Maximizing Impact_ Nonprofit Website Planning, Budgeting, and Design.pdf
Air pollution
1. Air Pollution
By: Mohammad Asif
(Research Scholar)
Department of Botanical and Environmental Sciences.
GNDU.
2. INTRODUCTION
Air pollution may be defined as contamination of the atmosphere by
gaseous, liquid, and solid or by-products that can endanger human health
and welfare of plants and animals, attack materials, reduce visibility or
produce undesirable odors.
Air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every
year.
WHO data shows that 9 out of 10 people breathe air that exceeds WHO
guideline limits containing high levels of pollutants, with low and middle-
income countries suffering from the highest exposures.
As per the recent Environment Performance Index (EPI) 2020, India
ranked 172 out of 180 countries in air quality.
It is reported that twenty-two of the world's 30 most polluted cities are
in India, with Delhi being ranked as the most polluted city globally
3. Sources of air pollutants
Natural Sources:
Pollen grains, volcanic
eruptions, forest fires, dust
storms, spores bacteria and
other microorganisms.
Anthropogenic Sources:
Industrial units, thermal
power plants, automobile
exhausts, Biomass burning,
mining and nuclear
explosion.
4. Classification of air pollutants
According to origin: The
air pollutants are classified
into:
Primary pollutants: The
pollutants that are
emitted directly from
identifiable sources.
Secondary air pollutants:
Which are produced in the
atmosphere when certain
chemical reaction take
place among primary
pollutants.
5. EPA use six ‘Criteria pollutants’ as indicators of air quality.
1. Particulate matter (PM10 , PM2.5 PM1) :Particle of different size suspended in air.
6. .
Fine particles come from varieties of sources:
Transportation
Power plants
Construction activities
Woodstoves
Wildfires.
Biomass burning
Effects of particulate matter.
Premature death
Aggravated asthma
Acute respiratory problems
Chronic bronchitis
Decrease lung function.
7. 2. Sulphur dioxide:
Sulfur dioxide can create secondary pollutants once released
into the air, like sulfate aerosols, particulate matter, and acid
rain.
67% of the SOX pollution due to volcanic activities and other
sources.
Remaining due to fossil fuel burning, transportation and
Industrial activities.
Effects:
Respiratory problems
Marbles, clothes, paper, also affected.
Sulfur dioxide affects the respiratory system, particularly
lung function, and can irritate the eyes.
Deposition of particles can also stain and damage stone and
other materials, including culturally important objects such
as statues and monuments.
8. 3. Nitrogen dioxide (NO2)
composed of nitrogen and oxygen and is one of
a group of related gases called nitrogen oxides,
or NOx.
Fuel combustion in automobiles and industries.
Lightening
Forest fires
Ionizing radiations
Effects:
Reduce blood carrying capacity
Cause lung problems
Exposures over short periods can aggravate
respiratory diseases, particularly asthma,
leading to respiratory symptoms (such as
coughing, wheezing or difficulty breathing),
9. 4. Carbon monoxide (CO):
produced in the incomplete
combustion of carbon-containing
fuels, such as gasoline, natural
gas, oil, coal, and wood.
Breathing air with a high
concentration of CO reduces the
amount of oxygen that can be
transported in the blood stream
to critical organs like the heart
and brain
10. 5. OZONE (O3).
Tropospheric ozone (often termed
"bad" ozone) is man-made, a result of
air pollution from internal combustion
engines and power plants. Automobile
exhaust and industrial emissions
release a family of nitrogen oxide
gases (NOx) and volatile organic
compounds (VOC), by-products of
burning gasoline and coal.
NOx and VOC combine chemically
with oxygen to form ozone during
sunny, high-temperature conditions of
late spring, summer and early fall.
High levels of ozone are usually
formed in the heat of the afternoon
and early evening, dissipating during
the cooler nights.
11. 6.Lead (Pb):
Major sources of lead in the air are metals processing and piston-engine aircraft
operating on leaded aviation fuel. Other sources are waste incinerators, utilities,
and lead-acid battery manufacturers.
Humans may be exposed to lead from air pollution directly, through inhalation, or
through the incidental ingestion of lead that has settled out from the air onto soil or
dust.
Once taken into the body, lead distributes throughout the body in the blood and
accumulates in the bones.
Depending on the level of exposure, lead can adversely affect the nervous system,
kidney function, immune system, reproductive and developmental systems, and the
cardiovascular system.
Lead exposure also affects the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood.
12. National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)
Government of India has laid down National Ambient Air Quality standards for
twelve air pollutants.
The NAAQS helps in assessment of air quality with respect to various
pollutants and development of preventive and corrective measures for
mitigation.
14. National Air Quality Monitoring Programme (NAMP)
To monitor and control of various air pollutants, Central Pollution Control Board
(CPCB) has been provided with various powers and functions under the Air
(Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981.
CPCB had launched a nationwide program viz. National Ambient Air Quality
Monitoring Programme (NAAQM) in 1984, which has been renamed as National Air
Quality Monitoring Programme (NAMP).
As of February 2021, real-time data from 276 continuous ambient air quality
monitoring stations (CAAQMS) in 145 Indian cities are hosted on a public
dashboard maintained by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the nation’s
apex pollution regulating agency.
16. Trend of different air pollutants in Amritsar
0
5
10
15
20
25
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
SO2,NO2
Conc
.
Concentration
PM10,
PM2.5
(μg/m3
)
PM2.5 PM10 NO2 SO2
17. Source apportionment study
To improve the air quality management system, there is also the need of knowing
the particular source of pollution and its quantitative contribution to the ambient
air quality. This can be done through the source apportionment study.
Most recent reviews agrees that, the human health effects should not be attributed
simply to the total PM concentration but to the toxic chemical components
concentration associated with particulate matter.
Chemical Characterization and Source Apportionment of Particulate matter:-
Particulate matters have been described as one of the primary air pollutant
containing a wide spectrum of elements, heavy metals and water soluble ions with
different degree of harmfulness as well as severe impact on the respiratory system.
In order to investigate the properties of atmospheric pollution, there is a need for
studies concerning concentration and composition of inhalable particles.
18. N
A
T
I
O
N
A
L
Study Site Period Particl
e Size
SO4
2- NO3
- Cl- F- Na+ K+ Ca2+ Mg2+ NH4
+ References
Delhi
Dec-2011
Feb-212 2.5 53.19 2.49 5.27 0.1 1.38 7.7 3.06 0.2 10.9 Kumar et al.,
2018
Amritsar Punjab
Dec-2011
Feb-2012 2.5 32.25 5.99 1.08 0.01 0.6 2.85 0.91 0.09 7.54 Kumar et al.,
2018
Jorhat Assam
Jan-2007
Jan-2008 2.5 18.17 5.52 0.14 2.13 Khare et al.,
2010
Vishakapatnam
Andhra
Pradesh
Apr-2010
Dec-2011 10 3.198 1.833 0.94
8
0.12
7
0.710 2.36 2.87 Police et al.,
2016
Delhi
Jan-Dec.
2011 10 15.69 3.06 0.78 0.24 0.80 1.73 3.51 0.28 3.00 Kumar et al.,
2016
INTER-
NATIONAL
Lahore July-
2018
2.5 14.8 8.6 4.9 1.4 0.9 3.9 0.6 5.0 Ahmed et al.,
2020
Zhengzhou
China 2010 2.5 25.7 16.7 6.4 0.8 1.2 0.141 0.099 0.047 0.088 Gent et al.,
2013
19. Cont.
the studies on water soluble ions, trace and heavy metal distribution in fine and
coarse particles become important in understanding the source of pollution and
chemical transformation Kumar et al., 2018.
Analysis of water soluble ions can be done by Ion Chromatography and elemental
species can be analyzed using ICP/MS and ICP/AES techniques.
For the identification and apportionment, a receptor model of PMF (Positive Matrix
Factorization) can be applied to identify the pollution sources and their potential
contributions of PM.
Positive matrix factorization is a widely used multivariate factor analysis model for
source identification of various pollutants.
Positive Matrix Factorization is based on the principal that there exist a
relationship between sources and receptor.
20. Stubble burning and air pollution
Stubble burning a significant contributor to atmospheric pollution, coming in 3rd
after industrial and vehicular emissions.
Between October and November every year, farmers in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar
Pradesh have a rather short window to harvest the paddy crop planted in the
monsoon and prepare their fields to sow the next crop, which is usually wheat.
Stubble burning can contribute between 20% to 70% of Delhi’s air pollution.
Recently, the scientists have developed a bio-decomposer technique called ‘PUSA
Decomposers’ for converting crop stubble into compost.
The decomposers are in the form of capsules made by extracting fungi strains that
help the paddy straw to decompose at a much faster rate than usual.
The fungi helps to produce the essential enzymes for the degradation process.
It takes around 20 days for the degradation process to be completed.
23. Recommendations/suggestions to improve the air quality in
urban areas,
Effective control measures of pollution, and proper installation of air pollution
control devices and their smooth functioning must be ensured before the
establishment of any industry.
Emission from construction industries / activities can be minimized by adopting best
practices such as; use of water sprays for dust suppression, creating ridges to
prevent dust, compaction of disturbed soil, prevention of dumping of earth
materials along roadside etc.
There should be strict restrictions on old polluting vehicles and subsidies can be
given on the vehicles running on cleaner fuels.
Vegetation cover should be increased along the highways, road dividers, and busy
traffic intersection points.
Mass awareness should be increased through electronic and print media for all age
groups.
Research and development for the battery-run buses/cars etc. needs to be
promoted.