Kathmandu, April 25 -- The government has formally enforced amended standards for environmentally friendly operation of industrial establishments, including brick kilns, cement plants and other furnace-based factories.

Published in the Nepal Gazette, the new standards aim to curb pollution-particularly dust and smoke-generated by these industries.

Under the amended Environment Protection Act, 2019, particulate matter emissions from brick factories must not exceed 250 mg/Nm³ (milligrams per normal cubic metre), a standard unit used to measure gaseous pollutants. Nepal currently has around 800 brick kilns in operation.

Particulate matter refers to a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets-such as dust, soot, smoke and chemica...