News
Lime used to purify drinking water will not be released if stock does not meet standards: Minister
View(s):By Minaza Hassan
The shipment of 550 tonnes of hydrated lime used to purify drinking water will not be released if the stock does not meet the stipulated standards, Minister of Urban Development and Housing, Anura Karunatilaka said.
He was responding to concerns raised by SLPP MP D V Chanaka on harmful levels of chemicals being used in water treatment plants. The minister said no letter of acceptance has been issued for the goods since the tests have failed.
MP Chanaka alleged in parliament that the shipment of 550 tonnes of hydrated lime was released to water treatment plants. He said this lime had a 14 mg chromium content, which exceeded the 10mg standard set by the Sri Lanka Standards Institution (SLS).
High levels of chromium in water can be harmful and may cause serious health issues such as kidney and liver diseases and cancer.
He said requests had been made to SLS to change the standards to accommodate the new shipment and asked the Government to intervene to stop any irregularities.
Mr Karunatilaka said that while a request was made last May to change the standards of the chromium levels, it had no correlation with the current shipment.
He said that a sample test of the hydrated lime prior to its shipment showed that the hydrated lime was well within the standards of SLS for permissible chromium content. However, when further tests were conducted post-arrival in the country, varied results were shown with chromium levels between 11 mg/kg to 14 mg/kg across different labs.
“In the sequence of tests, it ran from four different places, it ran from 11 mg to 14mg. When we finally tested the sample with the contractor the chromium level was at 11.3mg,” said Mr Karunatilaka.
He added that when the tender was called, the SLS standard was 10 milligrams per one kilo. But last year, the SLS raised the chromium level standard to 12 milligrams per kilo. “However, since the tender was originally issued when the 10 mg/kg standard was in place, the shipment shall be evaluated based on that earlier standard, not the revised one. Therefore, because it failed the tests, it had not been used for any purification. We can still return the stock to the contractor and ask for the new stock that meets our standards,” he added.
The best way to say that you found the home of your dreams is by finding it on Hitad.lk. We have listings for apartments for sale or rent in Sri Lanka, no matter what locale you're looking for! Whether you live in Colombo, Galle, Kandy, Matara, Jaffna and more - we've got them all!