CHAPTER 7 CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

Transcription

1 116 CHAPTER 7 CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 7.1 General The gaseous pollutants present in the atmosphere are very significant in urban areas due to their adverse impact on human health and properties. One of the major challenges to air quality management is relates to adequate quantification of both the spatial and temporal variations of pollutants for the purpose of implementing necessary mitigation measures. This challenge could be overcome by adequate measurement of air pollutant concentration at many places in towns/cities. In the last decade, a specific demand for monitoring has emerged as the awareness of the need to protect the environment has grown up. Now-a-days, knowledge of the air pollution concentration in real time is necessary for taking necessary action to prevent and mitigate the problems due to air pollution. Conventional air quality monitoring approaches have limitations with respect to time, area coverage and expenses involved in the establishment of air sampling and laboratory equipments. Consequently, the data available on air pollutants and their concentration levels are inadequate. Therefore, with the rapid development of micro-electro-mechanical systems and wireless network technology, the creation of cost effective and low power air quality monitoring systems has been useful. The integration of an air pollutant monitoring system with solid state gas sensors with wireless network technology will reduce the installation cost and enables quick and easy acquisition of data and

2 117 reconfiguration of air pollution control systems and implementation of mitigation measures. Thus, this research work aims at the design and development of an easy and quick monitoring system using low cost portable gas sensing systems (array of solid state gas sensors). Integration with wireless network is very much useful for carrying out air pollution monitoring over an extensive area in CMA and can report air quality in real time through Wireless Network. It will also solve the problem of analyzing and monitoring air pollution, and also to assist in establishing priorities and measurements of air pollution in the Chennai Metropolitan Area. So the AQMD can provide real-time information about the level of air pollution in the CMA region through the website upon measuring the air pollutant concentrations using this AQMD by mounting on vehicle. Depending upon the size of city, two or more air quality mobile monitoring devices (AQMDs) mounted on vehicles can also be kept ready for regular monitoring and also for the purpose of monitoring in emergency cases as this type of real time mobile monitoring devices is the need of the hour in each town/city. This information can then be used by the authorities to take prompt actions such as alerting people about the air pollution, evacuating people or sending emergency response team. The epidemiology data, if collected along with the monitoring of air pollutant concentrations in the atmosphere, could help in developing air quality criteria which eventually form the basis for setting air quality standards. In general, it will be very much beneficial for monitoring air pollution at different high risk regions of the towns and cities in the country.

3 Advantages of AQMD This is a very much useful tool that offers: i. Quick and easy acquisition of information on air pollution ii. Large area coverage in a short duration and easy to monitor iii. An easy facility to use interface, available to users everywhere iv. It is compact and portable and hence easy to handle v. No skilled personnel required for observation of readings vi. Pollution warnings via or SMS for registered users are possible vii. Up-to-date information about the composition of air, based on user location is possible viii. Immediate action can be initiated, when high pollutant levels are noticed ix. It is a cheap and robust system for air pollution monitoring Air pollution status in Chennai Metropolitan Area as per the study As seen in Figures 6.1 to 6.12, an average 20%, 50% and 30% of places in CMA have come under good, moderate and poor air quality category respectively when compared with the Air Quality Index shown in the Table 2.1. In CMA, still there are black and white exhaust from trucks, cars, autos, two wheelers and public buses which are seen regularly. The present status of air pollution in CMA should be attributed to the under development of public transport infrastructure in comparison to the pace at which rapid socio-economic development and industrial growth have taken place. In addition, there has been a drastic increase in the number of motor vehicles particularly during the last one and half decade (0.975 million in 1998 to 3.76 million in 2012; as shown in the Table 3.1) which has resulted in a

4 119 significant increase in the emission load of various pollutants in Chennai. The other factors that can contribute to air pollution significantly are; types of engines used, age of vehicles, congested traffic, poor road conditions, and outdated automotive technologies and poor traffic management systems besides the high growth of registered vehicles in urban areas. In addition to the above, there is lack of strict implementation of vehicular emissions standards (Bharat Stage IV standards equivalent to Euro 4 norms-appendix 4) as per the National Auto Fuel policy. India has two types of operational systems i.e. Inspection and Maintenance programmes; One type is Fitness Test for Transport Vehicles and the other one is Emission Check for all Vehicles. Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificates are issued to vehicle owners after emission check. Most non-transport vehicle owners do not renew the PUC certificate every six months as required. A. Jai Kumar, president, Tamil Nadu Vehicle Emission Check Centre Association, said that on an average only 200 vehicles undergo emission checks every month at each of the 55 testing centres in and around Chennai (Srikanth 2010). Vehicle registration system in most Indian cities is cumulative and is not corrected on the basis of scrappage, retirement or transfers. As a result, registered data do not reflect the actual numbers on road (CSE 2014). Assuming 60 per cent of the registered personal vehicles are on the road, there are around 22,56,000 personal vehicles in Chennai that ideally should go for PUC tests every six months. But the compliance level in Chennai is still very low (around 3.56%). This figure is as per an article published (Srikanth 2010). As of now, there are 67 emission checking centres in CMA ( The responsibility towards air pollution prevention and control largely rests on Pollution Control Boards and other regulatory authorities such as Road

5 120 Transport Authority (RTA), Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) and the State Government. But still public are also equally responsible for the status of present air quality due to use of large number of private motor vehicles in day to day activities. Irrespective of the reasons of having higher levels of air pollution in urban areas, their adverse effect felt on living being is unimaginable at present, as it is the 5 th leading cause of deaths in the world (Figure 1.2). It may become the leading cause of deaths in the near feature, if the increase in air pollution is not stopped Impact on human health due to air pollution The prime factors affecting human health are: nature of pollutants, concentration of pollutants and duration of exposure, meteorological factors and state of health of the receptor. As an average, a person inhales about 16 kg of air per day. The extent to which humans get affected by the presence of these pollutants in the air can be understood. As a result of poor air quality, people suffer from eye irritation, coughing, dizziness and burning sensation in mouth and throat, breathing difficulties and respiratory irritation/illness due to exposure to air pollutants such as carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides, etc. Communities living near to highways and arterials roads are highly susceptible to adverse effects as their ambient environment is polluted with high traffic volume. People working and living in these areas are constantly exposed to high concentration of air pollutants. In the long run these pollutants cause reduction in lung function, chronic lung diseases, nervous disorders and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases.

6 Future Scope of Study In this research work, only one AQMD is built with three solid state gas sensors such as CO, CO 2 and NO. It can be extended to have a few more sensors such as Ozone (O 3 ), Ammonia (NH 3 ), Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and Hydrocarbons (HCs), which are also gaseous air pollutants that cause adverse effect on human health and properties. A larger area can be monitored in real time by the static mode of monitoring by producing these types of portable devices in sufficient quantities. They can be installed at as many locations as possible for covering a larger area. All the data from different stations can be brought into a single receiver station and can be uploaded into the internet. Further, this type of study can also be extended to monitor at various industrial places and a technical alert system can be setup by Pollution Control Boards to monitor major industries causing air pollution. 7.3 Remedial Measures for Prevention and Control of Air Pollution Poor air quality has been projected to be the world s top cause of environmental premature mortality by 2050 surpassing poor sanitation and dirty water (IGBP / IGAC press release 2012). Air pollution problems of the megacities differ widely and are influenced by a number of factors, including topography, demography, meteorology, the level and rate of industrialisation and socio-economic development (UNEP -WHO 1992). However, as far as CMA is concerned, sea breeze has a very significant influence on air pollution due to its location on the coastal plain area. Fortunately, the sea breeze many a times washes out the air pollution due to its wind action that is a normal daily routine. Thus, one need to concentrate on very local release of high concentrated air pollutants and in long run exposure to them by public is the main concern.

7 Mitigation measures being implemented by the government and authorised agencies Government of India has taken up a number of measures through enactment of environmental laws such as National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS-2009) for Industrial, Commercial, Residential and Sensitive areas and Emission Standards for Motor Vehicular Exhaust. NAAQS is under implementation. Bharat Stage-IV Emission Standards equivalent to Euro-IV are being under implementation and Bharat Stage-V Emission Standards are in pipeline for enactment and to implement from April 01, NAAQS-2009 is given in Appendix 1 and Emission Standards for Vehicular Exhaust is given in Appendix 4. Guidelines for citing of industries are given in Environmental Protection Act, 1986 for setting up and operating of new industries. According this act, it is mandatory to obtain consent from the respective state Pollution Control Board and major industries have to necessarily conduct Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study and Public Hearing (PH) for grant of approval before starting of work. The industries (proposed or existing) which comes under red category or costing more than 50 crores have to compulsorily obtain consent from the Central Pollution Control Board Suggestions for mitigation of air pollution Government decisions regarding the design and use of public street space should be made giving priority to pedestrians, cyclists and public transport. Government officials (civic body) should ensure that the width of carriage ways and other street elements in the street design is based on the function of the street rather than what is available as right-of-way on the street

8 123 stretch. The newly developing and planned streets should support multiple uses, and provide safe, active and ample space to pedestrians, cyclists and public transport. Some more suggestions for air pollution mitigation are as follows; 1. Emission and fuel related measures: Tighter emission norms Mandatory emission check and increase in number of emission check centres Upgradation of private emission testing centres for computerised emission checks and periodic inspection of in-use vehicles Improvement of fuels Checking of fuel adulteration and introduction of alternate fuels such as CNG or LPG. At present there are 23 Auto LPG Dispensing stations ( for the supply of LPG to motor vehicles in Chennai but many more centers are required to be opened up to reduce considerable amount of air pollution. Of the 47,600 auto-rickshaws in the city, only 2,800 run on the eco-friendly liquefied petroleum gas (Sujatha et al 2007) 2. Traffic related measures: Improvement of the public transport system to discourage use of private vehicles, Introduction of synchronized signals with timers, Provision of bicycle pathway, Provision of Bus-only lanes and high capacity bus systems, Bus Rapid Transit System BRTS is the most inexpensive and least

9 124 time-consuming option available to the Government to improve public transport services Government official (Ajay Sreevatsan 2014), Planning and construction of Ring roads to avoid inter-city vehicle entry into Chennai (Inner ring road construction is over and outer ring road construction is being done in CMA), Regulation of traffic during peak hours, Introduction of metro rail systems to accommodate more people (This work is being done and expected to be completed by 2016). Schools and colleges in Tamilnadu have over 20,000 buses. CMA has 5,000 buses plying daily except during holidays. These numbers can be reduced if public transport system is improved and if schools and colleges and universities provide good hostel facilities. Another option available is change of school timings, for eliminating travel of students in crowded buses during peak hours. Co-ordinated efforts from several Government departments and fiscal reforms are also the need of the hour to fight air pollution. However, sensitising individuals towards air pollution through education at school and college levels is more important. This can be done through mass media such as news papers, television and various audio channels. As all citizens give more importance to the health issues, they would make sea change in tackling the health problems when they are made aware of air pollution and its adverse effects. Subsequently, the decrease in air pollution will also help in reduction of adverse effects on plants, animals and materials.

10 125 Appendix 1 NATIONAL AMBIENT AIR QUALITY STANDARDS Table A1.1 Revised National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS-2009) S.No. Pollutants Time Weighted Average Concentration in Ambient Air Industrial, Ecologically Residential, Sensitive Rural and area (notified other areas by Central Government) Annual* Annual* Annual* Annual* Sulphur Dioxide (SO 2 ), µg/m 3 24 Hours** Nitrogen Dioxide (NO 2 ), µg/m 3 24 Hours** Particulate Matter (Size <10µm) or PM 10 µg/m 3 24 Hours** Particulate Matter (Size <2.5µm) or PM 2.5 µg/m 3 24 Hours** Ozone (O 3 ), µg/m 3 8 Hours** Hour** Lead (Pb), µg/m 3 Annual* Hours** Carbon Monoxide (CO), mg/m 3 8 Hours** Hour** Ammonia (NH 3 ), µg/m 3 Annual* Hours** Benzene (C 6 H 6 ), µg/m 3 Annual* Benzo(a)Pyrene(BaP)- Particulate phase only, ng/m 3 Annual* Arsenic (As), ng/m 3 Annual* Nickel (Ni), ng/m 3 Annual* *Annual Arithmetic mean of minimum 104 measurements in a year at a particular site taken twice a week 24 hourly at uniform interval. **24 hourly 08 hourly or 01 hourly monitored values, as applicable shall be complied with 98% of the time in a year. 2% of the time they may exceed the limits but not on two consecutive days of monitoring.

11 126 Appendix 2 URBAN AREAS IN INDIA HAVING POPULATION MORE THAN ONE MILLION Table A2.1 Urban Areas in India having Population Over One Million (2011 Census) Rank Urban Area % Change 1 Delhi, NCT-UP-HAR 15,358,000 21,622,000 41% 2 Mumbai, MAH 16,554,000 18,790,000 14% 3 Kolkata, WB 13,217,000 14,113,000 7% 4 Chennai, TN 6,425,000 8,696,000 35% 5 Bangalore, KAR 5,687,000 8,499,000 49% 6 Hyderabad, AP 5,534,000 7,749,000 40% 7 Ahmadabad, GUJ 4,519,000 6,352,000 41% 8 Pune, MAH 3,756,000 5,050,000 34% 9 Surat, GUJ 2,811,000 4,585,000 63% 10 Jaipur, RAJ 2,324,000 3,073,000 32% 11 Kanpur, UP 2,690,000 2,920,000 9% 12 Lucknow, UP 2,267,000 2,901,000 28% 13 Nagpur, MAH 2,123,000 2,498,000 18% 14 Indore, MP 1,639,000 2,167,000 32% 15 Coimbatore, TN 1,446,000 2,151,000 49% 16 Kochi, KER 1,355,000 2,118,000 56% 17 Patna, BH 1,707,000 2,047,000 20% 18 Kozhikode, KER 880,000 2,031, % 19 Bhopal, MP 1,455,000 1,883,000 29% 20 Thrissur, KER 330,000 1,855, % 21 Vadodara, GUJ 1,492,000 1,817,000 22% 22 Agra, UP 1,321,000 1,746,000 32% 23 Visakhapatnam, AP 1,329,000 1,730,000 30% 24 Malappuram, KER 170,000 1,699, % 25 Thiruvananthapuram, KER 889,000 1,687,000 90% 26 Kannur, KER 498,000 1,643, %

12 Ludhiana, PJ 1,395,000 1,614,000 16% 28 Nashik, MAH 1,152,000 1,563,000 36% 29 Vijayawada, AP 1,011,000 1,491,000 47% 30 Madurai, TN 1,195,000 1,462,000 22% 31 Varanasi, UP 1,212,000 1,435,000 18% 32 Meerut, UP 1,167,000 1,425,000 22% 33 Rajkot, GUJ 1,002,000 1,391,000 39% 34 Jamshedpur, JH 1,102,000 1,337,000 21% 35 Srinagar, JK 971,000 1,273,000 31% 36 Jabalpur, MP 1,117,000 1,268,000 14% 37 Asansol, WB 1,090,000 1,243,000 14% 38 Vasai Virar, MAH 293,000 1,221, % 39 Allahabad, UP 1,050,000 1,217,000 16% 40 Dhanbad. JH 1,064,000 1,195,000 12% 41 Aurangabad, MAH 892,000 1,189,000 33% 42 Amritsar, PJ 1,011,000 1,184,000 17% 43 Jodhpur, RAJ 856,000 1,138,000 33% 44 Ranchi, JH 863,000 1,127,000 31% 45 Raipur, CHH 699,000 1,123,000 61% 46 Kollam, KER 380,000 1,110, % 47 Gwalior, MP 866,000 1,102,000 27% 48 Durg-Bhilainagar, CHH 924,000 1,064,000 15% 49 Chandigarh, CH 809,000 1,026,000 27% 50 Tiruchirappalli, TN 847,000 1,022,000 21% 51 Kota, RAJ 705,000 1,001,000 42% Data derived from Census of India, 2011 Delhi, NCT-UP-HAR (National Capital Territory, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana)

13 128 Appendix 3 NATIONAL AIR QUALITY MONITORING PROGRAMME Table A3.1 Operating Air Pollution Monitoring Stations under National Air Quality Monitoring Programme (NAMP) S.No State/Union Territory City Number of Operating Monitoring Stations 1 Andhra Pradesh 2 Assam Hyderabad 10 Visakhapatnam 8 Tirupati 1 Vijayawada 3 Kurnool 1 Ramagundum 1 Patencheru 1 Nalgonda 2 Guntur 1 Warangal 2 Nellore, Nellore 1 Kakinada 1 Khamam 2 Chitoor 2 Anatapur 1 Kadapa 1 Eluru 1 Ongole 1 Karimnagar 1 Rajamundry 1 Srikakulam 1 Vizianagaram 1 Sangareddy 2 Nizamabad 1 Manchiriala, Adilabad 1 Bongaigaon 3 Gawahati 6

14 129 Tezpur 1 Sibasagar 2 Dibrugarh 1 Golaghat 1 Silcher 2 Daranga 1 Margheita 1 North Lakhimpur 1 Nagaon 1 Tinsukhia 2 Nalbari 1 3 Bihar Patna 2 4 Chandigarh Chandigarh 5 Korba 3 5 Chattisgarh Bhilai 3 Raipur 3 Bilaspur 1 6 Delhi Delhi 11 7 Dadara & Nagar Silvasa 1 Haveli 8 Daman Diu Daman 1 9 Goa Panaji 1 Vasco 1 Marmagao 1 Codli tisk 1 Honda Junction 1 Bicholim City 1 Amona 1 Assanora Junction 1 Curchorem 1 Usgao-Pale 1 Margao Town 1 Mapusa Town 1 Sanguem 1 ponda 1 Tilamol 1 Kundaim Industrial Estate 1 10 Gujarat Ahmedabad 6 Ankaleshwar 2 Jamnagar 1

15 Rajkot 2 Surat 3 Vadodara 4 Vapi 2 11 Haryana Faridabad 2 Hissar 2 Yamuna Nagar 1 12 Himachal Pradesh Damtal 2 Parwanoo 2 Poanta Sahib 2 Shimla 2 Kala Amb 2 Baddi-Barotiwala 3 Nalagarh 1 Una 2 Sunder Nagar 2 Manali 2 13 Jammu& Kashmir Jammu 3 14 Jharkand Dhanbad 1 Jharia 3 Sindri 1 Jamshedpur 2 Ranchi 1 Saraikela-Kharsawan 1 West Singhbhum 1 15 Karnataka Bangalore 9 Dharwar, Hubli 2 Mangalore 1 Hassan 1 Mysore 2 Gulbarga 1 Belgaum 1 Devanagere 3 Mandya 1 Raichur 1 Bijapur 1 Chitradurga 1 Shimaga 1 Karwar 1 Bagalkote 1 130

16 131 Kolar 1 Bidar 1 16 Kerala Kozhikode 2 Kottayam 2 Cochin 7 Thiruvanantapuram 4 Palakkad 1 Alappuzha 2 Pathanamthitta 1 Kollam 2 Sulthan, Bathery, Wayanad 1 Kakkanchery, Near 1 KINFRA, Mallappuram Thrissur 1 17 Madhya Pradesh Bhopal 4 Indore 3 Jabalpur 1 Nagda 3 Gwalior 2 Sagar 2 Satna 2 Singrauli 3 Ujjain 4 Dewas 3 18 Maharashtra Aurangabad 4 Lote 2 Tarapur 3 Kolhapur 3 Mumbai 3 Ambernath 2 Chandrapur 6 Nagpur 7 Nasik 4 Solapur 2 Pune 4 Thane 3 Navi Mumbai 6 Mahad 3 Roha 2 Sangli 3

17 Amravati 3 Latur 3 Ulhas Nagar 2 Badlapur 1 Nanded 3 Jalgaon 3 Jalna 2 Akola 3 19 Meghalaya Shillong 2 Dwaki 1 Ri-Bhoi, Brynihat 1 Tura 1 Nongstoin 1 Khlihriat 1 20 Mizoram Aizwal 5 Lunglei 2 Kolasib 2 Champhai 2 21 Manipur Imphal 1 22 Nagaland Dimapur 2 Kohima 2 23 Orissa Rayagada 2 Rourkela 3 Talcher 2 Angul 2 Bhubaneshwar 6 Cuttack 3 Sambalpur 1 Balasore 3 Kalinga Nagar 3 Berhampur 1 Puri 2 Konark 1 Paradeep 3 24 Punjab Gobindgarh 3 Jalandhar 4 Ludhiana 4 Naya Nangal 2 Khanna 2 Pathankot(Dera baba) 1 132

18 Amritsar 2 Derra Bassi 2 Bhatinda 1 Batala 1 Patiala 2 25 Pondicherry Pondicherry 3 26 Rajasthan Alwar 3 Jaipur 6 Jodhpur 6 Kota 3 Udaipur 3 27 Sikkim Gangtok 2 28 Tamilnadu Chennai 11 Tuticorin 3 Coimbatore 3 Madurai 3 Salem 1 Trichy 5 Cuddalore 3 Mettur 2 29 Uttar Pradesh Agra 6 Allahabad 2 Anpara 2 Firozabad 3 Gajroula 2 Ghaziabad 2 Kanpur 9 Lucknow 5 Noida 2 Varanasi 2 Jhansi 2 Khurja 2 Meerut 2 Bareily 2 Moradabad 2 Mathura 2 Saharanpur 2 Unnao 2 Gorakhpur 3 Rai Bareli 3 133

19 Uttaranchal Dehradun 3 Haridwar 1 Rishikesh 1 Haldwani 1 Rudrapur 1 kashipur 1 31 West Bengal Kolkata 10 Durgapur 4 Haldia 5 Howrah 4 Asansol 3 Barrckpore 3 Ranigunj 3 South Suburban 3 Sankrail 4 Total Cities 240 Operating Stations 573 States UTs-5 5 (Source: Environmental Information System, Central Pollution Control Board;