In line with the requirements and standards of Dubai Industrial Strategy 2030, the Central Laboratory of Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation seeks to ensure air quality and reduce gas emissions in the free zones under the jurisdiction of the corporation, to protect public health and promote environment-friendly manufacturing industries by reducing air pollution during the phases of development and construction.

Sultan bin Sulayem, President of the Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation, praised the efforts of the industrial facilities, which are under the jurisdiction of the corporation, in reducing gaseous emissions in the atmosphere in a manner that exceeds the expected level. It succeeded in reducing them by up to 90 percent during the past year, by following government policies and directions through the implementation of programmes and initiatives to enhance the quality of the environment in the areas affiliated with the corporation.

Bin Sulayem explained that the Central Laboratory of Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) Department performs several tests to examine the air quality around the free zones, including conducting a gaseous emissions analysis, which measures the level of pollutants emitted into the atmosphere from chimneys and pipes that may contain particles within gases, vapours and fumes.

He added, “The Central Laboratory of the PCFC provides another test that analyses the air quality in the surrounding environment inside the surrounding buildings and facilities, as it relates to the health and comfort of the building’s occupants.”

Bin Sulayem reassured that the EHS Department plans to develop new initiatives to improve air quality and efficiency at the federal and local levels, once the implementation of the current strategy items, related to reducing pre-determined gas emissions is completed.

The role of the Central Laboratory ensures the efficiency of the surrounding environment by conducting a volatile organic compound (VOC) test, which detects a variety of chemicals emitted as gases in the environment, by using certain types of equipment and devices attached to the Central Laboratory.

Regarding the standards used in laboratory tests at the Central Laboratory, the laboratory of the EHS follows all the standards stipulated by the American Water Works Association (AWWA), the American Public Health Association (APHA), the Environmental Protection Agency in America (US-EPA) and the American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM), as well as provisions of the Code of Federal Regulations, and other relevant international standards.

Source: Emirates News Agency