Tehran Municipality Recycling Dept. Holds Seminar on Conversion of Wastes to Energy

International encyclopedias and dictionaries define air pollution as follows: Contamination of the atmosphere by gaseous, liquid, or solid wastes or by-products that can endanger human health and the health and welfare of plants and animals, or can attack materials, reduce visibility, or produce undesirable odors.

Atmospheric pollution from vehicle exhaust has, among all other pollutants, been of concern to the people in developing countries. The combustion of coal, oil, and petrol accounts for much of the airborne pollutants. Much of the carbon monoxide and the nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons come from burning petrol and diesel in cars and lorries. Other major pollution sources include iron and steel mills; zinc, lead, and copper smelters; municipal incinerators; oil refineries; and nitric and sulfuric acid plants. Carbon monoxide, for example, is a typical product of internal-combustion engines. Methods for controlling air pollution include removing hazardous material before it is used, removing the pollutant after it is formed, or altering the process so that the pollutant is not formed or occurs only at very low levels. Car exhaust pollutants can be controlled by burning the fuel as completely as possible, by recirculating fumes from fuel tank, carburetor, and crankcase, and by changing the engine exhaust to harmless substances in catalytic converters. Pollutant gases can be collected in liquids or on solids, or incinerated into harmless substances.

Tehran, the Iranian capital city, has seen bulging number of cars in it now standing at over 2 million which have incurred great losses to the health and welfare of the citizens. However, in recent years, at the efforts of environmentalists, especially that of Engineer Mohammad Sani, the attention of the related officials has been drawn to the sensitive issue more than the past. In this respect, the First Seminar on Conversion of Wastes Into Electric Energy, sponsored by the Recycling and Conversion of Materials Department of Tehran Municipality, was held here in Tehran on Tuesday attended by the Managing Director of the department Davoud Tajeran, Engineer Sani, and the vice president and manager of business development and projects of the Swiss Von Roll Inova Company, Mr. Hans-Rudolf Kern, as well as environmental specialists from Canada.

The seminar was aimed at exchange of information on optimal use of wastes and protection of the environment. Highlighting the danger of increasing air pollution in the world caused by promotion of industries and urban development, Engineer Sani said: “The environment has been put in danger during the past 200 years of industrialization and there is no way to keep it from increasing but to use the modern science and industries.” Pointing to the danger of increasing CFC, methane, and CO2 gases in the industrial zones, he said: “Hazardous substances including lead, cadmium, and mercury have largely increased in the air of large cities of the world increasing the risk of suffering from heart diseases and brain tumors. The age-liability to heart attacks in Tehran has reduced to 32. Prevention is necessarily preferred to healing,” he said, “and studies show the budget spent on healing is 25 times more than that spent on prevention. So we need to prepare the ground as rapidly as possible to use pure energies such as solar and wind. The vehicles in Tehran produce 7 tons of brake shoe dirt, 16 tons of tire stuffs, and 5 tons of lead daily, which rings the bell why we should move toward using electric cars and force drivers to have their vehicles tuned up regularly.”