Density 2001 1029 235 88 994 430 3493 2090 3717 2219 4317 2655

Total

Species 23 22 14 9 17 15 23 23 25 20 27 20

Zooplankton Analysis

Zooplankton composition, abundance and/or density also govern the ecosystem dynamics as

it controls phytoplankton composition and its abundance. Zooplankton forms the major

primary consumer of phytoplankton and graze upon them. Zooplankton composition also

depends upon very many factors like physico-chemical parameters and the quality of the

water, light availability, water current, presence of other fauna and flora etc. Zooplankton

analysis can also be used as an indicator for pollution level of an aquatic ecosystem and more

over the zooplankton abundance can be regarded as the ecosystem health status.

Zooplankton composition and abundance of Chavara area of Kollam obtained during the

preset study is given in table 4.24. A total of 26 zooplankton varieties were identified during

the study period apart from un-identified or plankton parts from all the stations including

estuarine and marine species. Bottom water zooplankton were comparatively low along all

the stations and Station 2 need special attention in having lowest zooplankton composition

and density, which may be due to high pollution along the area. Station 2 registered a very

low diversity of zooplankton, where only 10 groups were obtained from surface water and

only 9 varieties were obtained from bottom water. Similarly, the total zooplankton density

was also too low compared to other stations under investigation. All other stations except

station 2 registered more than or equal to 20 varieties of zooplankton.

4-76

Table 4.24. Diversity and abundance of zooplankton (Density Unit: Cells/Litre) recorded from Estuarine system, Kollam

(Zooplankton collected using 180 µm mesh plankton net)

Species/Gr

oup

SW

1 BW1 SW 2 BW2 SW 3 BW3 SW 4 BW4 SW 5 BW5 SW 6 BW6

Tintinnopsis

sp 122 98 87 27 16 -- 35 -- 88 56 112 87

Favella sp. 159 69 102 24 123 25 325 135 265 222 252 212

Cresissp 11 -- -- -- 26 15 54 45 69 66 124 22

Calanussp 335 236 66 38 789 654 555 456 365 258 456 369

Eucalanuss

p 123 154 32 -- 198 178 236 245 147 123 159 146

Paracalanu

ssp 112 102 -- -- -- -- 23 22 56 -- 54 23

Acrocalanu

ssp 155 125 -- -- 124 78 101 99 36 25 145 155

Acartiasp 28 11 12 -- 234 222 189 178 35 -- 245 223

Other

Calanoids 265 105 47 14 589 458 456 258 369 357 298 287

Other

Cyclopoids 145 126 54 41 564 444 269 145 256 199 325 269

4-77

Macrostella

sp 11 -- -- -- 22 -- 55 17 -- -- 26 23

Other

Harpaticoid

s

109 91 26 12 187 144 325 241 236 214 478 365

Other

Copepods 354 254 45 10 654 456 654 365 365 265 487 235

Cladocerans 225 168 -- -- 324 125 452 236 546 412 325 222

Mysids 88 29 10 03 22 14 54 34 26 22 45 25

Sagitta/Cha

etognaths 67 41 04 -- 54 11 87 11 36 33 65 28

Polychaete

larvae 12 124 -- 02 65 147 11 225 26 145 11 145

Decapod

larvae 08 25 -- 12 11 51 23 125 21 88 54 135

Copepod

nauplius 23 -- -- -- 56 23 55 23 147 111 245 187

Zoea larvae 36 -- 03 -- 254 154 325 -- 241 22 321 154

Schizopoid

larvae 32 12 -- -- 23 -- 254 123 222 121 211 22

Alima 56 14 06 -- 55 15 124 100 128 87 124 34

4-78

larvae

Lamellibran

ch larvae -- 32 04 -- 23 88 11 147 23 254 21 145

Gastropod

larvae 04 54 -- 23 24 231 -- 154 -- 241 23 147

Fish eggs /

Larvae 10 -- -- -- 23 44 26 58 36 38 69 58

Other larval

forms 21 11 02 -- 25 23 26 33 145 112 178 169

Unidentifie

d/Parts 12 5 3 6 19 25 26 32 24 18 42 36

Total

Density

2523 1886 503 212 4504 3625 4751 3507 3908 3489 4895 3923

Total

Species 25 21 15 11 25 22 25 24 24 23 26 26

4-79

Chlorophyll a and Phaeophytin

Chlorophyll a is the photosynthetic pigment present in green plant/ phytoplankton. The

productivity of a water body is directly proportional to the Chlorophyll concentration. The

abundance of plankton, especially phytoplankton indicates that the photosynthetic activity is

efficient and is largely responsible by phytoplankton rich in chlorophyll a values.

Chlorophyll and phaeophytin contents of the study area are given in table 4.25. The

chlorophyll a content of second station, where there was an influence due to effluent

discharge from KMML takes place was below detectable level and almost uniformly

distributed at other stations. For bottom water samples, a lesser value than surface water was

observed throughout the stations. Chlorophyll value for surface water ranged between 1.548

and 2.878 mg/L. For bottom water, the values ranged from 0.654 to 2.014 mg/L. The

Phaeophytin range varied from 1.087 to 2.014 mg/L and 0.752 to 1.564 mg/L for surface

water and bottom water respectively.

4-80

Table 4.25: Chlorophyll ‘a’ and Phaeophytin content at Marine and Estuarine system,

Kollam

Water Sample Station Chlorophyll a

(mg/L)

Phaeophytin

(mg/L)

Surface Water

SW1 2.541 1.658

SW2 ND ND

SW3 1.548 1.087

SW4 2.341 1.998

SW5 2.014 1.875

SW6 2.878 2.014

Bottom Water

BW1 0.654 0.752

BW2 ND ND

BW3 1.091 0.789

BW4 1.582 1.104

BW5 1.112 1.147

BW6 2.014 1.564

ND – Lower than Detectable Level

4-81

Productivity (Primary Production)

Primary production is the rate at which new organic matter is added to the existing

phytoplankton. Primary productivity depends on the chlorophyll pigments, which absorbs the

light and produces the energy through the process of photosynthesis. Therefore, the

estimation of these pigments is very much important to ascertain the productivity of aquatic

environment. It is expressed as mg carbon per cubic meter per light day (12 hr photoperiod).

Primary productivity is the total energy trapped from sunlight during the photosynthesis using

carbon dioxide and nutrients. Primary productivity is the major factor governing any

ecosystem dynamics. All other biological components depend on productivity, which relay

upon the abiotic factors.

The productivity values of the present study are given in table 4.26. The Gross and the net

primary productivity were found to be high along surface waters of all stations and little low

value was recorded in the bottom water samples as light penetration and phytoplankton

concentrations are maximum at surface waters. But bottom waters lack enough light

penetration and plankton concentration which lead to low productivity. Maximum surface

water productivity was found to be in station 1 followed by station 6 in the canal and the

lowest productivity recorded at station 2, where effluent discharge point located. Bottom

water productivity was lower than detectable level in station 2 due to lack of adequate light

penetration. Bottom water productivity was high along station 6 in TS water canal.

4-82

Table 4.26: Primary Productivity (mg C/m3/12 Hr.) at Marine and Estuarine system,

Kollam

Water

Sample Station

Gross primary

production

(GPP)

Net primary

production

(NPP)

Community

respiration

(CR)

Surface

Water

SW1 8.65 6.96 1.60

SW2 0.26 0.19 0.07

SW3 1.56 1.00 0.56

SW4 3.56 2.56 1.00

SW5 5.66 3.98 1.68

SW6 7.25 6.11 1.14

SW7 6.54 5.44 1.10

Bottom

Water

BW1 4.11 2.56 1.55

BW2 ND ND ND

BW3 0.87 0.55 0.32

BW4 1.98 1.02 0.96

BW5 3.55 2.09 1.46

BW6 5.29 3.33 1.96

ND – Not detectable

4-83

Biomass

Biomass of water in terms of dry weight of phytoplankton and zooplankton pooled from each

station was analysed. Dry weight of phytoplankton was calculated from the Chlorophyll

value, which is a direct indicator of phytoplankton biomass. It has been estimated that

chlorophyll forms 2% of the dry weight of phytoplankton (APHA, 1995).

Table 4.27depicts dry weight biomass, which is found to be high in station 1 followed by

station 7 along surface water and dry weight could not be estimated in station 2. Bottom

water biomass was also high in station 1. Ash weight of the samples was also followed same

pattern like that of dry weight biomass.

Table 4.27: Dry weight (mg/L) and ash weight (mg/L) of phyto- and zooplankton at

Marine and Estuarine system, Kollam

Water Sample Station Dry weight Ash weight

Surface Water

SW 1 0.065 0.044

SW 2 ND ND

SW 3 0.041 0.031

SW 4 0.045 0.035

SW 5 0.051 0.042

SW 6 0.057 0.040

Bottom Water

BW 1 0.048 0.028

BW 2 ND ND

BW 3 0.028 0.020

BW 4 0.045 0.028

4-84

BW 5 0.044 0.021

BW 6 0.056 0.028

ND – Not detectable

4.14 Sediment Ecology

4.14.1 Sediment characteristics

4.14.2 Benthos

Benthos is a collective term referred to the organisms lying in or associated with aquatic

sediment comprising bacteria, plants and animals from almost all phyla. Benthic animals are

generally described on the basis of their position in the sediment. In fauna are the animals

living within the interstitial space or burrows. Those occupying the sediment surface are

termed as Epifauna. Again, benthos is categorized into three based on their body size, as

micro-fauna (1-100 µm) comprising bacteria, protophyta and protozoans other than

forminifera, Meio-fauna (100-1000 µm) including foraminifera, small metazoans, nematodes

and small invertebrates including crustacea and Macro- or Mega-fauna (above 1000 µm)

comprising of several macro invertebrates. Macro-benthos usually tends to concentrate in the

upper oxygenated layer of sediment except the true anaerobics.

Benthic fauna has been found to play a significant role in the trophic network, as they utilize

all forms of food material available in the sea-bed or estuarine base and form an important

link in the transfer of energy. The biodiversity of benthic fauna suggests the health of the

aquatic system. Hence one of the important aspects of the benthic studies is the assessment of

pollution through benthic fauna analysis. Since many pollutant settles down on sediments,

effect of pollution at once reflects on the standing crop and productivity. Relationship of

benthos with abiotic parameters especially with the sedimentological features has explained

most of the fluctuations in benthic abundance.

4-85

4.14.3 Materials and methods

Sediment samples were collected from all stations using Peterson's dredge/grab having a

biting area of 16 x 17 cm. The sediment obtained was sieved through required meshes to

separate macrofauna (> 500 µ) and meio fauna (which pass through 0.5mm sieve and are

retained by a 1000 µ sieve). Each group of organisms was individually identified and a

quantitative and qualitative analysis has been done. Themeio-fauna is represented in

individuals/100 cm2.

4.14.4 Results and assessment

Meio-benthos

Table 4.28Meio-benthos recorded from six different locations of Marine and Estuarine

system, Kollam

MEIO FAUNA / FLORA (No./m2)

Group/Species I II III IV V VI

Foraminferan shells 16 08 187 356 354 177

Tintinnida -- 03 125 264 145 162

Bipalium sp. 06 05 45 56 24 102

Globigerina sp. 18 -- 22 88 39 --

Nematode worm 28 12 77 46 78 98

Gastropods 42 08 59 78 102 101

Diatoms

Coscinodiscus sp. 12 14 158 245 178 221

Pleurosigma sp. 33 05 156 111 138 97

Nitzschia sp. 09 -- 112 65 -- --

Skeletonema sp. 32 08 101 77 66 58

Navicula hasta 21 -- 98 36 44 --

Coccoliths 14 03 45 -- 12 12

Bacillaria sp. 22 -- 36 -- 16 08

Gastrotricha 18 15 41 12 -- 22

Copepods 16 12 122 286 258 267

Larvae/Eggs 29 -- 65 56 254 221

Unidentified/Parts 24 11 123 45 138 105

4-86

Meio-benthos formed the important component of the benthic diversity. Analysis of meio-

benthos from six different stations is given in table 4.28. Meiofauna of the area was

represented by a wide variety of organisms representing different phyla and/or groups,

including zooplankton groups. More than 8 groups of organisms were identified from

sediment analysis of which diatoms formed the major part of organisms. Maximum

representation of meiofauna was recorded in station IV and the least was in station II, where

only 6 types of meio-benthos were identified. The reduced rate of meiobenthos along station

II might be due to the effluent deposition/siltation from the factories of KMML Ltd.

4.14.5 Macro-benthos

Larger benthic organisms form macro-benthos group and are listed in table 4.29. A total of 7

groups of organisms or parts of organisms were identified from all the six stations. Molluscan

shells formed majority of the macrobenthos. Other macrobenthos like crabs and other

crustaceans were found to be comparatively low along all the stations but represented in

fairly good number in stations III onwards. Station II recorded the least benthic diversity and

abundance, which might be due to the effect of effluent from the factory.

4-87

Table 4.29: Macro- benthos recorded from six different locations of the Marine and

Estuarine system, Kollam

MACRO-BENTHOS (No./m2)

Group/Species

I II III IV V VI

Lamellibranchs shells 33 11 98 178 205 114

Gastropods shells 12 09 26 65 56 78

Bivalve shells 11 -- 15 08 36 25

Crustacea -- -- 12 23 14 16

Amphipods 04 -- 18 18 45 44

Worms 22 03 18 42 26 46

Other small shells 22 11 78 56 48 54

Unidentified/Parts 07 09 33 25 34 44

Conclusion

Marine ecological and sedimentological study from six stations from the vicinity of KMML

and IREL was assessed for the environmental impact study and the present status of the

biological properties of the six stations were investigated and reported. Station II near to

KMML was poorly represented by both fauna and other biological parameters like primary

productivity and chlorophyll. Abundance and diversity of benthic fauna were also low in

station II, which may be due to effluent discharge from KMML and is not a result of mining

and supporting activities. Proper mitigation measures should be adopted as as given in

chapter 5, to reduce pollution due to the effluent. Other options for effluent discharge should

also be explored to conserve the ecological balance of the micro-environment.

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4.15 COASTAL EROSION IN BUFFER ZONE OF STUDY AREA (BLOCK IV)

The shoreline of Kerala has been subjected to severe coastal erosion in recent times. In the

monsoons, two third of the shore line is vulnerable to dynamic changes. Recent experience

drives home the point that there can be events like Tsunamis. In a study by the AMDER in

Chavara deposit in the period 1970 to 1977, an extent of 177.04Ha of land was lost by marine

erosion with an average of loss of 0.86m2 per year. Hence uninterrupted sediment flow from

hinterland to the sea is a major factor to contain sea erosion, building of raised beaches.

The sand on beaches is not static. The wave action constantly keeps the sand moving in the

surface wash zones and when waves strikes the coast at an angle, the net result is long shore

current and beach drift which collectively move sand along the coast (Littoral drift). The sand

on the coastal beaches is supplied by the rivers which transport it from the areas up stream

where it has been produced by weathering of crystalline rocks. The material flow is hindered

by building dams in the upper reaches of the rivers that effectively trap the sand,

consequently the beaches are deprived of sediments.

Seawalls or concrete or rip rap may help to retard erosion, but are not always effective

because considerable erosion may occur at the extremity of the protective structure. Besides,

the sea walls tend to produce a narrower beach with less sand, particularly if the waves are

strongly reflected and unless adequately designed. Beach erosion along the coast may also be

due to heavy monsoons, unrestrained sand mining in rivers, estuaries / lakes etc.

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4.15.1 Sea Erosion in parts of Kollam to Alappuzha

The shoreline fluctuation studies over a time gap of 55 years (1910-1965) by Thrivikramji et

al. (1983) using Survey of India topo sheets have shown that the Kerala coast has gained 41

km2 by accretion and lost 22 km2 by erosion. Studies on beach profile conducted by

Thrivikramji.et al (1983) during the pre-and post-monsoon showed that all along the coast

from Cape Comorin to Mangalore, 30 million tons of sand were removed by waves from the

shore face of Kerala, while 11 million tons were added in different sectors.

Apart from natural phenomenon, the man-made structures along the coastline act as barriers

to the material' and energy balance, and produce adverse effects on the stability of the nearby

coast. Some of the man-made barriers are dredged channels, jetties, groynes, seawalls and

break waters. The structures constructed along ports and harbours have triggered many

environmental problems in addition to upsetting the sand balance in many locations of the

coastal zone. Eravipuram beach, south of Kollam is a narrow curved beach south of

Thankassery headland. The entire stretch of the beach is protected by sea walls. Ithikkara

river falls south of this beach and Ashtamudi Lake present on the north. The beach width is

about 50 m with a gently sloping backshore, covered with beach vegetation. The beach

undergoes rapid erosion during April to June followed by a slow accretion till July and

erosion during August to September. Subsequently the beach builds till December and shows

an erosional trend during December-January. The storage volume shows that the beach has a

maximum storage volume in April (425.4 m3/m), and a minimum storage volume in June

(371 m3/m) followed by a slight building up during July-August and erosion during

September (373.6 m3/m). This is followed by an accretional trend during October-December.

In general, the beach shows an erosional trend over a period of one year. At Kollam, the

average grain size, shows the presence of coarse sand (>5 mm). From March to June, the

sand size shows medium sand size class (0.30 mm - 0.38 mm) except in May (0.53 mm).

Two peaks of coarser grain size are present, one during the south-west monsoon season and

another during the north-east monsoon season with size class 0.95 mm during July and 0.96

mm during October. Medium size sand is observed during the other season. During July to

August, the sorting value shows a poor sorting tendency. The samples show negatively

skewed nature during most of the period except during April and June when they are

symmetrical. This shows that the beach in general undergoes erosion during the period of

study.

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4.15.2 Long-shore sediment transport:

The long-shore movement of beach sand poses a potential littoral problem. The important

factor governing the beach erosion is the long shore sediment transport which is controlled

predominantly by waves and near shore topography. An understanding of sediment transport

on beaches is also necessary for the analysis of formation of the geomorphic features such as

sand spits and barrier islands, to examine the tidal inlet processes and to understand their

irregularities in the shoreline. Interruptions of these natural movements of sands by manmade

barriers like groynes, breakwaters, jetties etc. result in sediment updrift side and removal of

sediments on deposition on the down drift side. This results in the necessity to study the long

shore sediment transport around inshore coastal areas, which is of fundamental interest to

coastal engineers in the planning of structures, dredging activities for ports and spoil disposal.

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Fig 4.13 Temporal changes of block IV EE boundary

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Fig 4.14: Shore line change detection of IREL Block IV (buffer zone)

A proper understanding of the seasonal littoral transport trend is important for the efficient

management and development of coasts. Beach erosion problems along this coast have been

the initial motivation for this study on sand transport by estimating the rate of sand

movement. Since estimation of the rate of littoral sand drift is one of the essential items

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necessary for the field investigation in regard to beach protection and sedimentation

problems, much effort has been made in establishing a method of estimation by coastal

engineers. The dynamics of sediment movement in the littoral zone is governed primarily by

the wave induced currents. Specific knowledge of these currents and associated circulation

patterns are helpful in better utilization of the coastal environment.

In the near shore area, waves arriving from offshore continuously bring in momentum,

energy and mass. Since the fluxes are dissipated in the surf zone, most of the energy is

converted into turbulence in the breaker zone but enough is left to drive a near shore current

system and move loose bed material. The momentum brought in by the waves will drive the

littoral current system and cause a local set-up or set-down of the mean water level. The

dynamics of sediment movement in the littoral zone depends mainly on four factors: the

nature of the material available for transport, orientation and other geomorphic features of the

shore, the angle of wave approach and the wave induced currents. Waves arriving at the shore

are the primary cause of sediment transport in the littoral zone. Higher waves break further

offshore, widening the surf zone and setting more sand in motion. Changes in wave period or

height result in moving sands onshore or offshore. The knowledge about the wave

characteristics- the combined distribution of wave height, period and direction during

different seasons is required for an adequate understanding of movement of sand in any

specific area. The cellular circulation patterns in the surf zone depend on the long shore

gradient in wave setup. Because of the turbulence due to breaking and surging of waves,

large volumes of sediments are placed in suspension or rolled along the bed in the surf zone.

The long shore movement of beach sand poses a potential littoral problem. The important

factor governing the beach erosion is the long-shore sediment transport which is controlled

predominantly by waves and near shore topography. An understanding of sediment transport

on beaches is also necessary for the analysis of formation of the geomorphic features and to

examine the tidal inlet processes, to understand the irregularities in the shoreline. This creates

a necessity to study the long-shore sediment transport around inshore coastal areas, which is

of fundamental interest to coastal engineers for management of various coastal activity.

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Fig 4.15: Sea eroded area of IREL block IV (buffer zone)

In order to assess the shore line changes as a result of sea erosion in the study area, the shore

line in Survey of India Toposheet (1968) and the cadastral maps (survey map prepared by the

Survey and Land Records department (prior to the resurvey) were geo referenced and

compared with the Google Earth image (2017) . It was observed that after span of nearly 50

years, the shoreline has changed towards landward side nearly 50 m near Panikkarkadavu

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bridge (northern limit of Block IV) and 374.40m along the southern side. It was also

estimated that an area of 17.5089 Ha out of the Block IV mining lease area 40 .566 Ha of

IREL was lost consequent to the sea erosion.

4.16 Traffic Survey

The traffic survey was monitored at five locations. The locations monitored are given in the

table 4.30 below. The locations selected are,

(1) Traffic between the Panikkarkadavu Jn to Block IV EE Mine office.

(2) Traffic on the Panikkarkadavu bridge

(3) Proposed alternate route traffic density

(4) S.V market road

(5) Traffic intensity at Karunagappally junction

The traffic survey data conducted on 12/10/17 is given below.

The main objective of conducting the traffic survey is to estimate the traffic load towards the

Block IV EE mine lease area, traffic on the Panikkarkadavu bridge which includes trucks to

the IREL plant and other vehicles towards Mata Amritha Madam, traffic at proposed alternate

routes and the traffic at the main junction of the NH. This survey helps in planning of traffic

routes of the tippers to avoid traffic congestions due to the activities of Block IV mining,

without disturbing the local inhabitants.

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Table 4.30: Traffic survey

Site Location Time

Vehicles

Sl

no

2/3

Whee

lers

4 w

hee

lers

LC

V

&

min

i

buse

s H

MV

Tota

l

1

Towards

Block IV

EE

Mining

site

Latitude

9°

2’

14.6

9”

9.50am

to 10.50

am

Towards

IREL block

IV at bus

stop

132 40 4 48

419

Longitud

e

76

º 30

’ 30.8

6”

From IREL

block IV

towards

Karunagapal

ly

136 12 3 44

Total 268 52 7 92

2

At

Panickar

kadavu

bridge

Latitude

9°

2' 1

4.6

9"

11am to

12 pm

Towards

Karunagapal

ly

136 16 3 4

319

Longitud

e

76°

30'3

0.8

6”

29.3

592"

From

Karunagapal

ly

120 28 8 4

Total 256 44 11 8

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Table 4.30 Cont.

3 Alternate

route

Latitude

9°

02' 1

9.5

7"

12.10

pm to

1.10p

m

Towards

S.V

market

40 8 4

101

Longitude

76°

30' 5

6.4

9"

From

S.V

market

40 4 4 1

Total 80 12 8 1

4

S.V

market

road

opposite

Manappu

ram

polyclini

c

Latitude

9°

02' 0

.41"

2.00p

m to

3.00p

m

Towards

Kanneti

bridge

32 6 3 1

73

Longitude

76°

31' 4

.52"

From

Kanneti

bridge

20 4 5 2

Total 52 10 8 3

LCV – light commercial vehicle HMV – Heavy motor vehicle

5 Karunaga

plly

Junction

(NH)

Latitude

9 2

59.0

3

4.00p

m to

5.00p.

m

Toward

s

Kollam

860 408 32 72 2576

Longitude

76 3

2 9

.47

From

Kollam

664 336 80 124

1524 744 112 196

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4.17 Land use of the study area

Land use involves the management and modification of natural environment or wilderness

into built environment such as settlements and semi-natural habitats such as arable fields,

pastures, and managed woods

For the proper understanding, planning and the decision making of a system, either spatial or

temporal, adequate information on many complex interrelated aspects and its activities are

needed. Land use is one of such aspects that help experts to make adequate decisions to

overcome the problems of hazards, uncontrolled development, deterioration of environment,

loss of prime agricultural land or change in land use. Hence for the proper understanding of

the study area a land use map is prepared by using spatial technology.

The land use map of the study area, with a buffer of 10km from the boundary of IREL

Block –IV EE mine lease was done by using GIS techniques. The land use was created by

using the software tool of Arc Map 10.3. The primary data used was the Linear Imaging Self

Scanning Sensor (LISS) of the year 2016 and is also compared and validated with the data of

the Bhuvan data explorer. LISS is considered as the base map for the production of the land

use in the present study. Land use was created by digitizing the features by visual

identification methods. Eight such primary features were identified and created and they are

• Mixed vegetation

• Water bodies

• Mining area

• Paddy converted

• Railway line

• Industrial area

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Fig4.16: Land use and landcover map of study area

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4.18 SOCIO-ECONOMIC SURVEY

In the study area/ ML area more than 550 families resides.For the survey a total of 300

families were selected and interviewed. It is to be noted that the people residing in and

around the site were not evacuated. In the proposed project, option for alternate mining site

has little relevance since it is mainly guided by the availability of mineral deposits.

The main objective of the study is to assess the extent of socio-economic impact of sand

mining in the lease area and its surroundings. The areas considered for the study are in

Alappad, Panmana and Ayanivelikkulangara Villages of Karunagappally taluk in Kollam

district.

Pilot Study:

With the intention of forecasting flaws and problems and the plausibility of the research, a

pilot study was conducted. Discussions with various people and officials concerned with

mining were carried out which helped to identify and understand the situations and problems.

Ten (10) families in mining area and ten (10) families in buffer zones were selected and

interviewed. The interview schedule was administered on these respondents to find out

whether the questions were simple enough for them and whether the data collected through

them were adequate, reliable and valid. With the use of simple statistics, analysis was carried

out. In the light of pilot study, the methodology and schedule were modified and finalised.

Pre-test

A pre-test was also conducted in Block-IVEE, Karunagappally, Kollam district by

administering the schedule to 10 families. It was found that some of the questions were

unnecessary and were not understood by the respondents, mainly among the less educated.

For some questions, the response was repetitive. The unreliable, ambiguous, suggestive and

repetitive questions were suitably modified or discarded. The questions were then finalised

and coded.

Data Collection

The field study was conducted in March, 2016. The Investigators were from the same place.

All the respondents were interviewed in their homes. Some respondents compelled the

investigators to raise the need for getting facilities form the concerned agencies. A few

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respondents’ particularly unemployed and old people were articulative about their problems

etc. In rare cases, a few respondents were hesitant to provide necessary details. However,

when the researchers could convince them of the real purpose, they fully cooperated. Usually,

the interview lasted for 50 to 60 minutes, depending on the time required to establish rapport.

4.18.4 Results and Discussion:

1. Age

Age of the people has prominent importance as this influence the accuracy and correctness of

information. Besides, maturity depends on age and this provides knowledge and analytical

power to understand the issues. All the respondents selected for the interview were head of

the families. It is seen that the most (28.3%) of the respondents interviewed belonged to the

age group 46-65 years followed by 36-45 (16.7%), above 75 years (15%), 66-75 years

(12.3%) and 26-35 years (6.7%).

2. Sex

Sex is also very important as far as information is concerned. From the table it is clear that

the majority (80.7%) of the respondents were males followed by females (19.3%). It is

because of the reason that the head of the families are generally males in Kerala and that is

why the most of the respondents availed were males. Actually, they are the main person in

the family and intervene in various issues. So, their information is important.

2. Marital Status

Marital status is also significant in providing correct information on issues and problems in

the society. The issues and problems related to mining mostly affect the families rather than

the individuals. From the table it is clear that the respondents under study are mostly married

(81.7%) while 14.7 percentages belonged to the category of widowers, widow (2%) and

unmarried (1.6%). The information provided by them is reliable and valid and highly

important to the concerned agencies.

3.Education

Education means not simply stuffing minds with information but to change the attitude and

outlook of a person. Education helps a person in his socialisation process. There is drastic

difference between educated and uneducated person. It contributes a lot to sophistication of

behaviour and understanding of issues. From the table it is understandable that 41.7

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percentages of the respondents were high school educated. This shows that they are having

average education and this makes them to analyse the issues to a certain extent. So, their

reaction and response are important related to the issues come out from mining.

4. Occupation

It is very essential to know the occupation and means of livelihood of the people in mining

area as this helps in formulating the policies and programmes of rehabilitation and

resettlement. So, question was asked and data collected. The analysis of the data showed that

the most (78.4%) of the respondents were engaged in fishing followed by unemployed and

employed either in government or private institutions (8.3% each). Fishing is the main

occupation of the most people residing here and generally mining affects much in this

category of occupation. This shows that the most people’s livelihood is affected seriously by

mining. This fact may be noted.

5. Annual Income

Income is an index of social status and life style of an individual. So, question was asked to

know their income and whether they are leading a satisfied life or not. This information is

very important while making programmes and policies for rehabilitation and resettlement.

From the table it is seen that the most (73.4%) of the respondents belonged to the income

group below Rs. 20,000/- per year while 14.3 percentage as Rs. 20,001- 40,000/-. This shows

that majority of the people are below poverty line. A large number of the respondents were

engaged in fishing and this work is interrupted to a certain extent through mining in the

locality. Hence, they are not able to get regular income which reduces their income. This

point may be noted and seriously considered

6. Language

Cent percentage of the members reported that they speak Malayalam, the state language

which is their mother tongue. From this it is clear that the respondents who reside in the

mining area are Malayalees.

7. Family Members

Today, it is quite natural that the families are small and members are less compared to olden

times. So, question was asked to know the number of members in the family and data

collected. From the table it is clear that a lot (71.3%) of the members had 3-4 members

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followed by 5-6 (14.4%), 7-8 (8.3%) and 1-2 (6%). It is quite natural that the families in

Kerala are nuclear and very few are joint and extended families

8. Type of Family

From the table it is seen that the majority (77.4%) of the respondents reported as their family

is nuclear followed by extended (14.3%) and joint (8.3%). This is in consonance with the

general pattern of families in Kerala. The joint and extended families were old type of

families. Now, it is very rare to see such families. It is due to various reasons like democracy,

industrialisation, modernisation and westernisation.

9. Type of Occupancy

To understand whether families live in own or rented, question was asked and data collected.

It is clear that 97.7 percentage of the respondent reported that their families are living in their

own building while 2.3 percentages as in rented house.

10. Nature of Ownership

Ownership includes either inherited or purchased. Those who get share from their parents are

called inherited. The parents may have the house already inherited or purchased that may be

transferred to their offspring. Purchased includes houses which are bought from their own

earned money. The findings got from the analysis showed that 94.7 percentage of the

respondents reported that the nature of ownership is inherited followed by purchased (5.3%).

This shows that almost all of them have availed the land as inherited. It is clear that their

families are living here for years and years ago. Traditionally, they are living here and

engaged in their own occupation. And they are socially and culturally accustomed to this

area. The sentimental attachment of the people of this soil necessarily compels them to stay

here. So, care and caution may be taken while evacuating them from this area.

11. Main Source of Personal Income

In order to find out the source of personal income questions was asked and data collected.

The analysis of data showed that the majority (78.4%) of them were engaged in wage based

jobs followed by salary and no income (8.3% each). They lead a life of difficulty due to

meagre income from wage.

12. Assets (Immovable)

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To know whether the inhabitants have land with pattayam or not, question was asked and

data collected. The analysis of the data showed that the cent percentage of the respondents are

having pattayam inside the study area while 22 percentage informed that they have pattayam

outside the study area while 76 percentage have no Pattayam. Here we were able to find out

that the majority of title holders belonged to the others category mostly women and only 8

percentages reported that the title holder was men (husbands)

13. Creation of social unrest in your area due to mining

Social unrest is an index of social problem which has to be eradicated for smooth functioning

of the society and peaceful family life. The findings are given in the table regarding this. It is

seen that 66 percentages reported that that there is no social unrest among the public due to

mining followed by to a great extent (18%) and to some extent (16%).

14. Unfavourable Impact on health due to mining

It is very important question whether there is any unfavourable impact on health due to

mining. The analysis of the data shows that the 66.6 percentage of the respondents reported

that there is not at all unfavourable impact on health due to mining while 26.7 percentages as

to some extent. So, adequate and proper action plan has to be formulated for avoiding such

negative impact of mining.

15. Increase of lungs/kidney diseases among the public

Question was asked whether there is any increase of lungs/kidney diseases among the public

and 86.7 percentage of the respondents reported that there is not at all followed by to some

extent (7.3%) and to a great extent (6%). This may be due to mining and proper defensive

action has been taken, failing this will lead to social resistance against mining.

16. Decrease of cancer diseases among the public due to mining.

It is very interesting to note that 70.7 percentage of the respondents reported that there is no

decrease of cancer among the public due to mining followed by to some extent (20.7%) and

to a great extent (8.6 %).

17. Increase of mosquito problem after the mining

Question was asked to know whether there is an increase of mosquito problem or not for

which data collected. It is seen that the 41 percentage of the respondents reported that there is

no increase of mosquito problem followed by to some extent (40.7%) and to a great extent

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(18.3%). The findings showed that there is such problem either to a great extent or to some

extent. Various methods are available to avoid the problem of mosquitoes but not made

available here from the side of mine operators. So, steps have to be taken to eradicate

mosquito problem.

18. Spread of Filariasis among the public

Filariasis is a disease that emerges from mosquito problem. So, question was asked. The

analysis of the data shows that the most (66.7%) of the respondents reported as there is no

spread of filariasis here followed by to some extent (24.7%) and to a great extent (8.7%).

This may be due to the fact of prevention programmes of the Health Department,

Government of Kerala.

19. Whether the mine operators have approached you to purchase the land

To know whether the mine operators approached to the people to purchase the land majority

(91.7%) of the respondents reported that the mine operators have not approached to purchase

the land. From the study it is found out that there is 8.3 percentages of the families living here

reported yes.

20. Are the mine owners willing to give the existing market price, if so what is your plan

It is seen that a lot (61.7%) reported that their plan is to retain the land for better prospects

followed by to sell it off to the mine owners (30%), IRE should back fill the area after mining

(5%) and wait and see (3.3%). So, adequate and special steps have to be taken to vacate them.

Summary and Conclusion of Socio Economic Studies

Mining Area

The IRE is an important concern has its own pros and cons. The industry attracts foreign

currency, but the socio-economic impact due to the extraction process of the soil necessarily

invites a good number of issues-both positive and negative.

The air emissions in the area and the frequent movement of the vehicle necessarily invite air

and sound pollution which affects the people in the locality on their health and family life. It

is a fact that the company is very cautious in reducing the pollution at all means. More and

more precautions are to be taken to reduce the pollution in the least manner. Moreover, the

company has to take steps to intensify the water cleaning process and the like issues.

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It is a matter of the fact that the income of the family is comparatively low and all inhabitants

are compelled to find out alternative source of income to meet their daily bread. Though the

quantum of the land under their disposal is limited as well as the fertility of the soil is

diminishing due to mining. So, land utilisation for agricultural purpose is insignificant.

The people in the area have different occupational skill. It is understood that almost all people

in this area are using potable water. The vehicle carrying the water is reaching the area at a

particular time and the people have to wait to collect water from the distributors. If due to

unseen circumstances, they are unable to collect their share of water they will lose the chance

to collect the pot water for their daily needs. Most of the wells have dried and if little is

available. it is contaminated. The survey reveals the fact that due to mining sea erosion is

common. The people are to be protected from this catastrophe. This problem has to be

addressed without delay.

Majority of them reported that their income from the traditional jobs is diminished. Though

they are sparing more time compared to pre-mining period the income is less. So, in the

formulation in the R&R, this fact may be given much priority which will reduce their anxiety

as well as upbringing of their family. It is fact that the mining has invited a lot of health

issues among the people especially in the spreading up of cancer, kidney and lung diseases.

The allergic and skin ailments are also increasing among the people. Another important

sensitive issue of the locality is resettlement. The existing families in the mining area are still

not willing to vacate the present place of settlement. If the resettlement problem is found

essential the company has to take adequate and reasonable decision in the matter of the land

under their disposal.

Buffer Zone

The Buffer Zones around the mining area were taken for the study which has been subjected

to mining. As far as the agriculture is concerned, like in the mining area, there are no special

agriculture but coconut and palm groves only and supported with pot water irrigation. They

have no agricultural loan or subsidy as they do not have large scale farming. Regarding the

duration of the occupancy of the present place, majority of them are of opinion that they were

occupied the land years and years ago. Their main occupation is fishing followed by driving,

electrical repair etc.

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The poor and innocent people are always fond of religious ceremonies and have close

connection with religious leaders. The people as a whole in this area revealed that they were

not influenced either by politicians, social activists or the like in the matter and hence the

religious institutions are free from any troubles.

During the pre-mining period, the majority of the people were engaged in fishing, daily

labours and driving. After the mining process started the life situation of the people has not

been changed much. They followed more or less the same job and earned their daily needs.

But, the mining has created some problems in the matter of their daily income. The people

outside the mining zone are hesitating to purchase the fish, coconut and such products from

the mining area. This resulted in the decline of their daily income. Though they are

compelled to spare more time and energy to cope with new situation, they are struggling to

meet both ends.

As far as their social stratification is concerned they are able to keep up with old relations as

it is and hence there won’t be any feud and faction among the people or social unrest. Mining

has created some problems on their health matters and lion share of them have reported that

the diseases like cancer/kidney or lungs are not on its increase. Proper defensive action on the

matter of pollution problem is on the dire need of the hour. Otherwise the social unrest

among the people will be unbalanced.

The stagnant water in the mine pits has created the problem of increasing the mosquito and

related diseases like filariasis, skill ailments and allergic disorders. Another serious issue of

the area is the depletion off well water, its quality, and dust pollution. There are other issues

like soil erosion, land degradation, land slide, fear about vehicle accident, increase in traffic

load etc. The survey made it clear that effective and time bound proper action to resolve the

issues are of urgent nature.

Though, there are problems confronted with people of this buffer zone area, they are not

willing to let the land acquire for the mining project. A small portion of the people in the

locality is of opinion that they are willing to let the land on certain conditions especially in

the land value and proper R&R.

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4.19 Radiation Survey

Pre-Operational Radiological Monitoring at the proposed mining site of IREL, Chavara at

Vellanathuruthu coastal region of Kollam District, Kerala

The pre operational radiological monitoring of the proposed mining area at Vellanathuruthu

region was carried out by Health Physics Unit (HPU) of IREL Udyogamandal along with

HPU of IREL, Manavalakurichi. The site is located in the Alappad village of

Karunagappally and lies between the latitude of N 9002’ 44 to 9003’ 74 and longitude 760 50’

61 to 760 56’ 77.

4.19.1 External Gamama radiation monitoring

An extensive radiation survey of the mining area was carried out using a sensitive Geiger

Muller tube detector integrated with Global Position System (GPS) and a pocket size

radiation survey meter (Rad Eye PRD) which incorporates a high sensitivity NaI (Tl) detector

with an integrated photo multiplier tube. Measurements were recorded at 1m above the

ground level. Gamma ray exposure rate at eighteen locations along with latitude and

longitude values is given in Table 4.31

Table 4. 31: External Gamma radiation monitoring

Sl No Location Radiation Field

(µ Gy/h)

Latitude Longitude

1 Pushpamangalam House 0.4 9.0244 76.5139

2 Kunnumpurath House 1.7 9.0244 76.5129

3 Thuppassery House 1.7 9.0267 76.5112

4 ThekkeThuppassery 2.0 9.0271 76.5115

5 New Mining area 1.2 9.0285 76.5108

6 Pandarathuruthu 1.7 9.0300 76.5096

7 Mukkumpuzha junction 0.5 9.0308 76.5122

8 Panamoottil 1.2 9.0305 76.5095

9 Haribhavanam 1.1 9.0310 76.5093

4-109

10 AlappadGovt L P School 1.7 9.0328 76.5085

11 Alappad church 1.7 9.0357 76.5073

12 PanikkarKadavu 0.7 9.0374 76.5061

13 KurusumMoottil 2.7 9.0362 76.5069

14 Nishalayam 1.4 9.0348 76.5677

15 Kollampurath 1.3 9.0314 76.5095

16 Edayil House 1.3 9.0314 76.5095

17 Padattedath 1.35 9.0318 76.5080

18 Ramanamadam 1.4 9.0320 76.5084

4.19.2 Soil Sample Analysis

Soil samples were collected from 10 different locations extending from MRP tailings area to

Panikkarkadavu Bridge in the proposed mining area which covers 2 km length and 300 m

width. Locations are identified based on the population density and accessibility of the

region. Three samples were collected from each location. Three composite samples were

analyzed for Gross alpha and Gross beta activity. The results are given in table 4.32.

Table4.32: Gross alpha and gross beta activity in soil samples

Sl No Location Gross α (Bq/g) Gross β (Bq/g)

1 NishalayamPandarathuruthu 8.7±2.4 4.1±0.7

2 HaribhavanamPandarathuruthu 4.8±2.0 6.3±1.4

3 KurushumoottilPanickerkadavu 6.7±2.1 2.8±0.9

4 Panamoottil, Pandarathuruthu 7.6±2.4 5.3±1.1

5 Edayileveedu, Pandarathuruthu 7.3±2.4 4.6±0.9

6 Panamootitil south Pandarathuruthu 4.2±2.2 3.4±0.8

7 Kollapurathu, Pandarathuruthu 8.9±2.3 1.9±0.9

8 Padattedathu, Pandarathuruthu 8.6±2.2 4.5±1.2

9 Ramanamadam, Pandarathuruthu 5.7±2.4 3.8±1.0

10 Pushpamangalathu Vellanathuruthu 3.9±2.4 3.3±1.3

4-110

4.19.3 Water sample Analysis

Well water samples collected from sampling locations were analyzed for gross alpha and beta

activity, results are given in table 4.33.

Table 4.33:Gross alpha and gross beta activity in well water sample

Sl No Location Gross α (Bq/g) Gross β (Bq/g)

1 Kunnumpurathu, Vellanathuruthu 0.013±0.007 0.10±0.02

2 Santhibhavanam, Vellanathuruthu 0.012±0.007 0.049±0.018

3 Mangalathu, Pandarathuruthu 0.007±0.004 0.34±0.018

4 Kollapurathu, Pandarathuruthu 0.012±0.007 0.44±0.018

5 Panamoottil, Pandarathuruthu 0.019±0.008 0.087±0.02

6 Thuppasseril, Vellanathuruthu 0.007±0.004 0.085±0.02

7 ThekkeThuppasseril, Vellanathuruthu 0.016±0.008 0.34±0.018

8 PadattedathPandarathuruthu 0.011±0.007 0.78±0.019

9 PanamoottilPandarathurhu 0.012±0.007 0.34±0.018

10 KanakalayamPandarathuruthu 0.010±0.007 0.109±0.02

4.19.4 Conclusion

The pre operational radiological monitoring of the proposed mining area of IREL chavara at

Vellanathuruthu region was carried out by Health Physics Unit (HPU) of IREL

Udyogamandal and Manavalakurichi during September-October 2017. External gamma

radiation monitoring and analysis of well water and soil samples were carried out.

The radiation field in the proposed site ranged 0.4 – 2.7 µGy/h depending on the monazite

content in the soil. The gross alpha activity in the soil samples ranged from 3.9 – 8.9 Bq/g

and the gross beta activity ranged from 1.9 – 6.3 Bq/g. The gross alpha activity in the well

water samples ranged from 0.007 – 0.016 Bq/lit and the gross beta activity ranged from 0.034

– 0.109 Bq/lit.

5-1

CHAPTER 5

IMPACT ASSESSMENT

5.1 General

Impact assessment describes the beneficial and adverse effects of the 180 Ha mining

project. The proposed method of mining is similar to the dredge mining conducted by the

company.

IREL has been granted renewal of mining lease to collect heavy mineral sand

from NK Block IV EE (Alappad, Panmana and Ayanivenikkulangara) in Kollam district

for an area of 180 Ha vide G.O (Rt) No 746/07/ID dated 08.06.2007 upto 10.08.2031

The production is to be expanded to 7,50,000 tons of raw sand by inland mining only and

in which about 6 to 6.6 lakh tons will be discarded as tailings.

The environmental impact assessment process ensures identifying the key

developmental and operational activities/hazards resulting from the proposed mining &

mineral processing.

There will be only one pond of working length 30m and width of 14m. Once

DWUP (Dredge and Wet Upgradation Plant) is in place, the dredging will progress as a

strip of 50 meters. The proposed activity is purely a wet process and there is no

significant impact on air except fugitive emissions due to material transport.

The water system consists of surface and ground water domains. The land system

consists of human settlements, existing land use patterns, fragile shoreline, sensitive

locations like temple and a school and eco-protective land cover. Air aspects include

emissions due to transportation of mineral heavies from the location. No other dust

emissions are expected as the mine operates under wet condition.

Noise includes sound generated by trucks during transportation and other mining and

separation activities. Other significant impacts include socio-economic impacts and road

traffic congestion.

All these are prone to multiple changes from time to time, in tune with the

prevalent socio-economic scenario, systemic anomalies in the seasons and coastal

dynamics and anthropogenic activities. The impacts of mining of heavy mineral sand in

environment have been evaluated and possible measures to mitigate their adverse

impacts have been worked out.

However considering various activity components, the impacts on the

environment, either beneficial or deleterious due to the proposed mining activity are

5-2

identified. The aspects on the environment, which are likely to be disturbed or damaged

due to the implementation of this project, are represented with mitigation measures.

Mathematical models have been used to quantitatively predict the impacts on air and

noise quality. Battelle environmental system is used for evaluation of various impacts of

environmental pollution, ecology, human interest and Aesthetics.

The environmental impacts due to the mining can be summarised as follows:

Air Environment

Topography and Land use

Drainage

Water Environment

Ecology

Traffic

Radiation

Socio-economic & Rehabilitation & Resettlement

5.2 Air

5.2.1 Air environment

Beach sand extraction, upgradation and back filling do not cause appreciable rise

in gaseous or particulate pollution level in ambient and work zone environment. Sand

extraction process (dredging) is a wet primary process and back filled mass is moist in

form and do not release dry dusts in mining area. Therefore in the proposed area

pollution will be insignificant. Ambient Air Quality monitored at Vellanathuruthu PHC,

Project Location, Amrithananthamai math and Maravana Junction for PM10,SO2 and

NOx and are well within respective permissible limits. The meteorological data have

been generated at the mining site from the NCESS station for the study period. Other

Met data have been collected from IMD, Trivandrum.

5.2.2 Modelling of Dust Emissions

Modeling of air emissions

The air pollutants of interest in this project are PM10. The main sources are

emissions during mining and transportation. However dust emission is not significant in

5-3

dredge mining as the ore and rejects are in wet or slurry form. Road transportation of ore

on the haul road is the only source of dust emission.

Fugitive Emissions Estimation

Dust clouds due to the movement of trucks on roads can cause very significant

transient dust nuisance. In this project, the transportation of mined material is through

rural unpaved single lane road and concentrate is transported from inland mining area to

MS plant partly through unpaved roads and partly through bituminous topped public

roads connecting Karunagappally and the mine lease with six meters width. The

projected average inland mining in the area is 7,50,000 MT (maximum) per year. The

Heavy Mineral concentration ie. THM content for mined out minerals by inland mining

is 15% on an average and range between 10 to 18%.

The collection of mineral rich sand takes place during a span of 300 working

days with the upgradation plant working for 1600 hours per year from 8am to 5pm. Thus

the transportation of concentrated mineral sand per day from the inland mining is 375

MT.

The material transported is heavy mineral rich beach sand, and its silt content is

very low. Therefore dust raised from entrainment of spilled materials will be relatively

less compared with the transportation of excavated soil or clay as commonly seen on

roads in Kerala.

Dust can be assessed using emission factor equation for both paved and unpaved

roads. The emission factor equations are given below. The equation is according to ‘AP

42 on emission factors of unpaved roads’.

5.165.0

32

WsLkE

Where:

E = Particulate emission factor (having units matching the units of k),

sL = Road surface silt loading (grams per square meter) (g/m2)

W = average weight (tons) of the vehicles traveling the road

k = is the particle size multiplier as given in the table below

5-4

Size range Particle Size Multiplier k

g/VKT

PM- 2.5 0.66

PM-10 4.6

PM-15 5.5

PM-30 24

The equation given below for paved road is taken from the ‘AP 42 for paved roads’,

neglecting correction factor for tire and break wear.

02.191.0WsLkE

Where,

E, sL and W are the same as above

The particle size multiplier k is as given in the table below

Size range Particle Size Multiplier k

g/VKT

PM- 2.5 0.15

PM-10 0.62

PM-15 0.77

PM-30 3.23

The silt loading, refers to mass of less than 75µm particles collected by brooming

and vacuuming the road. This has not been measured. Silt loading is taken as 20 g/m2 for

the unpaved road area and 10 g/m2 for the paved road.

5-5

Table 5.1: Estimated increase in emissions by emission factor method

Road Traffic (day

time)

Pannikerkadavu to

mine lease

Total

Number

of trips

Avg.

vehicle

weight

Silt

loading

g/m2

E Total

emission

g/km/day

PM10

g/ VKT

For Unpaved Road 30 12 20 164.37 4931.1

For paved Road 30 12 10 63.55 1906.5

AFTER EXPANSION

For Unpaved Road 76 12 20 164.37 12492.12

For paved Road 76 12 10 63.55 4829.8

Modeling of SPM due to dust emissions from traffic has been done using

Gaussian Plume modeling method for which the general equation is given below. The

Gaussian model is the most commonly used model for the air dispersion modelling. The

Gaussian equation for point source emission is

The Gaussian equation applicable for the line source is

Where,

C (x,y,z)= Pollutant concentration as a function of downwind position (µg/m3)

Q = Emission rate (g/s)

q = Emission rate (g/s/m)

u = Average wind speed (m/s)

σy,σz = Standard distribution of the concentration distributions in the Horizontal and

vertical directions

z = Vertical distance from ground level, (m)

y = distance in horizontal direction (m)

H = Vertical distance from ground level, (m)

5-6

Dust emissions have been modeled using MoEF approved Envitrans FDMpro software.

It would suffice to calculate the increase in PM10 from increase in total emission

calculated above, using the measured baseline values. The isopleth plots are obtained for

the baseline and the incremental increase in pollution due to truck traffic is shown in

figure 5.1. The isopleth plot obtained after expansion of mining activity is shown in

figure 5.2.

Figure 5.1 Isopleth plot for the air quality before expansion

Figure 5.2 Isopleth plot for the air quality after expansion

5-7

The model shows incremental increase in pollution caused due to the area due to truck.

However the incremental values are within the CPCB limit prescribed for PM10, which

is 100µg/m3 for 24 hour. This value is based on the prediction obtained without any

control measures. The maximum incremental value from the area after expansion of

mining is 35µg/m3 in addition to the ambient quality observed (maximum value)

5.2.3 Mitigation Strategies

Existing level of air pollution in the proposed core zone area is below the permissible

limits (National Ambient Air quality norms). The dredge is electric driven and therefore

has no gas or dust emissions. The only source of air pollution is emissions during road

transportation in haul roads of heavies from mine to MSP. The following listed methods

are being advised to adopt for minimizing the air impacts

Usage of TS canal for transport of heavies

Air pollution and road congestion can be totally avoided by using water transport

through the TS Canal. The suggested method is the use of country boats which are the

most environment friendly and having a very positive socio-economic impact.

Traffic Diversion

Alternate route for the Tipper transport. For the loaded vehicles a route is suggested and

for unloaded vehicles another route is suggested which will help in avoiding the traffic

congestion (Figure 5.3)

5-8

Figure 5.3 Alternate route for truck Transport

5-9

Pumping of heavies

As an alternate method of transportation of materials from Block IV EE to Chavara plant

against the present method of transportation of using contract tippers, pumping of the

spiral concentrate is proposed. It will be done by 7 stage pumping at a rate of 65 tph.

Three pumps will be located in the IREL lease owned area and 4 pumps in the KMML

lease hold areas. Power supply is to be sourced from the proposed dedicated feeder from

Chavara substation to Block IV area. The total estimated cost of the project is Rs.500

lakhs. The pumping system is designed for pumping 65 tph solids having specific gravity

of 4.0 and the solid concentration of 26 %. The total volume of the slurry pumped is 201

cu.m / hr and the total head of the system is 315 meters.

The alternate plan for transportation of mineral concentrates using HDPE pipes have

been added as figure 5.4

5-10

Figure 5.4 Alternate plan for transportation of heavies using HDPE pipeline

The pumps are located at 750 m apart. The discharge of the first pump will be connected

to the suction of the second pump and so on. The pipe line will be 160 mm HDPE pipe

5-11

of PNPE80 grade. The lines will be laid along the TS canal side and also through the

KMML mining area depending upon the terrain available for laying the pipes. The

maximum working pressure in the pipe line will be 5.5 bar. The advantage of the

pumping method is that there will be no traffic congestion, dust generation and accidents

can be avoided. An aquatic ecological survey may be carried out before laying the

pipeline for its environmental feasibility.

The following measures are recommended to reduce pollution for road transport

During the transportation from the segregated area, the material may be wetted

thoroughly to avoid dispersion.

The segregation area where the material is stored should be covered completely

to avoid wind dispersion.

During transportation, the loaded vehicles should be secured with a covering over

the loaded material to avoid spillage, which on drying may cause dispersion.

Provision of water trough at the exits of roads for tyre washing .

Good preventive maintenance schedule for equipment & vehicles.

It is suggested that the vehicles strictly follow the stipulations for their vehicular

exhausts, both diesel and petrol vehicles.

Ensure leak-proof transport equipment. Vehicles transporting the minerals shall

be provided with tarpaulin cover.

Supply of face masks to workers and staff to prevent dust inhalation.

Overloading of transport equipment must be prevented.

The 35% Calcium chloride solution can be sprayed on the unpaved part of roads

to prevent the rise of dust particles into the atmosphere. This shall be done in the

summer months when the soil is dry and subject to dispersion.

Gaseous pollutants in the exhaust fumes generated by the dozers and other

machinery shall be minimised by ensuring vigorous maintenance and stringent

overhaul schedules. The repair workshop and maintenance garage should be

equipped with all necessary facilities.

5-12

5.3 Noise

The sound generated from any process becomes polluting when the sound generated

tends to disrupt and intrude into the day-to-day activities of people. Noise is measured in

terms of decibels (dB). The ambient measure of sound in an industrial area is 75 dB and

the sound value in residential area is 55 dB in the daytime. The noise was measured in

different locations (LEQ) in and around the area of mine lease.

Table 5.2 The value of noise measured from different locations

Sl no: Location of monitoring Average Noise Value

in dB

1 Mining road to Block IV 59

2 Primary Health Center 54

3 Amrithapuri Junction 69

4 Sree Kurukasseril Bhadra Devi temple 66

5 Alappad Panchayat Office 61

6 Cheriazheekkal near to junction

(school, temple) 71

7 Pandarathuruthu 60

8 Panikarkadavu bridge 70(cont.traffic)

57(normal)

9 Poockattu junction

(Panikarkadavu) 74

10 SV Market,Karunagappaly 54

11 Muncipal Corporation Office, Karunagapally 81

12 Karunagapally Junction 78

5-13

13 Karunagapply Govt.Hospital 75

14 KSEB Office,Puthiyakavu 75

15 Market Road, Karunagapallly 75

16

Karunagapally Railway station.(w/o train

movement) 56

17 Kanetti Bridge 76

18 MES college of Arts & Science, Chavara (measured

at NH 66) 77

19 Titanium Junction 75

Table 5.3 Standards for noise calculation according to CPCB Norms

Acceptable Outdoor Noise Levels: Norms of Central Pollution Control Board

Area Code Category of Area Limits in dB (A)

Day time Night time

A Industrial Area 75 70

B Commercial Area 65 55

C Residential Area 55 45

D Sensitive zone 55 45

5.3.1 Noise Modelling

Environmental noise modelling describes the process of theoretically estimating noise

levels within a region of interest under specific set of conditions. But the variation in real

5-14

world conditions will give an estimate for a snapshot of the range of actual

environmental noise level that could occur in time and space.

In order to predict the impact of noise generated due to the proposed DWUP, a

systematic survey of the ambient noise levels existing in a similar DWUP system at

IREL mine lease was conducted. The overall impact was predicted and calculated using

hemispherical model for sound wave propagation.

LW = Lp + [20 × log10 (r)] + 8

Where,

Lw= Sound power level (dB), Lp = Sound pressure level at a receiver

r = distance from source

The predicted values have been shown in table 5.5.

The noise level at dredge is averaged at 70 dB. The modelling of noise has been carried

out using the hemispherical model equation. The Noise values have been calculated at a

distance of 1m, 2m, 5m, 10m, 20m, 40m etc. The Table 5.4 shows the variation of noise

from source with distance. This shows a logarithmic variation of noise. As the distance

increases, the reduction in noise also is observed.

Table 5.4 Change of noise from source with distance

Location

of

monitoring

Value

record

ed in

dB

Calculated values at distances

1m 2

m 5m

10

m

20

m

30

m

40

m

50

m

60

m

70

m

80

m

90

m

Noise from

Machinery 70 62 56 48 42 36 32 30 30 30 30 30 30

5-15

Fig 5.5 Plot for the change of noise v/s distance

From this, it is understood that the noise levels does not cross the standard limits as

prescribed by CPCB. Figure 5.5 shows the outburst of the noise from the DWUP Plant.

The values reaches the ambient level at a distance of about 40 to 50m from the DWUP.

5.3.2 Mitigation Strategies

The noise level at DWUP was about 70 db. The value reaches the ambient level at a

distance of about 40 to 50m from the DWUP. Nearest habitation is beyond 100m

distance. Hence, there is no need for noise control measures.

Traffic noise from trucks is a nuisance for which there are no simple control measures. If

transportation of mined heavies by waterways, preferably by using country boats or by

pumping of mineral heavies in a slurry form, there will be no further traffic noise or

congestion. However, exposure of workers at DWUP and excavators needs to be

minimised. This could be achieved by:

Conducting audiometric examination once a year.

The noise level should be monitored at the key locations once in a month and

values to be recorded. The workers shall be provided with the noise protection

earphones or plug.

Job Rotation, Automation, Protective Devices

Distance from Source in metre

Pre

dic

ted

N

ois

e le

vel

5-16

5.4 Ground water quality

Core Zone

Groundwater samples were collected randomly from the existing wells as well as from

surface water sources within the study area during Jan 2015 to May 2016 as part of the

field studies.

The sample collected from below the panickarkadavu bridge shows high values of

salinity, EC, TDS etc. this location is used for boat anchoring and the area is under

continuous disturbance caused by boat cleaning boat movement etc. This location is

closer to the sea mouth. This may be the reason for the increase in salinity, TDS values

etc.

Buffer Zone

In a study conducted by Central Ground Water board, a well located at Chavara recorded

an EC value of 1370 mS/cm at 25ºC and chloride value of 298mg/l. However in the bore

wells, the quality of water is generally good, mostly the Electrical conductivity (EC) in

the range of 50 to 250 mS/cm at 25ºC. The fluoride value is also within the permissible

limits. The shallow phreatic aquifers in alluvium are developed through dug wells. Filter

point wells are more economical where the saturated thickness of the shallow zone

exceeds 5m. These are feasible in the coastal areas along Chavara and Karunagappally

and the yield ranges from 20 to 60m3/day. In areas very near to the coast and tidal zones,

the water samples have reported EC above 1000 μS/cm at 25ºC. Chloride in phreatic

groundwater is below 60 mg/l in major part of the district. Higher values of chloride

were observed as localised patches in the coastal plain in the close vicinity of the

backwaters. The chloride content is observed as 298 mg/l in Chavara area.

Table 5.5 Analytical data on samples from GWM wells

Location ECin

us/cm

at250C

Total

hardness

as

CaCO3

( mg/l)

Ca

( mg/l)``

Mg

( mg/l)

Cl

( mg/l)

F

( mg/l)

Karunagappally 325 110 35 49 60 0.02

Chavara 1370 465 162 14 298 0.26

5-17

Table: 5.6 Tubewell details constructed at Chavara

Sl.no Depth drilled

Depth

constructed

(m)

Static water

level

(m)

Aquifer Discharge

(lpm)

I 189.53 185 12.91 Warkallai 30

II 160.0 143 9.18 Quilon 1.83

III` 101.45 48 2.89 Vaikkom 0.02

Table: 5.7 Ground Water Quality

Location

EC in

(us/cm

at250C)

Total

hardness

as

CaCO3

( mg/l)

Ca

( mg/l)``

Mg

( mg/l)

Cl

( mg/l)

F

( mg/l)

Karunagappally 325 110 35 49 60 0.02

Chavara 1370 465 162 14 298 0.26

5.4.1 Ground water level trend:

Ground water level trends analysed through water level data of 10 observation wells in

Karunagapally block for 5 years (2006 to 2010) indicate that the fluctuation ranges from

0.02 to 2.37 meters during SW monsoon and from 0.62 to 2.97 meters during the North

East monsoon.

Ground water depletion: The hydrological surveys and exploration for ground water

carried is in Kollam district by the Central Ground Water Board(CGWB) to assess the

capabilities of the aquifers , water quality and ground water potential. The stage of

ground water development in Chavara Panchayat and Karunagappally Municipallity

5-18

were assessed as safe. However the prevalence of large scale pumping of wells along

the western area have resulted in the depletion of the water table aquifers as evidenced

from the steep gradient of the water table contours. The increase in urbanization,

industrial uses and continued influx of tourists have lead to ground water resources

depletion particularly the water table aquifer.

5.4.2 Ground Water level and Flow Pattern

The contours were generated with reference to water level RL’s of wells which are

measured during the field survey for Block no III . The water level RL of well is

calculated by (Water level RL= Reduced level - (depth to water level from top of parapet

- Height of parapet). Usually sandy layers facilitate the flow of water whereas clayey

layer retards it. The contours were drawn for the water level RL’s for determining the

ground water flow direction in the study area. The Ground water contour map indicated

that the western part of the area comprising the Block IV EE , the water table aquifers

flows towards the Arabian Sea in the west and to the T- S canal in the east The ground

water contours along the eastern side of the TS canal show that the ground water flow

pattern is generally towards west ie. to the adjacent canal portion . Ground water is

influenced by the difference in hydraulic head produced by topographic relief and

unconsolidated formations. The difference in hydraulic head due to topographic relief is

the most significant driving force for ground water flow.

The tentative geological section in west – east direction along Block IV EE (figure 4.8

b) also depicts the water table profile which is likely to be intersected by the mining pit

deepening/dredging activity in Block IV and Block IV eastern extension .

5.4.3 Impact on water quality

Physicochemical parameters were determined on the 13 well water samples collected

from the core and another 12 from buffer zone. Data generated was compared with the

Indian Standards and specifications for Drinking Water (IS: 10500:2012) and World

Health Organizations (WHO) drinking water limits. The analysis results were interpreted

based on IS: 10500 (2012).

From the analysis of samples from core zone it can be seen that pH recorded for all 13

samples were within permissible limits. Sample IREW2 registered the lowest

conductivity (0.202 mS/cm) while sample IREW5 showed the highest value of 23330

µS/cm The total solid content was maximum in IRE W5 (1153 mg/L) sample and the

5-19

total dissolved solid contents were found to be the highest in the case of sample IRE W6

( 10.7 mg/l) which is reflected in its salinity and conductivity values. All samples except

IRE W1, IRE W5, and IRE W 12 exhibited TDS values less than 500 mg/l.

In buffer zone all the samples except sample KMW11, possess pH values within the

specified limit. Total solid content as well as the total dissolved solid contents were

found to be the highest in the case of sample W3 (523 mg/l) which is reflected in its

salinity and conductivity values. Sample W4 possessed the lowest TS & TDS values

which are in good agreement with its low salinity and conductivity. All samples except

KM2, KMW5, KMW13, and KMW15 exhibited TDS values less than 500 mg/l. KM2 is

the sample collected from dredging pit of adjacent block of KMML and since it shows

high values of salinity, EC, TDS etc. sea water intrusion is suspected.

5.4.3.1 Water environment

The mining lease is on a narrow strip of sandy formation being surrounded by saline

water on either sides and fresh water has been very thin in the locality. Water from

dredge pond will be utilised for primary circuit in DWUP. No water is consumed and the

entire water will be recycled for the process except for very minor evaporation loss. The

water balance is shown in figure.

Return water quantity (740 cum./hr)

Figure 5.6: Water balance diagram

Dredge Pump

Input

(390 cu.m/hr)

+

Make-up Water

Input

(350 cu.m/hr)

Concentrate Tailings All Bins

Overflow

Hydrocyclone

Over-flow

(56 cu.m/hr)

Hydrocyclone

Under-flow

(4 cu.m/hr)

Tailings

Discharge

(103 cu.m/hr)

Tails Bin

Over-flow

(93 cu.m/hr)

Surge-bin

Over-flow

(327 cu.m/hr)

Other Bins

Over-flow

(133 cu.m/hr)

Trommel

Spray

Water

(24 cu.m/hr)

Input water Qty. from

Pond

(740 cu.m/hr)

5-20

5.4.4 Impact of inland mining on ground water conditions due to Saline Water

Intrusion

Bicarbonates and carbonate ions are abundant in ground water but Chloride generally

occurs in small amounts but is abundant in sea water. Salt water intrusion may be

identified by the relative concentrations of some of the characteristic ions of sea water

such as Cl-, Na and Mg. The Cl- / (CO32- + HCO3

-) ratio is recommended as a criterion to

evaluate salt water intrusion aspect. This ratio is considered to be indicative of ground

water contamination by sea water

Table 5.8: Range of Cl-/ (CO32- + HCO3- ) vs Saltwater contamination level

Range of Cl-

/(CO32- +

HCO3- )

Remarks with reference to salt

water contamination

Sample no’s

< 0.5 Normal

ground water

(no salt water contamination ) IRE-W2, IRE-W3,IRE-

W4,IRE-W6,IRE-W7, IRE-

W8, IRE-W9, IRE-W10,

IRE-W11, IRE-W13

0.5 - 1.30 Slightly contaminated ground water IRE-W1, IRE-W12

1.30 - 2.80 Moderately contaminated ground

water

2.80 - 6.60 Injuriously contaminated ground

water

6.60 - 15.50 Highly contaminated ground

water(near sea water)

IRE-W5

> 200.0 Sea water

Above cited results shows that the ground water in the study area is hard with

bicarbonate alkalinity. Since water samples showed Cl-/(CO32- + HCO3

- ) ratio ranging

from 0.99 to 176.4, brackish / salt water intrusion is not ruled out. The contamination

level in the water samples is from slightly contaminated and the water sample is highly

contaminated at one location.

5-21

5.4.5 Beach erosion in the buffer zone

Beach erosion is a major environmental and public issue in the area and indeed

throughout the Kerala coast. The shoreline of Kerala has been subjected to severe coastal

erosion in recent times. In the monsoons, two third of the shore line is vulnerable to

dynamic changes. The mining and removal of sand will, prima facie, have a negative

impact on the coastal topography. But there is no evidence to state that beach sand

mining is the primary cause of erosion in this area. Moreover, the dredging operation

will not lead to any erosion at any point of time and the project under consideration is

aimed at dredging operation only.

Coastal protection measures undertaken here include sea wall construction by the State

Government and IREL in its mining areas.

Mitigation measures proposed

To reclaim the shore in Block IV, it is proposed to construct Groyenes in the NK Block

IV EE area between Thazchakadavu (IREL Boundary) and the VT bus-stand. It covers a

distance of 700 meters. Four groyenes will be constructed in this stretch with a distance

of around 200 meters apart. The groyene on the southern side will have a length of 75

meters, and on the northern side will be of 40 meters. The groyenes in between will have

a length of 100 meters and 75 meters. The groyenes will be constructed through the

Irrigation department. The total cost is Rs. 10 crores.

5-22

Figure 5.7: Groynes proposed in the buffer zone

The figure 5.8 shows an example of formation of beach due to construction of groynes at

KayankulamPozhi.

Fig 5.8 Beach formation due to construction of groynes

5-23

5.5 Topography and Landuse

The Mining operations go in tandem with reclamation. About 85% of the raw sand will

be deposited back to the mining area and will be used for reclamation of the mined out

area. Original Topography of the beach sand mining area will change due to removal of

15% heavies. Since the land elevation is not more than 1 to 2.50 m above the high tide

line and also since water table is not more than 1 to 2.00m belowground level a small

change in topography will have significant impact. It is recommended that the back fill

and tailing alone be used to bring the land to the original elevation and to leave a part of

the area as shown in the EMP plan as wetland.

The mining and recovery of heavy mineral will eliminate the radioactive mineral

(monazite) present in the raw sand.

As the back filling is integrated into the mining process. Thus the excavated land will be

subsequently reclaimed and the ground surface of the reclaimed land will be brought

back to the contours matching with the surrounding topography. No temple or any

sensitive locations will be disturbed. The reclamation will improve the overall landscape

considerably in a phased manner by green belt development and ponds for water

conservation and ground water recharge, to improve the water quality / quantity. It will

also be a sustainable source for water, availing infiltration of water wherever feasible.

This area is not a forest and there are no historical monuments in the lease area or near it.

Overall landscape shall improve in a phased manner when greenbelt development,

plantation cover, mangrove afforestation, wetlands etc stretches subsequent to

backfilling.

5.6 Impact on Ecology

5.6.1 Fauna

Animals included in Schedule I of Wildlife Protection Act 1972 was not observed in the

study area. No endangered or endemic animals were also observed during the ecological

survey.

5.6.1.1 Flora

At present, no endangered species or threatened species or plants included in the

Schedule I of wild life protection act of 1972 was observed. There are no forest in the

5-24

core or buffer zone. There are no significant impact on the ecology due to the mining or

DWUP plant.

5.6.2 Impacts on soil and agriculture

The core zone soil is basically sandy soil. The mining will involve extraction of this

sandy soil, and dumping back the tailings in the mined out areas. Since the heavy mineral

extraction is a simple physical process, the sand which is dumped back will not differ

chemically from the pre-mining sand except that the heavy minerals are no longer

present. The physical changes which will occur will be minor and will have no lasting

impacts. Mining will involve cutting down of coconut trees leading to loss in coconut

production. These trees if required can be replaced by new saplings of improved variety

to improve the agricultural yield.

5.6.3 Socio Economic Impacts

The survey was conducted with the prime intention to know the effect of mining among

the people residing at the site as well as the people inhabited in the IREL Block IV EE

core and buffer zone. It is to be noted that the people residing in and around the site were

not evacuated and waiting for getting reasonable compensation as per the existing R&R

policy of the government and the company. There are more than 550 families residing in

the area and a sample of 300 families were selected and interviewed to get socio-

economic impact of mining and other needed information related to the objectives

mentioned in the study. Here, it is seen that most of the respondents are reluctant to

vacate on the presumption that the face value of the land has been increased to a large

extent.

In the proposed project, option for alternate mining site has little relevance since it is

mainly guided by the availability of mineral deposits. The local residents follow the

traditional job of fishing. The project is likely to bring about positive changes in life style

and quality of people located in the area, especially around the proposed blocks.

The socio-cultural scenario of the people is highly fabricated as there is no tussle among

the people and the religious group.

The following types of data were collected for the study

i. Documentary evidence mainly from published materials

ii. Interview data from the families in Mining Area and Buffer Zone

5-25

iii. Field notes by the researcher through observation and discussion with the

knowledgeable persons, local leaders, Local Self Government Officials

and other persons authentic in this area.

5.6.4 Socio economic impact mitigation suggestions:

After the commencement of the mining operation, the geography of the area has

drastically changed. The result is that the earning pattern of the people changed

significantly, which adversely affected their day-to day life. Hence the people migrated

to other places but few of them have become labourers in the sand mining firm (KMML

/IREL) and its allied activities. So support may be given by the company either by

providing employment to the members of the family who face eviction or other self-

employment programs have to be provided. This will necessarily reduce the anxiety and

resistance from the people.

2. It is a matter of the fact that the land acquisition dispute line with the court may be

settled at the earliest. This is possible by paying adequate and reasonable compensation

in line with more or less present market price to the people in the mining area.

3. Another major demand of the people is to return the land after the mining is over to

the concerned land owners with provision of resettlement at suitable places near to their

own land.

4. Regular medical checkup and provision of free medicines are of urgent need to reduce

the fear and anxiety of the people that cancer and other diseases are on the rise in the

mining area.

5. Educational facilities for at least primary and upper primary level may be established.

In addition to this adequate incentives for the student may also be provided.

6. The conveyance of the mined sand is done through trucks and should use the TS canal

for transporting the heavies. Another method is pumping for transporting the sand have

been suggested.

7. Regarding the drinking water problem, the present system of supply of potable water

is unsatisfactory to the level of the expectation of the people. Regular water supply is an

essential need. So effective water supply schemes have to be formulated and

implemented.

5-26

8. The fishing and agricultural activities are very scarce in the mining area. This reduced

their income drastically. So alternative income generating programs may be suggested

and implemented at the earliest.

9. The mining and mineral processing involves transportation activities for day-today

operation. This will fetch a substantial amount of money. So, as an alternative the project

authorities shall take steps to engage the local people for transportation by trucks or by

means of barges/ country boats. They can also employ the local people for loading and

unloading the concentrates. Employment should be given to the local in appropriate to

their qualification. A system of reservation of job or indirect employment may be

reserved for the project affected families.

10. The company shall provide training from time to time for improving the skills, agro-

techniques and first aid and safety to the inhabitants.

11. The company shall earmark a part of their profit for corporate social responsibility

12. IREL shall provide regular grant to neighbouring schools, hospitals and encourage

them for their upliftment.

12. The land owner who is interested in resettling in their own area may be given the

land free of cost at the backfilled areas.

13. Even though, a few numbers of families are already in the mining area, the mining

process of the company will not be affected in any manner. The company will provide

necessary precautionary measures to keep the people not to be affected with their

peaceful life and on health matters.

14. Proper infrastructure development like road development has to be taken into

consideration.

15. The environment pollution has to be reduced by taking proper action in this direction

5.7 Risk hazard

IREL has adopted a mining method that has minimum risks. The operations for beach

mining are conducted on the ground and it involves manual loading of heavy mineral

sands deposited by the wave action of the sea. Loading of sand on the trucks is done

semi mechanically. In inland mining, using DWUP the sand is dredged out from the

pond. The process does not involve drilling or blasting. The upgraded sand is transported

5-27

using trucks and the rejects are simultaneously refilled. The mining methods deployed in

IREL are predominantly wet process resulting in low dust emission.

5.8 Environmental radioactivity

The impact of mining project in terms of environmental radioactivity can only be

considered positive. The beach sand, rich in monazite deposits is the cause of anomalous

background radiation is mined and the beaches are refilled back through reclamation

with sands free of radiation. The mining activity will reduce the existing levels of

radiation and radioactivity. On the other hand it is expected to reduce the background

radiation level of the mined and refilled areas and thus the proposed action is expected to

have a net positive impact.

5.8.1 Recommendations to mitigate environmental risks

5.8.2 Post mining land use and reclamation

In general, mining in India is conducted in land that belongs to the Government. In the

present instance almost all the land that is used for mining is on lease. IREL proposed to

purchase the land for mining under the Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R) package.

• The DWUP will be setup at the mine lease and the concentrate will be transported to

the Mineral Separation Plant at Chavara.

SAFEGUARD MEASURES TO BE PROVIDED.

In dredge mining, the dredge works in an artificial pond and the sand is dredged out from

the pond. This will not pose any danger because the dredge is at a distance from any type

of structure. Any other method like drilling and blasting would have caused more

dangers to man power and nearby structures.

The operations are closely supervised by a team of competent personnel qualified to

perform these functions, by virtue of possessing the qualifications prescribed for the job

under Mines Act 1952. They include Mines foremen possessing statutory Mines

Foreman Certificate issued by Directorate General Of Mines Safety (DGMS), Assistant

Managers and Mines Managers with Mine Managers Certificate issued by DGMS.

Total number of persons holding Certificates of competency from DGMS is as below:

5-28

Table 5.9 Number of Persons Holding certificates of competency from DGMS

Manpower calculation for NK-IV EE, Ilmenite Mine

Sl. No. Operations No. of Persons required per day

Departmental

1 Mines Manager 1

2 Asst. Mines Manager & Mining Engineer 9

3 Geologist 1

4 Mines Foreman 3

Sub-total 14

5 Un Skilled (Female) 3

6 Un Skilled 15

5.9 Environmental Impacts

The study has observed the following.

1. Based on the measured reduced levels of 25 wells in the core and buffer zone area, the

flow of groundwater direction was predominantly towards south western and eastern

direction.

2. The well water samples from the buffer zone and core zone is within the permissible

limit (pH values in the range 6.5-8).

3. The highest contamination was found near the Panikkerkadavu bridge where the

anchoring location of boats and is under constant disturbance.

4. During operation stage, no wastewater is generated due to operation of the plant ie.

DWUP.

5. Coastal erosion is being observed in the buffer zone of the block although sea walls

are being laid a much more effective mitigation plan is needed.

6. Socio economic problems were observed people were complaining about water

scarcity, dust pollution, unemployment etc and the area is thickly populated.

5-29

5.9.1 Mitigation measures suggested

The present study proposes the following remedial measures

1. Coastal protection measures must be undertaken in the area. Coastal protection

measures against erosion are a major part of the environmental management measures

required in this area. The method of the construction of seawalls on regular basis by the

State Irrigation Department/IREL is already in practice.

2. To reclaim the shore in the buffer area of the minelease, it is proposed to construct

Groyenes in the NK Block IV EE area between Thazchakadavu (IREL Boundary) and

the VT bus-stand. It covers a distance of 700 meters. Four groyenes will be constructed

in this stretch with a distance of around 200 meters apart. The total cost is expected to be

Rs. 10 crores.

3. In addition the consultant recommends the construction of groynes in the 22 km

stretch between Kayamkulam and Neendakara. The construction of groynes can be made

at a spacing of 1.2km. The expenditure can be shared between IREL and KMML.

4. The option of putting up sandbars may be examined in lieu of groynes.

5. One possible environmental impact is the dust that could be raised during truck

transport of the ore and the rejects. To avoid dust generation, all haul roads are sprayed

with water. This will mitigate the dust in haul roads, method is to spray 35% CaCl2,

which is effective for mitigation of dust emissions in mines.

6. Inorder to eradicate the dust emission due to truck traffic, company is planning to

implement pumping of the heavies by laying pipe lines to MS plant from mining site, by

adopting this air pollution can be mitigated to a larger extent.

5.10 Evaluation by Battelle Environmental Evaluation System (BEES)

The first step in such a process is the identification of impacts that are likely to occur as a

result of this mining project i.e. scoping process. Environmental impact assessment

process begins by identifying the developmental and operational activities due to the

proposed activity at Allapad, Ayanivelikulangra and Panmana. The probable impacts on

the environment, community, economy etc are identified. Wherever possible,

interrelationship and combined effects are identified. The following proposed activity /

parameters have been identified for prediction of impacts due to the proposed expansion

of mining activity.

5-30

For this project 15 environmental parameters have been identified as the significant ones

for evaluation of impacts. Battelle Environmental Evaluation system (BEES) is the

methodology used for evaluation of impacts. The parameters have been assigned

parameter importance unit (PIU). The objective measurement of the environmental

qualities prior to and after the implementation of the project are then presented into a

subjective interpretation of Environmental quality based on a scale of 1.0 for good

quality and 0.0 for poor quality (EQ).

Environmental Impact unit (EIU) = (EQ) * (PIU)

Where, EIU= Environmental Impact Unit for the parameter

EQ = Environmental quality scale factor for the parameter

PIU= Parameter Importance units for the parameter

This method evaluates the expected future condition of the environmental quality both

“With” and “Without” the project. A difference in Environmental Impact Units (EIU)

between these two conditions constitutes either an adverse impact, which corresponds to

a loss in EIU or a beneficial impact, which corresponds to a gain in EIU. The identified

parameters have been classified into four major categories i.e. Environmental Pollution,

Ecological Environment, Aesthetics & Human Interest.

Table 5.10 : Checklist of anticipated impacts due to the proposed Project

Sl.no.

Proposed activity/Parameter

IMPACTS

Negative No

impact

Positive

1 AIR QUALITY

i) DWUP emissions **

ii) Fugitive emissions due to

loading / unloading / traffic

**

2 LAND Environment

Land cover **

Beach erosion **

Agriculture **

3 ECOLOGY

i) Terrestrial **

5-31

ii) Aquatic **

iii) Forestry **

iv) Wild life **

v) Fisheries **

4 WATER QUALILTY **

Lake area **

5 NOISE ENVIRONMENT **

6 SOCIO-ECONOMIC

i) Change in social status **

ii) Change in economic

status

**

iii)Employment generation **

iv) Traffic **

v) Medical facilities **

vi) Infrastructural facilities **

7 Radiation **

5.10.1 Environmental Pollution

No significant environmental pollution is anticipated during construction of DWUP

except traffic and fugitive emission due to transportation of DWUP components. During

operation phase the air emissions are expected though insignificant since it a wet based

process. Suitable control measures are suggested in the EMP to keep the dust emission

levels within the prevalent norms. No ground water is tapped.

Table 5.11: Environmental Pollution (450)

Paramete

rs

Weight

(PIU)

Existing

(EIU)

After project

EIU with

EMP

Change

in EIU

with

EMP

EIU

withou

t EMP

Change

in EIU

without

EMP

Water 100 20 40 20 25 -5

Air 200 160 160 0 40 -120

Noise 50 25 20 -5 13 -12

Landuse

pattern 100 40 50 +10 16 -24

Total 450 255 270 15 94 -161

5-32

Noise, air and water pollution shall be mitigated by curbing emissions at the source and

other management measures as suggested in EMP. In addition groins are proposed to

curtail sea erosion. To eliminate traffic related issues, the consultant recommends

transportation of mineral to Chavara plant through barges, country boats or by the means

of pumping.

5.10.2 Ecological

No rare or endangered species exists and species found here are found in other parts of

the core area and likewise, there is no National park or wildlife sanctuary in the core

area. The project site consists of loose unconsolidated sandy soil with sparse vegetation.

Mangroves are found to exist as per CRZ mapping. The dredged area will be filled by

DWUP rejects and well planned reclamation programme will ensure improved land use

pattern, improved crop yield, aesthetics and overall improvement.

5.10.3 Human interest

The following sections give the socio-economic impacts (on population growth, density,

aesthetics, standards of living, infrastructure etc.) likely as a result of the project.

During the mining phase, the following interpretations can be arrived at:

short - term as well as long term employment opportunities will be created during

construction and operation phase of the project;

improvement in socioeconomic status, communications and transportation sectors

is expected to occur;

local, long-term betterment of human welfare will take place;

Medical and drinking water supply facilities will improve.

Table 5.12: Human interest (400)

Parameters

Weight

(PIU)

Existing

(EIU)

After project

EIU

with

EMP

Change

in EIU

with

EMP

EIU

without

EMP

Change

in EIU

without

EMP

Economy output 60 18 30 12 18 0

Employment 70 21 42 21 21 0

5-33

5.10.4 Aesthetics

The development of green belt and wet land, construction of rip rap along the banks of

canal and enhancement of mangroves would augment diversity of vegetation and

aesthetics. The proposed project hence promotes overall positive impact aesthetically

converting the unplanned land into planned systematic plantation, added mangrove

forestation for improved aquatic ecology etc.

Table 5.13 : Aesthetics (150)

Parameters

Weight

(PIU)

Existing

(EIU)

After project

EIU

with

EMP

Change

in EIU

with

EMP

EIU

without

EMP

Change

in EIU

without

EMP

Topography 60 18 36 18 15 -3

Vegetation 90 30 58 28 23 -7

Total 150 48 94 46 38 -10

Human welfare

schemes

60 24 36 12 18 -6

Overall

development

80 24 36 12 24 0

Traffic 65 30 20 -10 13 -17

Radiation 65 13 45 32 26 13

TOTAL 400 130 209 79 120 -10

Table 5.14 : Summary of Evaluation of Impacts

Sl.no.

Category

Weight

(PIU)

Change in EIU

Without

EMP

With

EMP

1 Environmental

Pollution

450 -161 15

2 Aesthetics 150 -10 46

3 Human interest 400 -10 79

Total 1000 -181 140

5-34

5.10.5 Impact identification summary

Based on the above aspects, the observations in impact identification have been

summarized below for the proposed mining activity .Due to the use of state of art

technology in the mining process as well as pollution control equipment, the emission

levels will be within permissible limit. Due to the above, the air quality would not be

affected significantly. Health and welfare services are the major areas to experience

impact due to the additional employment potential and the resultant social and cultural

development.

5-35

Table 5.15: Impact identification matrix during operation Mining

Identification Matrix for

Operation Phase

P - permanent impact

T - Temporary impact

Environmental

parameters

DW

UP

Com

mis

sionin

g

Wat

er R

equir

emen

t

Eff

luen

t D

isch

arge

Gas

eous

Em

issi

ons

Fugit

ive

Em

issi

on

Soli

d W

aste

D

isposa

l

Raw

Mat

eria

l st

ora

ge

Raw

mat

eria

l H

andli

ng

Spil

ls a

nd L

eaks

Shut

dow

n/

Sta

rt o

ffs

Equip

men

t fa

ilure

Tra

ffic

Tra

nsp

ort

of

wo

rker

s

Movem

ent

of

veh

icle

s

Med

ical

and o

ther

nee

ds

Educa

tional

nee

ds

Rec

reat

ional

n

eeds

Imm

igra

tion

Pow

er nee

ds

Land use T P P P T T

River water Resources

GroundWater Resources p

Odour Problem

Air Quality T P P T T P T T

Solid Waste P

Noise T T T T T

Animal Life

Marine Ecology T P

National

Park/Forests/Sanctuary

Human Settlement T

5-36

Employment P P P P

Housing

Infrastructure P P

Culture P

P P

Water Supply P P

P

Power situation P P

P

Health facilities P T

R&R T P P P

Ecology T P P P

6-1

CHAPTER 6

ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING PROGRAMME

6.1 ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING PROGRAMME

Monitoring is essential to ensure that the mitigation measures planned for environmental

protection, function effectively during the entire period of the mining and reclamation. The

aim of the monitoring programme is to develop an "early warning" system of indicators to

detect when pollution begins to approach or exceed permitted levels.

However, changes external to the activity may at any future stage endanger environmental

conditions rendering the existing mitigation measures inadequate. Hence, the necessity of

remaining vigilant through a well planned and meticulously implemented environmental

monitoring programme becomes essential.

Such indicators can be categorized under three groups: physical, chemical and biological, as

applicable to each mode of pollutant transmission, viz. air, water, traffic, radiation, sea

erosion, and noise. Monitoring program will be followed till the mining operations continue;

every year as per the schedule given below:

6.2 METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATORY

A small automatic meteorological observation station to record daily continuous synoptic

data has to be setup. Wind speed data would help in making changes if required for

stabilisation of sand dunes & plantations. Arrangements for recording temperature, humidity,

wind direction, speed and rainfall would be required at the project site. The cost of the

instrument will be around Rs.20.00 lakhs and Rs.3.0 lakhs for annual maintenance. An

automatic wave height and direction recorder is suggested to generate data on coastal erosion.

As Blocks IV & IV EE are adjacent mine leases, the data generated for Block IV could be

used for these mine leases also.

Block IV EE is situated away from the coastal stretch in the inland area, the buffer zone area

extends to coastal stretch. The management measures suggested for Block IV could be

extended to this block also. The instruments procured can be utilized here too. However for

replacement and maintenance of instruments , a budget of Rs.16.00 lakhs and Rs.10.00 lakhs

has been kept.

6-2

6.3 TOPOGRAPHY

Periodic contour mapping of dunes and topography should be undertaken on a seasonal basis:

Pre-monsoon and Post monsoon period. An amount of Rs.10.0 lakhs is estimated per year.

An external agency can be engaged for this.

6.2.6 Greenbelt development

The green belt as per the environmental management plan is recommended. A provision of

Rs. 10.00 lakhs per year is estimated for development of green belt as suggested in the EMP.

Three locations in the estuarine portion are recommended for mangrove afforestation.

After mining only about 80% rejects is available for refilling. It is proposed to make up this

20% by dredging the sides of T.S canal and thereby canal widening for conversion to wetland

and lake. The ecology of these areas has to be monitored every year.

6.4 COASTAL PROTECTION

Monitoring of shoreline evaluation provides valuable data on the accretion and sediment

transport rates. As this is a specialized area, an external agency can be engaged for this. The

activities should include the following:

Regular photographic images from the same positions which will look at changes in

beach alignment, sand levels, and sand movement. Photographs are to be taken at regular

intervals and at high impact times especially during storms. Photographic monitoring is to be

done prior to commencement of any works being undertaken.

In addition, tides, beach slopes, winds, wave climate, current regime, and sand grain

sizes having mineral fractions are to be monitored once in every six months.

Monitoring on adjacent shorelines as well as those immediately within the Groynes

scheme.

Assessment to be carried out bi-annually to check the beach-dune evolution and the

success of the scheme relative to the objectives.

Construction of sea-walls and their maintenance on regular basis may be taken into

consideration.

6-3

An amount of Rs.40.00 lakhs is estimated per year for coastal protection.

The consultant recommends construction of groynes all along the 22.5 km stretch (i.e

between Kayamakulam Pozhi and Neendakara) at a spacing of 1.9 km with a length of

250m.The expenditure can be shared between IREL and KMML.

The coastal protection measures provided in block IV could suffix the requirements and no

separate budget is allocated except provision of Rs.10.00 lakhs for minor equipments /

replacements and maintenance.

6.5 WATER

6.5.1 Drinking water supply for the local people

At present IREL provides drinking water to locals as and when required based on the

demand. After completion of mining, refilling and providing rehabilitation IREL will provide

drinking water by laying pipe lines for rehabilitated colony. A provision of Rs.15.00 Lakhs

capital and Rs.5.00 lakhs for annual maintenance.

6.6 SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

The authorities should be in regular touch with people residing around the, Block IV EE to

support and monitor the various development schemes. IREL will also consider any emergent

requirements by the affected people. A provision of Rs.20 Lakhs per year is earmarked under

this head.

6.7 OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH & BIOLOGICAL MONITORING

Normal medical check-up for workers will be done. Pre medical examinations and periodical

medical examinations are being carried out by the company medical team headed by

company doctor. It is proposed to have a systematic program for medical check-up at regular

intervals for all workers. Biological monitoring to find out the effects of mining on the plants

also will be done. A provision of Rs.18.00 lakhs is estimated per year. This can be done in-

house or through engaging an external expert.

6.8 RADIATION SURVEY

The pre-operational radiological monitoring of the proposed mining was carried out by health

Physics unit (HPU) of IREL Udyogmandal along with HPU of IREL. An extensive radiation

survey of the area was carried out by Geiger Muller Tube detector integrated with GPS and

pocket size radiation survey meter. Measurements are recorded at 1 m above the ground

level. External Gamma radiation exposure, Soil sample analysis and water sample analysis

6-4

will be done for the area along with the IREL Block IV An amount of Rs 10 lakhs is

estimated as recurring expenditure.

6.9 GUIDELINES & TRAINING

The updated Environmental & safety regulations / norms and guidelines should be kept in the

possession of the Environmental Engineer and should be available for ready reference to

other employees. Budget provision for periodic training and provision for attending seminars

/ conferences related to environmental issues, updating of skills etc. should be made. A

provision of Rs.5.0 lakhs may be earmarked annually.

6.10 ORGANISATIONAL SET-UP & STAFF REQUIREMENT FOR POST -

PROJECT MONITORING

A separate Environmental Division shall be formed under the control of Head of the

department, Mining .The composition of this cell shall be from following disciplines:

- Environmental Engineer

- Occupational Health Engineer

- Industrial Safety Expert

This division would work full time for the maintenance and operation of pollution control

system, collection of meteorological data, monitoring of coastal erosion, management of

groynes, water quality, social impact assessment and R&R, occupational health & biological

monitoring, radiation exposure monitoring , disaster management, development of green belt

and maintenance of environment & safety equipment.

This set of personnel could comprise of officials belonging to maintenance, industrial safety

and waste management units. A provision of Rs 40.0 lakhs is earmarked per year. Minimum

number of personnel required to meet the responsibilities associated with the environmental

aspects is recommended below.

1. Environmental Engineer- (1 no)

2. Occupational Health Expert

3. Industrial Safety Officer

3. Horticulture Adviser (1 no - Consultant )

4. Technical Officer ( Lab) – (3 nos)

6-5

The engineers and supporting staff appointed for block IV could be utilized for this blocks

also. However an additional budget of Rs.10.00 lakhs is provided for extra manpower and

they can be taken on daily wages or contract,

Local people for casual labor could also be engaged. In addition to this a separate

environmental monitoring committee (EMC) will be organized comprising senior officers,

external experts, a citizen of the local area, and representative of the LSG to ensure

implementation of recommendations as per the EMP. This committee shall meet once in six

months.

Table 6.1: Recommended composition of the EMC

Job Description Designation

Managing Director or his nominee or the unit head Chairman

General Manager (HOD mining) Member

Environmental Engineer Convener

Health & Safety Officer Member

External Expert Member

Representative from Government Member

Representative from local people Member

6-6

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT CELL

UNIT HEAD

MANAGER (OPERATIONS) / HOD MINING

ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT CELL

TECHNICAL

ASSISTANT

ENVIRONMENTAL

ENGINEER

COLLECTION AND

ANALYSIS OF SAPMLES

FOR AIR QUALITY, WATER

AND WASTEWATER NOICE

AND SOIL MONITORING

OCCUPATIONAL

HEALTH EXPERT

TECHNICAL

ASSISTANT

COLLECTION OF DATA

ON RADIATION AND

PUBLIC HEALTH,

MONITORING OF

RADIATION LEVELS

INDUSTRIAL SAFETY

EXPERT

TECHNICAL

ASSISTANT

MAINTENANCE OF

SAFETY EQUIPMENTS &

PERSONAL SAFETY

MONITORING

6-7

6.12 COST ESTIMATES

An amount of Rs.150.5 lakhs will be required for post-project monitoring which includes the

capital expenditure of about 34 lakhs and the recurring of about Rs. 116.5 lakhs / year. The

details are given in table 6.2.

Table 6.2 : Cost estimate for Environmental monitoring programme

Sl no. Parameters Cost in Lakhs

Capital Recurring Total

1 Meteorology including

wave monitoring

16.00 10.00 26.00

2 Topography - 10.00 10.00

3 Coastal Protection - 10.00 10.00

4 Water 15.00 5.00 20.00

5 Ecological Survey - 5.00 5.00

6 Mangrove and wetland

development

15.00 - 15.00

7 Green belt

development

10.00 10.00

8 Occupational Health &

Biological Monitoring

- 18.00 18.00

9 Radiation Survey - 10.00 10.00

10 Organisation Setup

including salary (Only

for additional man

power)

- 10.00 10.00

11 Training and meeting

etc of the

organizational Setup.

5.00 5.00

12 Socio-economic

development schemes

20.00 20.00

Total 46.00 113.00 159.00

7-1

CHAPTER 7

ADDITIONAL STUDIES

The following additional studies have been conducted as part of the EIA report.

CRZ Report prepared by NCESS Trivandrum.

Mine-plan constituting Risk assessment and Mine closure plan.

Hydrogeology Study for NK block IV EE

8-1

CHAPTER- 8

PROJECT BENEFITS

1. Block-IV EE with a total mine lease area of 180 Ha. The area has been prospected and

the average thickness of the deposit is seen to be 7.7 meters. The mineable reserve of

sand containing ilmenite, rutile, zircon, Sillimanite and leucoxene is about 6.02 MT as of

1/04/2016.The area available for inland mining in Block IVEE as per current land use is

will be 162.5 Ha (undisturbed area + inhabited area).The life of mining is restricted upto

30 years.

2. The IREL proposal is for Mining of heavy mineral sand in Alappad, Panmana and

Ayanivelikulangara villages in Karunagapally Taluk, Kollam district for an area of 180

Ha, in the Eastern Extension of NK Block IV.

3. Geological reserve in Block-IVEE is worked out to be 6.025 Million Tons on the basis of

the geological details.

4. About 45 acres plots of land are under the possession of IREL.

5. The heavy mineral sand deposits of the coastal stretch of Kollam district are one of the

richest in the world. These sands contain Illmenite, sillimanite, rutile, leucoxene, zircon

and the highly radioactive monazite which were being mined and separated by the IREL/

KMML during the last decade and value added by IREL during the last thirty years.

6. This heavy rare earths in economic proportion is available only in this stretch of Kerala

starting from Neendakara to Kayamkulam.

7. This is the only deposit on the Indian coast having heavy mineral contents ranging as

high as 60 to 70 % renowned as world class deposit

8. The deposits has been divided into two major parts viz. (1) The Beach zone (consists of

beach-front and mid-zone) (2) Inland zone .As per the AMD report, the economically

valuable minerals occur dominantly in the beach zone with width 122 to 183 m. The

evidence indicates that the reserves and highest grade occur in this zone and economic

grade occur up to about 8 m above clay bottom. It is reported that the beach is subject to

intermittent marine erosion and replenishment of heavy mineral takes place from

abundant off-shore and submarine deposits.

8-2

9. Nearest Railway Station: Karunagapally (6 km), Nearest Airport: Thiruvananthapuram,

International Airport (110 km), NH 66 is about 3.45 km from the project site

10. IREL plant situated approximately at a distance of 15 km from the lease.

11. Monazite (a radioactive mineral) rich fraction separated in the Mineral Separation Plant is

stocked as per the procedure approved by Atomic Energy Regulatory Board in the Plant

premises.

12. IREL is one of the reputed and one of the most important production and export centers

of rare minerals and its value added product in the world. IREL helps in generating

revenue to the government.

13. The company gives top priority in employing the local people and also in suitably

compensating the people whose lands were/are acquired by IREL.

14. Mining sites are being regularly inspected by the statutory officials from the directorates

of Dept. of Atomic Energy/ Director General of Mines Safety, Atomic Energy

Regulatory Board, Indian Bureau of Mines, etc. for ensuring the implementation of the

statutes.

15. A number of social welfare schemes are envisaged and executed taking into consideration

the needs and aspirations of the local people. The main objective of CSR and

sustainability policy is to lay down guidelines for the company to make CSR a key

business process for substantial development for the society and environment with a

balanced emphasis on all aspects of CSR and Sustainability – equally with regard to its

internal operations, activities and processes, as well as in their response to externalities.

CSR and Sustainability activity is applicable equally to all stakeholders including

employees.

Some of such welfare measures being carried out for local people are listed below:

Drinking water distribution to the resettlement colony

Free medical camp at Vellanathuruthu

Construction of toilets under Swatch Bharath Vidyalya

Fishing Shelter in Pandarathuruthu

8-3

Contribution to mining welfare board.

Figure 8.1 CSR activities of IREL

9-1

CHAPTER 9

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN

9.1 General

The aim of the environmental management plan (EMP) is to maintain ecological

balance and check harmful effect due to the inland mining mining. It ensures

integration of environmental control measures into the process of mine planning. The

Environmental Monitoring Programme detailed in chapter 6 includes institutional set-up

for effective implementation of environmental management activities.

Many of the areas of environmental management planning require

multidisciplinary approach. Therefore the measures envisaged in the report are to be

regarded as guidelines and continued advice is proposed to be taken from experts of

relevant fields like environmental pollution, meteorology, coastal management,

hydrology, mine planning, ecology, soil chemistry, socio-economics, radiation,

rehabilitation & resettlement etc. The suggested schemes are to be detailed and if

necessary, be modified from time to time to meet statutory requirements. The changes

warranted as per site specific conditions are to be accounted for, during actual

implementation. Further, in the light of experience likely to be gained during the initial

years of operation, proposed schemes may require periodic modification/updating.

In this chapter all technical, biological and socioeconomic control measures have

been envisaged. In the present project, the total environmental management plan for the

proposed 180 ha mining project can be divided into the following categories:

Air Environment;

Water Environment;

Solid Waste Disposal;

Noise Environment

Land Environment

Green belt development.

9-2

9.2 Air Environment

Existing level of air pollution in the proposed core zone area is far below the

permissible limits (National Ambient Air quality norms). The dredge is electric driven

and therefore has no gas or dust emissions. The only source of air pollution is emissions

during road transportation of heavies from mine to Mineral Seperation Plant at Chavara

which is about 15.4 km from the 180 Ha mine lease (north west end).No spills or

emissions are expected from the loaded heavies as they are covered and transported in

moist form.

Air pollution can be totally avoided by using water transport through the TS

Canal. The suggested method is the use of country boats which are the most

environmentally friendly and having a very positive socio-economic impact. The

consultants recommends to undertake a field trial to work out the economics.

A field trial was undertaken by IREL to transport the material by boat on

05.10.2009 to check the depth and other obstruction in the canal water way. The material

was loaded at the project site in jumbo bags of 1 tonne capacity onto the boat. However,

on arrival of the boat at the plant site, the locals ( about 60 persons) objected to the

unloading of the materials from the boat raising unrealistic demands.

Presently the IWAI is in the process of capital dredging of the channel (NW3) to

provide two lane channel with planned width of 32 meters remains to be done in 3.00

km. This length of 3K.m’s is spread over two locations 1.00 km in Kayamkulam Kayal

requiring0.50 Lakh cu m. of dredging, which can be taken up with departmentaldredgers

after removal of fishing nets by State Govt.; and 2.00 km requiring1.47 Lakh cu m.

dredging including widening near Chavara. For completingthe work in Chavara area,

work has been awarded and the agency aftermobilizing at site, has commenced the work

since February, 2016. 0.11 lakhcu m. dredging in Kayamkulam Lake and 0.25 lakh cu m.

dredging in Chavara area has been completed with planned width of 32 meters remains

to be done in 3.00 km.

Another option to be considered is the use of two separate roads for truck

movement. The current path will be used as an empty truck route and another path has

been identified passing through S.V market road which will reach NH66, this route will

be used for loaded trucks. The alternate route was having a width of 615cm while village

9-3

road was having only 530cm.All roads are tarred roads, but road widening is necessary

in those areas of truck movement as this will minimize the dust emissions to a great

extent. The existing roads should be widened, resurfaced and should be maintained in

good condition. (Reff fig: 5.3 in chapter 5)

However if road transport is to be persisted with, the following measures are

recommended to reduce pollution.

The existing roads should be widened, resurfaced and in good condition. Trees

should be planted on sides.

Ensuring transport equipment to be leak-proof. Vehicles transporting the minerals

shall be provided with tarpaulin cover

Provision of water trough at the exits of roads for tyre washing. This is specially

recommended at the exit of Chavara factory, for the return vehicles.

Good preventive maintenance schedule for equipments & vehicles

Supply of face masks to workers and staff to prevent dust inhalation

Overloading of transport equipment shall be prevented.

Gaseous pollutants in the exhaust fumes generated by the dozers and other

machinery shall be minimized by ensuring vigorous maintenance and stringent

overhaul schedules. The repair workshop and maintenance garage should be

equipped with all necessary facilities.

As an alternate method of transportation of materials from Block IVEE to Chavara

plant against the present method of transportation using contract tippers, pumping of the

spiral concentrate is proposed. It will be done by 7 stage pumping at a rate of 65 tph.

Three pumps will be located in the IREL's own lease area and 4 pumps in the KMML

lease hold areas. Power supply is to be sourced from the proposed dedicate feeder from

Chavara sub station to Block IV area. The total estimated cost of the project is Rs.500

lakhs.

The pumping system is designed for pumping 65 tph solids having specific gravity of

4.0 and the solid concentration of 26 %. The total volume of the slurry pumped is 201

cu.m /hr and the total head of the system is 315 meters. The pumps are located at 750

mts apart. The discharge of the first pump will be connected to the suction of the second

pump and so on. The pipe line will be 160 mm HDPE pipe of PNPE80 grade. The lines

9-4

will be laid along the TS canal side and also through the KMML mining area depending

upon the terrain available for laying the pipes. The maximum working pressure in the

pipe line will be 5.5 bar.

9.3 Water Environment and coastal zone management

The existing and proposed core zone is a part of narrow strip of land between sea

and T.S. canal/Kayakulam Kayal. The soil is mostly sandy. The area receives heavy to

very heavy rainfall during the south west monsoon.

In addition, DWUP (Dredge and Wet Upgrading Plant) which is proposed to be

used at 180 ha ML area has a capacity of 125 t / h (15-16 hrs operation per day). The

manpower requirement is 8 operators and 3 engineers. The total manpower envisaged

including unskilled, clerk, electrician will be 18 nos.

During operation stage, no wastewater is generated due to operation of the plant.

The quantity of wastewater generated from domestic source is about 2.4 m3/day. It is

proposed to utilize the already existing toilet blocks with septic tanks/ soak pit

arrangement at Vellanathuruthu IRE site office.

Coastal protection measures against erosion are a major part of the environmental

management measures required in this area.The method of the construction of seawalls

on regular basis by the State Irrigation Department/IREL is already in practice.It is

recommended that sea walls may be substituted by groyns, which comes under the

purview of State Harbour Engineering Department. IRE can defray part of the

expenditure in the construction of groynes. The company is now planning certain steps to

recover the land lost to the sea. To reclaim the shore in Block IV EE and Block IV, it is

proposed to construct Groyenes in the NK Block IV EE area between Thazchakadavu

(IREL Boundary) and the VT bus-stand.It covers a distance of 700 meters. Four

groyenes will be constructed in this stretch with a distance of around 200 meters apart.

The groyene on the southern side will have a length of 75 meters, and on the northern

side will be of 40 meters. The groyenes in between will have a length of 100 meters and

75 meters. The groyenes will be constructed through the Irrigation department of Kerala

Government. The total cost is expected to be Rs. 10 crores.

Figure 9.1 shows EMP of the proposed ML area after mining. As per this plan, in

the post mining scenerio the land earmarked for proposed, conversion to wet land will be

9-5

3.52 ha, green belt: 5.82 ha, Mangrove afforestation: 2.73 ha and mixed plantation: 130

ha.

9.4 Solid waste management

There are no solid wastes generated during the mining operation.During dredging

of canal and backwater, the dredged mud in the upper layers of sediment are likely to be

anaerobic and foul smelling.It should be disposed off at a site where it does not cause

odour nuisance.Disposal into sea may be considered as an option that is preferable to

land disposal.

In-house control measures should be adopted.These could be avoidance of

spillage of any material either solid or liquid and wherever possible, solid wastes should

be handled in a dry state in order to reduce water pollution. On commissioning of the

mining activity there will be an increase of 46 numbers of trips. The trucks shall be

properly covered to avoid spillage of raw material when transversed from mining

location to factory site.

NIIST has worked out a lab scale experiment for recovery of sand for

construction purpose as there is acute shortage of construction sand in the state. However

this may not be feasible as reject sand is required for refilling the mined out area.

The entire raw mineral sand mined from the inland mining areas is transported to

the HUP through tippers. The tailing/waste generated at the HUP (mostly consisting of

quartz in its native state) is used for back filling of inland mined out areas to bring the

land profile to the near original topography. The mined out inland areas near to sea are

back filled with an elevated height followed by plantation activities.

From all the mine leases the total raw sand quantity will be about 13,70,150 tonne

per annum, of which, the raw mineral sand contribution from 180.00.0Ha ML area alone

will be 7,50,000 tonne. Around 12lakh tonnes of tailing will be produced by feeding the

13.7 lakh tonne of raw sand throughput. These tailing will be utilized for back filling in a

scientific manner in the inland mined out areas. Tailings production annually from

180Ha ML area will be around 6.0 –6.6lakh ton from 7.50lakh ton of ROM and this

tailing will be used for back filling.

Mining activity in the inland deposits are carried out with simultaneous

back filling of mined out areas and hence it is an eco-friendly mining operation.

9-6

The closure plans were reviewed for adequacy. It is seen that the material for

refilling will be the tailings from Inland mining and from BWC in other areas. The

quantity has been estimated on the basis of available geological information. This

material will be generally sufficient for refilling the mined out voids. Refilling of the

mined out area will address all the environmental concerns.

9.5 Noise Environment

Noise pollution like air and water pollution can be mitigated by controlling the

pollution source, curbing emissions at source and utilizing the land around them to

reduce its impact. However, unlike air and water pollution, noise does not accumulate

but dissipates within a short time and distance from its point of generation. The approach

to mitigation of noise levels therefore are: (1) mitigate noise at source (2) reduce noise

level at specific receiving points.

In order to predict the impact of noise generated due to the proposed DWUP, a

systematic survey of the ambient noise levels existing in a similar plant of IRE was

conducted. The overall impact was predicted and calculated using hemispherical model

for sound wave propagation. The predicted values showed the noise levels were

subsequently low comparing with the source noise level when the noise is reaching a

distance of 100m, Reffer table no.5.4 in chapter no.5

The predicted values were compared with actual measurement at IRE site.The

noise level at dredge was about 70 db.Noise levels were measured at various distance on

four sides and the average value is presented in figure 5.5 of chapter no.5. As seen from

the graph, the noise due to dredge operation fades off at less than 50 meters. Nearest

habitation is beyond 100m distance. Hence, there is no need for noise control measures.

The predicted values are comparable with the actual field measurements (ground

truthing) .Traffic noise from trucks is a nuisance for which there are no simple control

measures. If transportation of mined heavies by waterways, preferably by country boats

or by pumping is adopted, there will be no further traffic noise. However, exposure of

workers at dredge ( 70 db) needs to be minimized.This could be achieved by :

job rotation

automation

protection devices and

9-7

sound proof control rooms.

9.6 Land Environment

The area proposed for Mining in the 01-05 years is in the South-Western part of

the lease. The mine will be operated as a mechanized mine with a dredge. The dredge

will be working in a pool which will advance with the mining operation of the dredge.

The rejects from DWUP will be used for refilling the pool. The heavies will be

mechanically / manually loaded into trippers for transport to Chavara Plant. The pond

will progress by the cutting action of the dredge.Figure-2.5 in chapter 2 gives the typical

dredge operation which will be followed at the 180 ha ML area.

The surface road is black topped upto Vellanathuruthu health centre which helps

to a large extent in avoiding fugitive dust.A new road is under construction from health

centre to site office. Adequate provisions should be made for the timely repair of the

roads by IRE. A good road would also reduce HC, NOx and CO emissions from the

vehicles also. Extraneous materials and objects should be removed from the site and the

ground surface maintained up to its original level.

One major problem anticipated in this project is the traffic congestion at

panchayat road connecting Pannikkarkadavu bridge to mine site and also in the PWD

road connecting NH 47 to Pannikkarkadavu bridge. The width of the road is very less

and it is not possible to widen it as there are many houses and establishments close to the

road. Frequent traffic blocks are experienced in this route which is partially due to

tippers transporting mineral concentrate from the mine lease.The deterioration of the

roads may be reduced by use of rubberized or plastic mixed bitumen.The traffic block is

very intense during the various temple festivals.

Frequent road accidents are reported in this area. It should be ensured that the

speed limit is 30km/h along the road connecting Pannikkarkadavu bridge to mine site.

Alternatively, the consultant suggests that IRE should develop a system in future

for transportation of heavies through waterways or pumping.The distance from 180 ha

mine lease area to existing IRE plant is only 6.85 km by T.S canal as compared to 15.4

kms by road (figure-5.5). Figure-5.6 gives the inland canal distance to Chavara IRE

plant. Transportation via country boats could provide job to the fishermen.

9-8

The proposed site is not part of any national park, wildlife sanctuary, natural

reserve or biosphere reserve.No forest land too is being encroached. Hence, no

compensatory afforestation is required.

9.6.1 Land use planning

Back filling is integrated into the mining process.Backfilling has to be carried out

to original elevation, considering that the land is only a few meters above the high tide

level and the water table. Backfilling should also be carried out with sand alone in order

to preserve the ecology of the area. Since sand for backfilling to original elevation, will

leave some area unfilled, the extent of water body and wetland will increase. The

wetland will be planted with mangrove. The widening of the TS canal in the post mining

phase will also increase the water body extent. All these measures will result in a net

improvement of the land environment.

9.6.2 Water Transport

Water transport is an effective solution to the present road congestion observed in the

study area extending from the present Mine Lease area to Chavara plant. Main

advantages are:

No environmental pollution (zero contribution to air,water,noise pollution)

Provide job to the locals

Re-deployment of the displaced fishermen folk.

Less time for transportation due to less distance

Proximity to waterways

The main infrastructure – the waterways - NW3 – is available adjacent to ML

area and stretches upto IRE plant and this can be advantageously made use of

avoiding heavy traffic .

Thus consultant recommends country boats/barge on environmental and socio-economic

grounds. The loading and unloading of mineral heavies from country boats has to be

worked out. This equipment may be customed designed. The local fishermen societies or

the local panchayat may be engaged to provide the transport services. Another option for

loading and unloading is to have bins or 1t FIBC bags that can be loaded on and

unloaded from the country boat using cranes.

9-9

West Coast canal system in Kerala is one of the currently designated National

Waterways in the country as indicated in table 9.1. The potential for this mode of

transport has been unquestioned over the years and it forms a significant fraction of

goods movement.. In Germany IWT constitute 20% [WB, 2005] and in Bangladesh it is

32% [Rahman Mushfequr, 1994]. However, in India, it is very meager (0.15%).

[Raghuram G, 2004] of the overall transport movement.

Table 9.1: National Waterways of India

Sl.

No

National Waterway Location

1 NW-1 Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly -

Allahabad to Haldia

2

NW-2

Brahmaputra system in Assam

3

NW-3

West Coast canal system in Kerala

IREL had explored the possibility of adopting the water transport method in 2006. A

Public Tendering was done in this respect in the year 2006. The L1(Lowest Party) quoted

rate was Rs 246/- per ton against the prevailing rate of Rs 158.85/- per ton which reveals

that the water transport rate was 55% higher than the Road Transportation cost. In

addition to this the unloading cost from the barge and its subsequent transportation to the

stack yard is also to be taken in to consideration to arrive at the final end cost.However

consdering traffic conjestion in the existing road, availability of canal adjacent to the ML

area , shorter distance to plant via water transport and provision of local employment to

fishermen community a trail run using water transport to arrive at the feasibility is

recommended.

Further, the increase of forty six trips to the existing traffic due to the capacity expansion

to 7,50,000 will not cause any significant impact (Refer 5.2.2 in chapter 5).

9-10

9.7 Greenbelt Development

Tree cover is not a significant issue in this project unlike in other mining projects.

The area is clear of natural vegetation that grows sparsely on nutrient poor sand. No sand

dunes are found in this project area and coconut plantations are found available here. An

important environmental issue of the coastal regions of Kerala is the loss of sand dunes

due to conversion to farmland. Hence, this project offers opportunity to restore sandy

expanses and natural vegetation, if replanting is avoided. White sandy expanses have

high aesthetic and tourism value and provides alternate livelihood instead of non-

remunerative.

Mangroves are recommended to be developed in area contiguous to Vattakayal.

These measures, if implemented will be an environmentally better option in this area

than traditional greenbelt and tree cover. Green belt is reccommended on the eastern part

of the ML area. Figure 9.1 gives the environmental Management Plan for the lease area.

Inland Waterways Authority is in the process of deepening and widening of the TS canal

as part of canal improvement programme.About 80% rejects is available for refilling and

to compensate for 20% heavies, the consultants recommend conversion of a part of ML

area to wet land and widening of TS canal. The management plan is formulated in line

with CRZ norms (Figure 9.1).

9.8 Occupational safety and health

Occupational safety and health is very closely related to productivity and good

employer-employee relationship. The main factors of occupational health in

Chavara Beach sand project are noise and radiation. Safety of employees during

operation and maintenance etc shall be as per mines rules and regulations. To

avoid any adverse effects on the health of workers due to various pollutants,

sufficient measures have already been addressed in this chapter. The following

measures relating to safety and health which are practised in Chavara project

shall be continued in proposed 180ha expansion programme also:

Provision of rest shelters for mine workers with amenities like drinking water

All safety measures like use of safety appliances, safety awards, posters, slogans

related to safety etc.

9-11

Training of employees for use of safety appliances and first aid.

Regular maintenance and testing of all equipment as per manufacturers’

guidelines.

Periodical Medical Examination (PME) of all workers by a medical specialist so

that any adverse effect may be detected in its early stage.

9.9 Socio-economic measures

9.9.1 Measures for project Affected People (Rehabilitation and Resettlement)

The R & R scheme has been formulated after tripartite discussion between district

administration, affected people and project authorities. The scheme has been approved

by district authorities. The following have been decided about the scheme.

1. Basic land value shall be fixed by revenue authorities.

2. Value of trees, buildings and other structures shall be added to the above to obtain

market value. The market value obtained (by adding to the basic land value of

structures, trees and other improvements) will be enhanced to obtain the

compensation price. Over and above the following rehabilitation benefits and

shifting/good will charges will be provided.

3. A list of evictees will be maintained to provide employment on priority basis

wherever there is an opportunity.

9.9.2 Measures for fishermen community

The local fishermen shall be engaged in transporting the mineral heavies from 180 ha

ML area to Chavara IRE plant. Substantial amount of revenue as well as employment

can be generated for the local fishermen community.

The local fishermen could be associated to monitor ecology of the area as well as for

planting of mangroves/trees.

Increased fishing activity due to better approach to sea face as well as improved

inland fisheries due to more mangroves productive area.

Conversion of non-productive area into a tourist white sand natural ecological area

with sand dunes, management measures against sea erosion, Back water bank

protection using Rip Rap, increased income from TS canal.

9-12

Provisision of four groins in Block IV mine lease would enhance the formation of

beach and also protect the inhabition from the hazards of sea eraosion.

9.9.3 General Measures (for people, in general, of the region)

Mining and mineral processing involve transportation activity for day to day

operation. Substantial amount of revenue is expected to be generated by

transportation activities along with employment e.g. labour, helper etc. Project

authorities shall engage (on contract) the local people for transportation or at least

can arrange for loading and unloading heavies/tailings by local people.

In case of direct manpower required for mining and mineral processing operations,

local people shall be employed as much as possible especially in the categories of

unskilled and semi skilled labours subject to rules and procedures in vogue for

PSU’s.

A section of local youth shall be trained in phases so that they can take up some jobs

(mining contractorship, building contractorship, supply of mining/MSP materials and

also small scale rural business developments) of their own (self employment) or in

mines (on contract basis) or elsewhere.

IRE shall provide training from time to time for improved agrotechniques, first aid

and safety, adult literacy programme to the villagers.

IRE shall provide regular grant to neighboring schools and constant encouragement

for cultural activities in local villages.

9-13

9.10 Radiation aspects

The pre operational radiological monitoring of the proposed mining area at

Vellanathuruthu region was carried out by Health Physics Unit (HPU) of IREL

Udyogamandal along with HPU of IREL, Manavalakurichi.Post project radiological

survey will be carried out in similar manner.This radiation studies will help to analyse

the overall reduction in radiaoactivity by mining in the project site.

9-14

Figure 9.1: Environmental Management Plan IRE – 180 ha ML area

9-15

Figure 9.2 : Demarcation of HTL, LTL and CRZ

CHAPTER 10

SUMMARY & CONCLUSION

1. IREL proposes to mine NK Block IVEE, Karunagapally having a mine lease area 180 Ha by

inland mining by using Dredge Wet Upgradation Plant (DWUP). The company has already

accorded EC & CRZ clearance for mining of 2,37,150 TPA . Now as per the request of the

public for return of the land at the earliest, the company propose for enhancement of mining

from 2,37,150 TPA to 7,50,000 TPA. The reserves of mineable deposit based on prospecting

by AMD is around 6.02 MT.

2. IREL has appointed CSIR - NIIST, a NABET Accredited Govt.of India Category-A EIA

consultant organisation, Thiruvananthapuram, to evaluate the environmental aspects and their

possible associated impacts that would arise due to the proposed heavy mineral sand mining

and to work out mitigation measures to prevent/ minimize/ control the adverse environmental

impacts envisaged from the proposed mining. CSIR-NIIST has carried out the studies as per

the TOR during the period of 2015-2017.

3. IREL has obtained surface rights of 45 acres of land, which is sufficient for the first five

years. The company is in the process of acquiring the remaining land on lease.

4. The method of mining is open cast inland mining or by using dredge or excavators.. Inland

mining will be done by using dredge. The dredge has a working length of 30 meters and

width of 14m. The separation is through physical process and no chemicals are used. The

semi mechanized mining includes refilling of mined area using tailings from pre

concentration plant and mineral separation plant.

5. After studying the proposed project and its activities the consultant along with the approved

empanelled experts has generated baseline data of the core and buffer zone. This includes

analysis of air, soil, water, noise, traffic, hydrology, geology, ecology, and socio economic

parameters. Envirodesigns Eco Labs Ernakulum an NABL/MoEF accredited laboratory is

10-1

also associated for generation of primary data. The significant aspects include dust emissions

due to traffic movement, increase in traffic and social impact assessment

6. The present air quality has been monitored and the results for PM 10, SO2, NOx shows these

parameters are under the limit prescribed by CPCB. Noise quality of the environment has

also been evaluated and the result shows that all the values were within the limits.

7. Various impact models include Envitrans Fugitive Dust Modelling Pro for air quality

modelling, hemispherical model equations for noise modelling and GIS applications for

landuse are depicted for prediction of impacts due to mining and related activities. PM10

concentration might increase in future during the full-fledged mining operations. This can be

remedied by adapting the EMP measures suggested in the report.

8. Due to the full-fledged mining activities, there will be additional truck movement of 46 trips.

This will increase the traffic congestion and risk associated in the panchayat road connecting

the mine lease with the NH. For the control of traffic, an alternate traffic management plan

for carrying the minerals to the Chavara IREL plant has been suggested.

9. The consultant recommends the use of TS Canal (NW3) which is adjacent to mine lease for

transportation of the concentrate to IREL plant instead of the pathway presently used. IREL

may explore this option of Water transportation, which could reduce the dust emission due to

increase in trucks and minimize overstraining of the existing pathway. As an alternative. the

pumping of mineral concentrate using piping conduits is also recommended.

10. The surface and ground water characteristics have been established through field

monitoring data at 13 locations generated during the study with respect to physicochemical

characteristics and pollutant levels and the same has been compared with quality criteria for

drinking water. The results showed limited increase in the water quality parameters above the

prescribed limit. The Ground water contour map generated indicates that the flow/movement

of water is predominantly towards South West and to the eastern side of the lease. Various

remedial measures for overcoming this problem has been suggested in Environmental

Management Plan chapter.

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11. Socio economic aspects has been studied by an independent NGO group called SISSR. This

aspects has been carefully analysed by considering all social impact elements and the survey

indicates that people are partially losing their traditional jobs due to mining. Some reported

that the company is not offering the right value for their property and it is difficult to

purchase land elsewhere with the lesser amount given by the company. The consultant

suggests measures for improving the socio economic aspects of the people in core and buffer

zone. This involves the formulation of a well acceptable R&R policy, supply of drinking

water and providing direct / indirect jobs to locals. However IREL has a long history in

attending the problem by way of providing potable water to surrounding locality and by

giving preferential chance to the locals for employment.

12. The consultant has developed an effective Environmental Management Plan for mitigating

the impacts observed in all respective environmental field relevant to this project. For dust

suppression remedial measures like usage of alternate road /water way/road widening /

pumping of concentrate was suggested. For suppressing of dust on the roads, the consultant

suggests the use of 35% calcium chloride (dust suppressants) on the haul roads between mine

lease and the panchayat road. Construction of Groins are suggested to mitigate sea erosion.

13. As a management measure NIIST suggests the formulation mangrove afforestation for an

area about 2.17 Ha. In the current project there is limited scope for development of green belt

as the company is proposing to return back the land to owners after mining.

14. Additional studies conducted includes marine ecological survey, detailed hydrological

studies, and mining issues of open cast mining of Block –IVEE prepared by a Mining

engineer.

15. Implementation of a post project monitoring with the cost estimation is suggested in the

report. Post Project Monitoring will help to understand whether the mitigation measures

suggested are effective to control the impacts. An amount of Rs. 159 lakhs is estimated for

post project monitoring which include capital and recurring expenditure.

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11-1

CHAPTER 11

DISCLOSURE OF CONSULTANTS 11NAME OF THE CONSULTANTS:

11.1 CSIR-NIIST: The National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology

(NIIST), Thiruvananthapuram, is a constituent Laboratory of the Council of Scientific and

Industrial Research(CSIR).Initially established in 1975 as a CSIR Complex ,it was named as

the Regional Research Laboratory in 1978 and later renamed as NIIST in 2007.Its mandate is

to conduct research and development activities of the highest quality in areas related to

effective utilization of resources of the region and of fundamental importance to the country.

Currently NIIST is engaged in R & D programmes in areas related to Agroprocessing,

Chemical Sciences ,Materials Science and Technology, Biotechnology, Process Engineering

and Environmental Technology. The institute has established state-of-the- art facilities for

conducting advanced research in the areas of interest .Pilot plant facilities for research

training and process/product development in the areas of spices and oilseeds have been

established. The institute has also been playing a significant role in Human Resource

Development by training post graduate/graduate students, with over 252 Ph.D degrees

awarded till date, based on research conducted in the institute.

The R&D activities are now broadly classified into five major areas :

Agro-Processing and Technology Division

Materials Science and Technology

Chemical Sciences & Technology

Environmental Technology Division

Microbial Processes and Technology Division

11.1.1 ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY DIVISION (ETD) The ETD Division develops innovative processes and technologies for value addition to

resources of the region and for the management of the region’s environment. ETD comprises

engineers, chemists, physicists, mathematicians, biologists and computer scientists. These

multi-disciplinary skills come together to address real problems.

11-2

The CSIR-NIIST is the first organization to get NABET Accreditation in Kerala and on the

process of acquiring NABL Accreditation also. NIIST has an MOU with Environment &

ECO CARE, a NABL/ MOEF approved laboratory at Cochin to collaborate in EIA studies. A

panel of highly qualified NABET approved empanelled experts are involved in the various

environmental management studies.

ETD is engaged in the development of processes for odour control, anaerobic treatment of

solid waste, industrial water purification, biofuel from marine microalgae, bioremediation of

perchlorate in waste water and Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) studies. The

Computational Modelling group provides computational tools and services for designing

engineering and chemical processes and investigating the complex phenomena in biological

systems. The Dioxin Research Unit is focusing on the monitoring, control and phase out of

Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) with special reference to dioxins and furans from

various industrial and non-industrial activities in Southern states of the country.

The institute has an active programme targeting societal development. Recently CSIR has

identified CSIR-800 as a thrust area with a vision of inclusive growth and improvement in the

quality of life of the 800 million people at the bottom of economic pyramid, through S & T

interventions. Under this scheme CSIR-NIIST has taken up a project named Green

Enterprises for Micro-Sector(GEMS). A number of technologies that have the potential to

crate green micro-enterprises that generate income and employment for low income groups

and are at the same time beneficial to the environment, have been identified, namely

i)environment friendly extraction of natural fibers ,ii)natural fiber based biodegradable

household articles, iii)value addition of under-exploited and under-utilized agro products,

iv)agro-technologies for cultivation and post-harvest management of medicinal, aromatic

plants and v)development of green household sanitation devices. Linkages are being built up

with NGOs and appropriate Governmental bodies for delivery of the technologies in a way

that would benefit large number of people in the low income group .The institute has also

been supporting in Kerala Tile Sector in modernization of infrastructure, training manpower

and setting up quality control laboratories. Studies on industrial feasibility for preparation of

coir and banana fiber reinforced polymer composite panels and building components have

also been conducted

11-3

Consultants Name & Address

CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science & Technology

Industrial Estate PO

Pappanamcode

Trivandrum-695019

Kerala

11-4

11.2 NABET LETTER OF ACCREDETATION

11-5

11.3 DECLARATION OF EXPERTS

CSIR-NIIST

EIA: IRE PROJECT – DECLARATION OF EXPERTS

Project Proponent Indian Rare Earths Ltd

(A Govt. of India Undertaking)

An ISO Certified Company

Chavara- 691583

Kollam, Kerala

Project Proposal

EIA study for Mining of Beach Sand Mineral with enhancement of production capacity from 2,37,150 to 7,50,000 TPA in Alappad, Panmana and Ayanivelikulangara villages in Kollam district for an area of 180 ha in NK block IV EE by Indian Rare Earths, Chavara, Kollam, Kerala

Project Location Alappad, Panamana and Ayanivelikulangara Villages Kollam district,

Kerala state.

EIA Coordinator Dr.Jamal .Ansari