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Impacts of Brick Kilns on Air Quality and Public Health: A Case Study from a Developing Country

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Preprints.org
DOI
10.20944/preprints202605.1573.v2

Brick manufacturing is among the oldest industries that play a crucial role in socio-economic development, particularly in developing countries i.e. Pakistan. Pakistan is the 3rd largest brick producer in the world with 70 billion annual brick production and 20,000 kilns, after China and India. In Pakistan, a high percentage of kilns are more than a century old while a fraction of kilns shifted to zig-zag technology and the remaining kilns are working on the older technologies like Fixed Chimney Bull's Trench Kiln (FCBTK). Additionally, low-quality fuels are used, and no safety measures are there. Due to such reasons, brick kilns significantly impact air quality and health in Pakistan, which is already experiencing severe air quality problems. Brick kilns emit a huge number of pollutants into the environment including sulfur dioxide, carbon oxides (CO and CO2), nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, carcinogenic dioxins, fluoride compounds, H2S (hydrogen sulfide), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and carbon black etc. Direct inhalation of pollutants causes respiratory diseases, nervous system diseases, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, skin diseases, and reproduction problems. Workers and nearby communities suffer more than others. These emissions also pose indirect impacts by polluting the environment, ozone depletion, acid rain, smog, global warming, and climate change. We need to shift to cleaner production and the modern technologies of brick manufacturing to overcome environmental and health challenges. For example, we can use fly ash, waste glass powder and plastic to produce our bricks rather than using clay. It not only cuts down emissions but also will be helpful to cope with health challenges.

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