Environment

Study finds that Chinese coal power project poisoned drinking water in Thar

By Zarak Khan

People drink water in the southern Sindh province in 2022. [Aamir QURESHI / AFP]

People drink water in the southern Sindh province in 2022. [Aamir QURESHI / AFP]

A recent study, which found a coal power plant is harming the drinking water in the Thar desert region, has rekindled the debate about the implication of Chinese-built coal power plants on Pakistan's environment.

The Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide (ELAW), an Oregon-based environmental think-tank, in its recent report, said that drinking water samples collected from nine locations in or near the Thar Coal-Fired Block II power plant are found "unfit for human consumption because of elevated levels of toxic metals, including selenium, arsenic, mercury, chromium, and lead".

Thar Coal-Fired Block II power plant in Sindh province is one of the several coal power plants that are built and financed under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a Pakistani component of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), also known as One Belt One Road (OBOR).

The report, conducted by Dr. Mark Chernaik, a staff scientist at ELAW, found that drinking water samples contain unsafe levels of mercury, selenium, and lead that exceeded not only the World Health Organization (WHO)'s Drinking Water Quality Guideline Value but also the provincial government's Sindh Standards for Drinking Water Quality.

A reservoir built for a Chinese-built coal power project in Thar can be seen in this photo taken in 2020. [Zarak Khan/Pakistan Forward]

A reservoir built for a Chinese-built coal power project in Thar can be seen in this photo taken in 2020. [Zarak Khan/Pakistan Forward]

The study also said that the excessive levels of toxic metals are of "recent origin and associated with coal activities in the Thar coalfields".

Thar residents will suffer major health problems from coal-related projects in the region, earlier studies have predicted.

In a 2021 study, "Coal Rush: The Impact of Coal Power Generation on Tharis' Land Rights", the Alliance for Climate Justice and Clean Energy (ACJCE) pointed out that in pursuit of coal power, "the plight of the Thari people has been overlooked despite widespread protests on issues of land, water, pollution, unemployment, and public health concerns".

Another study conducted by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (Helsinki, Finland) in 2020 also said that emissions from Thar coal mines and power plants could be responsible for 29,000 air-pollution-related deaths over a 30-year period.

A number of protests have taken place across Sindh province since the start of the projects in the Thar region.

"First, the coal power projects have illegally acquired land from villagers and displaced thousands of families from their land," said Leela Ram, a rights activist in Thar.

"Now, they are poisoning our drinking water and destroying our environment," he said.

Economic burden

China has built and financed coal power plants in Pakistan, which according to analysts, have become an economic burden for Islamabad amid a spike in coal prices, and one of the major reasons for its dire economic situation.

"It is now hard for Pakistan to buy expensive coal to run them to overcome the worsening electricity crisis in the country," said a Pakistani Ministry of Finance official on the condition of anonymity.

Unpredictable international coal prices make running Chinese-built coal-fired projects to generate electricity "impossible", the official said.

China -- by far the world's biggest polluter and biggest consumer of coal -- in September 2021 vowed to end overseas coal projects as part of its contribution to the global effort to cut climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions.

But on the ground, China has been ramping up coal production in many countries, including Pakistan, in a desperate attempt to meet its energy needs and earn profits.

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