Manuscript Number: 2756

Indian Journal of Ecology (2018) 45(4): 768-773 NAAS Rating: 4.96

Air Quality Index for Environmental Impact Assessment

of the Port Development at Beypore

S. Praveen, J. Jegan1and T. Bhagavathi Pushpa1

Department of Civil Engineering, KPR Institute of Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore- 641 407, India
1
Department of Civil Engineering, University College of Engineering, Ramanathapuram-623 513, India
E-mail: praveensarvan@gmail.com

Abstract: The concept of an air quality index (AQI) that transforms weighted values of individual air pollution related parameters (e.g. SO2, CO,
visibility, etc.) into a single number or set of numbers is widely used for air quality communication and decision making in many countries. The
objective of an AQI is to quickly disseminate air quality information (almost in real-time) that entails the system to account for pollutants which
have short-term impacts. Eight parameters (PM10, PM2.5, NO2, SO2, CO, O3, NH3, and Pb) having short-term standards have been considered for
near real-time dissemination of AQI. It is recognized that air concentrations of Pb are not known in real-time and cannot contribute to AQI. The
major air pollutants involved in this particular construction project are suspended particulate matter, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide. An
air quality monitoring was done for the development of Beypore harbour construction. In this study, the air quality parameters of PM10, PM2.5,
SO2 and NO2 were monitored for the regular interval period for four different locations and the corresponding AQI was calculated. As per the
AQI classifications, all the locations are coming under minimal impact category which also requires rigid control measures to reduce the
particulate matters in the air. The obtained air quality index can be used in environmental quality performance indexing for future developments
in that spatial region.

Keywords: Air quality index, Emission, Pollutants and particulate matter

According to the Bureau of Indian Standards, [IS 4167
(1966)] air pollution is defines as “the presence in ambient
atmosphere of substances, generally resulting from the
activity of man, in sufficient concentration, present for a
sufficient time and under circumstances such as to interfere
with comfort health or welfare of persons or with reasonable
use or enjoyment of property”. In addition to land and water,
air is the prime resource for sustenance of life. With the
technological advancements, a vast amount of data on
ambient air quality is generated and used to establish the
quality of air in different areas. The large monitoring data
result in encyclopedic volumes of information that which is to
describe air quality is to report the concentrations of all
pollutants with acceptable levels (standards). The concept of
an Air Quality Index (AQI) has been developed and used
effectively in many developed countries for over last three
decades (Ontario 2013, USEPA 2014). There have not been
significant efforts to develop and use AQI in India, primarily
due to the fact that a modest air quality monitoring
programme was started only in 1984.The development of an
efficient and comprehensible AQI scale is required for
citizens and policy makers to make decisions to prevent and
minimize air pollution exposure and ailments induced from
the exposure. Large quantities of pollutants have been
released into the atmosphere; whereas the rate of ejection is
beyond the limits of natural cleansing ability and 'buffering
capacity' of the atmosphere. The manmade activities have
been responsible for these emissions. Nitrogen dioxide
(NO2), sulphur dioxide (SO2) and suspended particulate
matter (SPM) are the major air pollutants which are
influences the air pollution in India which are present in the air
due to burning of fossil fuels and affect the living being. In this
present work, an attempt has been made to evaluate the
concentrations of ambient air pollutants such SPM, SO2 and
NO2 from December 2013 to March 2014 at four different
locations nearby the proposed project area with different
geographic conditions.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
Study area: As per the Ministry of Environment Forest &
Climate Change guidelines, the sampling locations for the
Environmental Impact Assessment study have been
considered as for 10km radius keeping the proposed project
site at center (Fig. 1).
Four air quality sampling locations representing different
activity areas i.e., one each in commercial, industrial, mixed
and ecological were selected (Table 1). As per ambient air
quality standards specified by Central Pollution Control Board,
the ambient air quality at various mentioned locations from the
period of December 2013 to March 2014were monitored.