Greenhouses near residential areas: how it is proposed to solve the emission problem
In connection with the cold spell and the atmospheric inversion phenomena observed in the capital region, which occur during a sharp drop in nighttime air temperatures and an absence of wind, there has been an increase in appeals and complaints from citizens regarding pollutant emissions by greenhouse farms that use coal for heating.
Greenhouses near residential areas: how it is proposed to resolve the issue of emissions
For every citizen complaint, environmental service specialists visited the sites, conducted the necessary inspections, and took air samples to obtain reliable data and take required measures against those allowing pollutant emissions into the atmosphere of Tashkent.
A special commission is taking comprehensive measures aimed at reducing the negative impact of various anthropogenic sources on the quality of the capital's ambient air. The main sources of pollution include industrial enterprises, motor transport, heating systems, and, during the autumn-winter period, greenhouse facilities located near residential areas of the capital region.
It should be noted that representatives of greenhouse facilities have repeatedly stated their readiness to modernize existing facilities, switch to eco-friendly heating technologies, and ensure the reduction of emissions to a safe level in accordance with established standards.
The proposals of the greenhouse facilities boil down to transitioning them to energy-efficient technologies, as well as retrofitting them with modern heating systems while ensuring online monitoring of atmospheric emissions.
In particular, the following is proposed: the operations of greenhouse facilities that possess heating systems and positive conclusions from state environmental reviews will be carried out using natural gas, including liquefied gas, electrical, geothermal, and solar energy, as well as secondary thermal energy generated by thermal power plants.
If there is no possibility of using these technologies, greenhouse facilities propose allowing coal fuel to be used for heating greenhouses as well. In this case, according to the proposals of the greenhouse facilities, they must be equipped with modern certified heating boilers with the mandatory installation of emission cleaning and filtration systems that meet pollutant emission standards, as well as the implementation of video surveillance systems transmitting relevant data and video stream to the National Environmental Monitoring Center of the National Committee on Ecology.
These proposals were reviewed by a Working Group with the participation of representatives from the National Committee on Ecology, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Energy, and other relevant government bodies.
The greenhouse facilities presented a prototype of an integrated heating system, including boiler equipment and a filter system based on Chinese technologies. Specialists from the National Environmental Monitoring Center, in the presence of media representatives and the Public Council of the National Committee on Ecology, repeatedly conducted measurements of atmospheric emissions according to the approved methodology.