NEW DELHI, INDIA, October 16, 2002: To reduce pollution caused by fly-ash generated by the city’s thermal power stations, the Delhi state government has asked the Central Public Works Division and Public Works Department to begin using the coal residue as construction material for building nonload bearing structures. The state government has also decided to formulate a policy making it mandatory for all civic and government agencies to use fly-ash in construction and renovation. It was observed that the residue generated at thermal power stations was creating a major environmental hazard, not only causing air pollution, but also contaminating groundwater. The San Marga Iraivan Temple, Hawaii, is the largest modern demonstration of this technology in the world. Dr. Kumar Mehta, professor emeritus, University of California, Berkeley, has advocated the use of fly ash in construction for many years, and was instrumental in the engineering of Iraivan Temple’s monolithic concrete and fly-ash composition foundation, and one with decidely impressive load-bearing abilities. Information regarding fly-ash use in Iraivan Temple may be found at “source” above. Readers can contact Dr. Mehta for more technical information at pkmehta@uclink4.berkeley.edu.
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