By Brendan Donegan
When I studied chemistry in school I never imagined I would use those lessons like this.
I have just finished creating a spreadsheet by inputting a vast set of data on the chemical content of hundreds of water samples gathered between 2007 and 2010. The samples were collected by the State Pollution Control Board from a number of rivers and wells around Nalagarh industrial area in Solan district, in the north Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The data was acquired through Right To Information requests by the people I am working with here: Shweta Narayan, who is part of The Other Media, an NGO based in Chennai; Manshi Asher and Rahul Saxena of Him Dhara, Environment Research and Action Collective in Palampur; Balkrishnaji and other members of Him Parivesh in Nalagarh itself. Now that the spreadsheet is complete we will send the data to a scientist in the US who will compare the figures with environmental standards. Once that is done, the data can be used as part of an ongoing campaign to hold local industry to account where their pollution exceeds the standards with which they are legally required to comply… Read report
