Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association

ISSN: 1096-2247 (Print) 2162-2906 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/uawm20

Volatile organic compound emissions from

municipal solid waste disposal sites: A case study
of Mumbai, India

Dipanjali Majumdar & Anjali Srivastava

To cite this article: Dipanjali Majumdar & Anjali Srivastava (2012) Volatile organic compound
emissions from municipal solid waste disposal sites: A case study of Mumbai, India, Journal of
the Air & Waste Management Association, 62:4, 398-407, DOI: 10.1080/10473289.2012.655405

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/10473289.2012.655405

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TECHNICAL PAPER

Volatile organic compound emissions from municipal solid waste

disposal sites: A case study of Mumbai, India
Dipanjali Majumdar⁄ and Anjali Srivastava
National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, Kolkata Zonal Centre, Council of Scientific and Industrial and Research, Kolkata, India
⁄Please address correspondence to: Dipanjali Majumdar, National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, Kolkata Zonal Centre, Council
of Scientific and Industrial and Research, i-8, Sector C, East Kolkata Area Development Project, P.O. East Kolkata Township, Kolkata 700107,
India; e-mail: ds_majumdar@neeri.res.in

Improper solid waste management leads to aesthetic and environmental problems. Emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
is one of the problems from uncontrolled dumpsite. VOCs are well known to be hazardous to human health and many of them are
known or potential carcinogens. They also contribute to ozone formation at ground level and climate change as well. The qualitative
and quantitative analysis of VOCs emitting from two municipal waste (MSW) disposal sites in Mumbai, India, namely Deonar and
Malad, are presented in this paper. Air at dumpsites was sampled and analyzed on gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS)
in accordance with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) TO-17 compendium method for analysis of toxic compounds. As
many as 64 VOCs were qualitatively identified, among which 13 are listed under Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs). Study of
environmental distribution of a few major VOCs indicates that although air is the principal compartment of residence, they also
get considerably partitioned in soil and vegetation. The CO2 equivalent of target VOCs from the landfills in Malad and Deonar shows
that the total yearly emissions are 7.89Eþ03 and 8.08Eþ02 kg, respectively. The total per hour ozone production from major VOCs
was found to be 5.34E-01 ppb in Deonar and 9.55E-02 ppb in Malad. The total carcinogenic risk for the workers in the dumpsite
considering all target HAPs are calculated to be 275 persons in 1 million in Deonar and 139 persons in 1 million in Malad.

Implications: This paper describes the hazards of VOC emission from open dumpsites, a common practice, in an Indian metro
city. The subsequent partitioning of the emitted VOCs in other environmental compartment from air is presented. The global
warming potential and the health hazards to the dumpsite workers from the emitted VOCs have also been estimated.

Introduction disposal of MSW except few. Waste here is mostly disposed in

In India, municipal solid waste (MSW) generation in major
cities varies from 0.2 to 0.6 kg/capita/day (Kumar et al., 2009).
Out of the total municipal waste collected, an average of 94% is
used for landfill and 5% is processed. The mismanagement of
solid waste in urban areas poses a threat to public health and
sanitation. Moreover, the gaseous emissions from landfill are
directly affecting the health conditions of dumpsite workers.
There has been no comprehensive policy in India that deals
with the whole cycle of waste management from production at
household level to collection and disposal. Illegal dumping is a
major problem in India that raises significant concerns with
regard to safety, aesthetics, property values, and quality of life.
Inefficiency in waste collection and improper disposal facilities
are environmentally unsafe.
The identification and quantification of volatile organic com-
pounds (VOCs) in the biogas of waste dumps of industrial and
household dumped waste with proper design of cover and cells
have been studied in details (Davoli et al., 2003; de la Rosa et al.,
2006; Kim and Kim, 2002; Kim et al., 2006, 2008; Zou et al.,
2003). In India, properly engineered landfills are lacking for safe
398
Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association, 62(4):398–407, 2012. Copyright © 2012 A&WMA. ISSN: 1096-2247 print
DOI: 10.1080/10473289.2012.655405
open dumps, which causes major environmental havoc. These
sites are neither lined nor covered (Agarwal, 2001; Central
Pollution Control Board, 2000). Few studies have been carried
out on the ambient air of landfill sites that are neither lined nor
covered (Chirac et al., 2007). Once the wastes are disposed off as
the dumpsite, rag-pickers rush to segregate the waste and thus
they are susceptible to environmental hazards. The VOC emis-
sion from MSW dumpsites in Mumbai has been studied in detail,
which are presented in this paper.
Materials and Methods
Study sites
Mumbai, the commercial capital of India, spans over 437.71
km2 and has a population of approximately 15 million. During
the year 2000, MSW generated in greater Mumbai area was
estimated at 6000 MT/day (Municipal Corporation of Greater
Mumbai, 2012). These wastes were dumped at Deonar and
Malad dumpsites. The locations of MSW dumpsites at
Mumbai are shown in Figure 1.
 Majumdar and Srivastava / Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association 62 (2012) 398–407 399

Figure 1. Locations of municipal dumpsites at Mumbai.

Deonar receives 4000 tons/day of waste generated from different wards in

The largest and the oldest dumping ground of Mumbai is
Deoner, which has been operating since 1927. The site is situated
in the eastern suburbs of the city, adjacent to Thane Creek, in an
area of about 132 ha of land. It is surrounded by the creek on three
sides and a slum on the fourth side (Figure 2). Presently, the site
the eastern suburbs of Mumbai Wards and Market waste. The
wastes were being dumped without any treatment. The site is
neither designed, lined, nor covered. This was the choice mainly
by virtue of its location being away from habitation in 1927. The
sampling locations in this dumpsite are depicted in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Deonar municipal dumpsite (system area considered for TaPL3 simulation).
400 Majumdar and Srivastava / Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association 62 (2012) 398–407
Malad Chincholi Bunde
It is one of the smallest dumpsite of Mumbai, operating since
1972. Presently, the site receives 600 tons/day of MSW from the
western suburbs of Mumbai Wards (Figure 3). Waste is being
dumped without any treatment. The MSW accumulated over the
site has almost attained its highest capacity and therefore, closure
of the site has been proposed in accordance with the MSW
(M&H) Rules, 2000. The site also is neither lined nor covered.
The sampling locations in Malad Chincholi dumpsite is shown in
Figure 3 (Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai, 2012).
Meteorology
The city, being in the tropical zone and near the Arabian Sea,
does not experience distinct seasons, but the climate can broadly
be classified into two main seasons—i.e., humid and dry seasons
and monthly relative humidity ranges between 57% and 87%.
The humid season, between March to October, is characterized
by high humidity and temperatures of over 30  C. The monsoon
rains lash the city during June to September and supply most of
the city’s annual rainfall of 2200 mm. The dry season, between
November and February, is characterized by moderate levels of
humidity and warm to cool weather. Cold northerly winds are
responsible for a high wind chill factor during January and
February. The annual temperatures range from a high of 38  C
to a low of 11  C. The wind rose pattern for January to February
(the study period) is shown in Figure 3 (inset).
Figure 3. Malad municipal dumpsite (system area considered for TaPL3 simulation).
Air sampling
A flux box (100  48  40 inches) was used for air sampling. The
garbage was dug to a depth of about 1 foot over an area (as per the
dimension of the flux box) and the flux box was then placed over it.
The system was made airtight by covering its side walls with the
dugout garbage and by gently pressing it from the side. The box
contained two port holes at the top. The first port was fitted with a
thermometer to keep track of the rising inner temperature of the box,
whereas the second port was connected to an air sampler. The
sampling arrangement using the flux box is shown in Figure 2 (inset).
The air at dumpsite was sampled during January and February
2006. Each cartridge containing adsorbing media (Chromosorb
106; Supelco, USA) and carbopack was sampled for a period of
24 hr using a low-volume sampler. The monitoring schedule
followed 8-hourly samples during a day. Samples were collected
at three locations on each dumpsite. Each location was repeated
thrice at an interval of a fortnight. The total number of sample
was N ¼ 54 (27 for each dumpsite). The collection of air sample
from three sites in each dumpsite was done simultaneously. The
sampling locations were the spot where trucks had downloaded
the waste about an hour before the start of sampling. A battery-
operated personal air sampler (Model Stapler-PST-3000-A;
Staplex, USA) was used to sample air at the rate of 20 mL
min1, through adsorption cartridge. Approximately 400 mg of
preheated cooled Chromosorb 106 and 400 mg of carbopack was
filled in the cartridge with glass wool plugs on either side of the
 Majumdar and Srivastava / Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association 62 (2012) 398–407
sorption cartridge. A rotameter was used to maintain uniform
flow rate. Two tubes were connected in series. When the con-
centration in the second tube was more than 5% of total con-
centration, it was assumed that breakthrough had occurred. At
none of the locations breakthrough was observed. As soon as the
pump was turned off, the cartridges were removed, capped
tightly, and sealed in plastic bags. The tubes and field blank
cartridges were stored in refrigeration at 4  C. Concentrations of
VOCs in blank tubes were observed to be lower than 0.02 mg/m3.
Analysis of VOCs
The VOCs in air were analyzed by thermal desorption, fol-
lowed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometric (GC-MS)
method (Srivastava and Som, 2007; Srivastava et al., 2005).
Desorption of sorbent tube was carried out by heating at 210  C
for 25 min. Desorbed air was collected in 2-mL adapter with a
septa. Varian GC-MS (Model Saturn-3; Varian, USA) with injec-
tion mode of sample introduction and DB-624 capillary column
(Varian, USA) of 60 m length, 0.32 mm internal diameter with 1.8
mm film thickness was used. Helium gas with a flow rate of 1.5
mL min1 with head pressure 10 psi and split ratio 100:1 was
used. GC oven was programmed for 35  C, hold for 2 min, and
ramped to 210  C with rate of 10  C. Transfer line temperature and
ion trap temperature was maintained at 220 and 125  C, respec-
tively. Acquisition mass range was from 35 to 260 Atomic Mass
Unit (amu) in Electron Ionisation (EI) mode and 100 mL of
desorbed sample was injected into GC. Each peak of chromato-
gram was identified using National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST) Library database. Mass spectra for individual
peak in the total ion chromatograph were examined with respect to
fragmentation pattern of individual ions and m/z ratio for primary
and secondary ions. First three mass abundances were matched to
identify the peak. Some of the identified compounds were quanti-
fied using VOCMIX 15 from Dr. Ehrenstrofer (GmbH, Germany).
Quality control in sampling and analysis
A linearity test was carried out to determine the breakthrough
volume by sampling a synthetic mixture of six components of
VOC mix-15 for 20, 40, and 80 min at a rate of 100 mL/min. The
linearity in the peak area indicated that breakthrough has not
occurred at a sampling volume of 8000 mL. Percentage accuracy
for observation has been determined as a relative difference of
measured concentration and spiked concentration for each com-
ponent. Also mean response factor and percent relative standard
deviation for all target compounds have been calculated.
Method detection limit (MDL) has been established by mak-
ing seven replicated measurements of 0.002 mg. The standard
deviation for these replicated concentrations multiplied by
Student’s t value for 99% confidence for seven values gives the
MDL. The MDL varied from 0.00076 mg for 1,2-
dichlorobenzene to 0.0045 mg for butylbenzene.
Modeling of environmental distribution of Hazardous
Air Pollutants (HAPs)
The distribution of HAPs in different components of environ-
ment, their persistence, and long-range-transport potential were
401
calculated using a multimedia mass balance model, TaPL3 (soft-
ware copyright 2000, version 3.0; Canadian Environmental
Modeling Centre, Canada). The TaPL3 model uses a level III
simulation to evaluate a chemical’s potential for long-range trans-
port in a mobile medium, either air or water, its distribution among
different environmental compartments, and its environmental per-
sistence (Beyer et al., 2000; IPCC, 2006; Webster et al., 1998).
The TaPL3 model divides the environment in several well-
mixed compartments such as atmosphere, sea, lake, sediment,
soil, biota, or vegetation, which are homogeneous, and in equili-
brium. In the present study, five numbers of compartments,
namely, atmosphere, creek, soil, sediment, and vegetation,
were considered. The environmental persistence of a chemical
in the framework of the multimedia model calculation is
expressed mathematically in eq 1,
T ¼ ni SM i = ni SðM i  k i Þ (1)
where T is the overall persistence of chemical (hr), n is the
number of compartment (kg), Mi is the amount of chemical in
compartment i, and ki is the degradation rate in compartment i
(kg/hr).
The potential for the chemical to be subject to long-range
transport is given by the characteristic named travel distance in
air, LA (km) as expressed in eq 2,
LA ¼ u  t A  Y A (2)
where u (km/hr) is the average wind speed, tA is the half life of
the chemical in air in hour, and YA is the mass fraction of the
chemical in air.
The potential for long-range transport in a river system, given
by the characteristic travel distance in water, LW, is calculated
similarly. The overall persistence (P) is calculated as per eq 3,
P ¼ M =E (3)
where M (mol) is the total quantity of chemical in the system and
E (mol/hr) is the emission rate. This provides a first estimate of
overall environmental persistence, which is a critical property of
the chemical. It also shows which loss processes are likely to be
most important. The average hoping value (H) represents the
average number of hops experienced by the chemical from one
compartment to another. It is calculated only for emission to air.
The average number of hop is calculated as per eq 4,
H ¼ ðNW; A þ NS; A þ NV; AÞ=EA (4)
where NW, A is the transfer rate from water to air, NS, A is the
transfer rate from soil to air, NV, A is the transfer rate from vegeta-
tion to air, and EA is the emission rate to air, all in units of mol/hr.
The model also uses a default value for the total emission of
1000 kg hr1 into a single mobile medium and returns the total
environmental load in the system along with percentage distri-
bution in individual medium.
The load of a compound in air compartment (Mair) is calculated
as the product of its measured concentration in air and the volume
of the air compartment (i.e., area of the system multiplied by the
mixing height). The load of the compounds in other compartments
402 Majumdar and Srivastava / Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association 62 (2012) 398–407

(water, soil, sediment, and vegetation), are estimated as propor-
tional to the load in air compartment using the model predicted
percentage distribution of the compound in those compartments.
The total environmental load is expressed as the summation of
compound’s load in all the environmental compartments.
It is assumed that a linear relationship exists between the
environmental load of a chemical and its emission rate. The
probable emission of the target VOCs in the system under
examination is thus estimated from the calculated total environ-
mental load.
Required input for the model TaPL3 used in the simulation
for the target pollutant is given in Table 1.
Estimation of CO2 equivalent of VOC emission from
landfill
Nonmethane VOCs have twofold contributions towards cli-
mate change (DoE, 2007; IPCC, 2006; Majumdar et al., 2011;
Webster et al., 2003).
(a) The primary contribution arises from the indirect effect due to
their chemical effects on the atmosphere. VOCs influence
climate through production of organic aerosols and their
involvement in photochemistry, i.e., production of O3 in pre-
sence of NOx and sunlight (IPCC, 2001).

Table 1. Parameter used for TaPL3 simulation

Carbon Methylene
VOC Pollutant Benzene Chloroform tetrachloride Toluene Ethylbenzene Xylene chloride

Chemical parameters
Molar mass (g mol1) 78 119.5 154 92 106 106 85
Vapor pressurea VP (Pa) 12672.2 26264.5 15332.1 3769.3 1276.7 1074 57995.2
Octanol-carbon Koc 55.1 60 198 139 228 271 22
partition
coefficienta
Octanol-air Koa 465 523 493 1471 3080 3245 158
partition
coefficientb
Octanol-water Kow 150 90 527 480 1300 1300 18
partition
coefficienta
Dimensionless KH 0.228 0.172 1.070 0.263 0.328 0.274 0.114
Henry’s law
constantc
Partition coefficient Water-air 4.4 5.8 0.9 3.8 3.1 3.6 8.8
(dimentionless)d
Soil-air 47.7 53.6 50.5 150.8 315.7 332.6 16.2
Sediment-air 47.7 53.6 50.5 150.8 315.7 332.6 16.2
Suspended 473.5 228.4 391.3 1591.8 4699.6 5586.6 103.5
particles-air
Fish-air 23.3 26.1 24.6 73.6 154.0 162.3 7.9
Aerosol-air 473.5 228.4 391.3 1591.8 4699.6 5586.6 103.5
Vegetation-air 7.6 7.5 4.2 15.3 29.8 35.6 6.9
Half life (hr) ina Air 141.8 3432.0 86724.0 57.1 47 23.3 2520
Water 267.6 2496.0 6480.0 312 156 420 420
Soil 4564.8 1463.8 4720.0 682.3 156 362.4 1085.4
Sediment 5359 2244.0 4464.0 2568 2772 4404 1428
Vegetatione 1000 1000 1000 1997.12 1000 1000 1000
Environmental parameters
Deonar Malad
System Areaf (km2) 4.0 1.0
Area of waterf (km2) 0.15 0.26
Vegetation fraction of total areaf (km2) 0.16 0.24

Notes: aDatabase available with CalTOX, Version 1.5, 1994.

b
From Salem and Katz (2001); except for CCl4, CHCl3, and CH2Cl2, where it is calculated from Koa ¼ Kow (RT)/H.
c
Calculated from the equation: KH ¼ H/(RT).
d
Calculated (MSC-E, 2004); except for fish-air partition coefficient (KFA), KFA ¼ VL  Koa, where VL is the volume fraction of lipid in fish.
e
Due to nonavailability of data, half-life of 1000 hr has been assumed for all the compartment except toluene in vegetation compartment. Value for toluene was
calculated from Fostera et al. (2006).
f
System area is the whole area depicted in Figures 2 and 3 for Deonar and Malad, respectively. The area of water and vegetation is estimated from the map.
 Majumdar and Srivastava / Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association 62 (2012) 398–407 403

(b) The secondary contribution is due to the eventual production Assessment Information System (RAIS; online database: http://
of CO2 from the atmospheric degradation of the VOC and rais.ornl.gov) (EPA, accessed October 2011).
determined by the amount of carbon present therein.
The CO2 equivalent emissions arising from (a) are given by Results and Discussion
CO2primary ¼ GWPVOC  mVOC (5) Sixty-three VOCs have been identified in the emissions from
dumpsites, among which 13 are listed under HAP (Table 2).
where CO2primary is CO2 equivalent in kg, mVOC is the number of Amongst these, 11 fall under the category of Hazardous Air
tons of the VOC emitted, and GWPVOC is the indirect global Pollutants as defined in Air Toxics Programme, EPA. Eight
warming potential (GWP) for the particular VOC species. The species of VOCs that have been detected in all the samples
GWP of a VOC species compares the radiative forcing of a ton of have been chosen for further study. Benzene was found to be
a greenhouse gas (GHG) over a given time period (e.g., 100 the most abundant species, followed by toluene. The levels of the
years) to a ton of CO2 (IPCC, 2006). Estimation of GWPs VOCs observed in both the dumpsites are compared in Table 3
requires complicated calculation involving powerful models with the same reported in dumpsites in other countries around
and the values for many VOCs have been reported by the the world. In all the samples, benzene have been found to be
(Webster et al., 2003). Unfortunately, the GWPs of some of the much higher than the permissible limit (prescribed by Central
target VOCs are not available and an indirect GWP value of 10 is
assumed for each of them in calculation purpose (DoE, 2007). Table 2. VOCs identified in ambient air at dumpsites
The secondary CO2 equivalent emissions arising from (b)
depends on the number of carbon atoms in the VOC, its mole- 1,2-Dichloroethylene Methylene chloride
cular weight, and the mass of the VOC released. Tetrachloroethylene Styrene
Acetic acid ethyl ester Formaldehyde
CO2secondary ¼ 44  nVOC  mVOC =MWVOC (6) 1-Methoxy-2-propanol Acetaldehyde
2-Butanone Acetone
where nVOC is the number of carbon atoms in a molecule of the 2-Pentanone Acrolein
VOC, MWVOC is its molecular weight in g/mol, and CO2 sec- 2-Methylbutanal Propionaldehyde
ondary is in tons CO2. 2-Ethylfuran Butanal
Thus the total CO2 equivalent emissions (in tons) arising from Toluene Crotonaldehyde
the direct release of the VOC is presented in eq 7, (1-Methylethyl)benzene Benzaldehyde
(2-Methylpropyl)benzene Isovalaraldehyde
CO2equivalent ¼ CO2primary þ CO2secondary (7) Benzene Valaraldehyde
Carbon tetrachloride o-Tolualdehyde
The potential of ozone production is, however, calculated from Chloroform m,p-Tolualdehyde
the integrated downwind ozone production (IDOP), which pro- Ethylbenzene Hexanal
vides a level of production of ozone in the atmosphere for a given Furan, 2-methyl- 2,5-Dimethylbenzaldehyde
emission of 1 ton of a species per hour. Methane, isothiocyanato- Benzoic acid, 2,4,6-
trichloro-
Estimation of health risk Furan, 2,5-dimethyl- Cyclohexane, propyl-
Cyclohexane, methyl- Cyclohexane, 1,3,5-
For calculation of carcinogenic and noncarcinogenic risks, it trimethyl-
is required to estimate the exposure (Tristate Geographic Cyclohexane, decyl- Cyclooctane, butyl-
Initiative, 1997). The average daily exposure (E) of a worker due Cyclohexane, 1,3- dimethyl-, cis- Octane, 4,5-dipropyl-
to inhalation exposure was calculated from the eq (8), Heptane, 4-methylene- Octane, 2,3-dimethyl-
Heptane, 3-bromo- Benzene, chloro-
E ¼ C  IR  ED=BW (8)
Octane, 4,5-dipropyl- 3,5-Dichlorobenzoic acid
where C is the HAP concentration in dumpsite air in mg/m3, IR Octane, 3,5-dimethyl- 3-Carene
is the inhalation rate (0.83 m3/hr), ED in the daily occupational Hexane, 2,3,5-trimethyl- Camphene
exposure (typically 8 hr), and BW is the body weight (70 kg). Cyclooctane, 1-methyl-3-propyl- 1-Decanol, 2-ethyl-
Noncancer risks is often expressed as hazard quotient (HQ) of Benzene, 1,3,5-trimethyl 1-Decanol, 2-hexyl-
a particular pollutants and is calculated as the ratio between the 3-Menthene Benzene, 1-methyl-4-
prevailing concentration and the chronic inhalation RfC (a refer- (1-methylethyl)-
ence concentration below which adverse health effects are not Cyclohexene, 1-ethyl-4-methyl-, Undecane, 6-methyl-
likely to occur). Summation of HQs for individual contaminants cis-
gave hazard index (HI) for all the target pollutants. Cancer risks Benzene, 1,2,4,5-tetramethyl- Undecane
are calculated as the product of prevailing concentration and Disulfide, dimethyl
inhalation unit risk value. The RfC and unit risk values for Note: Highlighted compounds fall under the list of Hazardous Air Pollutants as in
individual compounds have been taken from U.S. EPA, Risk the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, USA.
404 Majumdar and Srivastava / Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association 62 (2012) 398–407

Table 3. Comparison of VOC concentrations observed at other dump/landfill sites in (mg/m3)

Guangzhoa UK Los Angeles, Open Landfill Datianshan

Deonar Malad Urban Urbanb USA Urbanc Cell, Franced Landfill, Chinae

Styrene 3.5  2.8 2.9  1.8 9.8 2.1

Benzene 286.1  167.4 144.56  98.2 33.8 22.6 19.6 7.3
Carbon tetrachloride 0.4  0.3 0.2  0.1 NA NA 1.3
Chloroform 0.8  0.6 0.7  0.5 NA NA 3.7
Ethylbenzene 0.5  0.3 0.2  0.1 15.6 3.5 10.2 662 1.8
Methylene chloride 13.9  7.3 1.7  0.8 NA NA 5.1
Xylene mixture 0.4  0.3 0.2  0.1 56.3 10.2 20.3 1602 75
Toluene 70.5  33.4 87.14  29.1 62 59.7 45.0 2471 12

Notes: aWang et al., 2002; bClark et al., 1984; cKeller 1988; dR. Chiriac et al., 2007; eS. C. Zou et al., 2003.

Pollution Control Board, India) in ambient air of 15 mg/m3,
although VOCs other than benzene are much less than the values
reported in other dumpsite. The permissible limit of benzene in
petrol was up to 5% in the year 2006 and it served as an
antiknocking agent (Som et al., 2007). The vehicle plying in
and around the dumpsite may also be responsible for the elevated
level of benzene other than the dumpsite emission. Species
identified as highly reactive have atmospheric lifetimes of less
than 6 hr under the specified typical annual average conditions.
Those identified as having medium reactivity have a lifetime
between 6 and 24 hr, low-reactivity species have lifetimes
between 1 and 60 days, and very-low-reactivity species have
lifetimes greater than 60 days. High reactivity significantly
decreases ambient concentrations. Thus VOCs, which are highly
reactive, exist in the atmosphere only close to their sources. As
the reactivity decreases, effect on ambient concentrations is less,
but long-range transport becomes an increasingly important
factor. Some of the HAPs have low reactivity, so there always
exist a background concentration level as a result of global
anthropogenic activities. Amongst the VOCs identified, chloro-
form and carbon tetrachloride have very low reactivity and
methylene chloride, benzene, toluene, and ethyl benzene have
low reactivity. Naphthalene and xylenes have medium reactivity
and styrene is highly reactive.
Under summer, daylight conditions, atmospheric lifetimes
can be much shorter and, conversely, under winter conditions,

Table 4. Percentage distribution of some VOCs in different environments calculated using TaPL3

Weight Percentage in Environment Long-Range Transport

Average
Persistence No. of
VOC Air Water Soil Sediment Vegetation Hours km HOPs

Deonar
Benzene 9.94E þ 01 1.62E-01 4.73E-01 1.52E-03 2.41E-04 2.06E þ 02 4.29E þ 03 4.62E-03
Carbon Tetrachloride 9.95E þ 01 6.61E-02 4.76E-01 3.07E-03 1.57E-04 1.15E þ 05 2.39E þ 06 2.30E þ 00
Ethylbenzene 9.95E þ 01 8.20E-02 3.83E-01 9.60E-03 5.58E-04 6.80E þ 01 1.42E þ 03 2.98E-04
Styrene
Toluene 9.90E þ 01 1.49E-01 8.32E-01 4.46E-03 4.02E-04 8.31E þ 01 1.73E þ 03 1.20E-03
Xylene 9.90E þ 01 1.60E-01 7.71E-01 2.48E-02 2.17E-04 3.39E þ 01 7.05E þ 02 2.86E-04
Chloroform 9.91E þ 01 3.96E-01 4.90E-01 2.20E-03 3.27E-04 4.91E þ 03 1.02E þ 05 1.30E-01
Methylene chloride 9.94E þ 01 3.93E-01 2.00E-01 9.44E-04 2.62E-04 3.56E þ 03 7.43E þ 04 9.73E-02
Maland
Benzene 9.94E þ 01 1.14E-01 4.78E-01 1.07E-03 3.66E-04 2.06E þ 02 4.29E þ 03 4.43E-03
Carbon Tetrachloride 9.95E þ 01 4.63E-02 4.81E-01 2.16E-03 2.38E-04 1.15E þ 05 2.40E þ 06 2.27E þ 00
Ethyl benzene 9.95E þ 01 5.70E-02 3.87E-01 6.67E-03 8.47E-04 6.80E þ 01 1.42E þ 03 2.60E-04
Styrene
Toluene 9.90E þ 01 1.04E-01 8.43E-01 3.11E-03 6.11E-04 8.31E þ 01 1.73E þ 03 1.12E-03
Xylene 9.91E þ 01 1.12E-01 7.80E-01 1.72E-02 3.30E-04 3.39E þ 01 7.05E þ 02 2.48E-04
Chloroform 9.92E þ 01 2.78E-01 4.97E-01 1.54E-03 4.97E-04 4.91E þ 03 1.02E þ 05 1.17E-01
Methylene chloride 9.94E þ 01 3.93E-01 2.00E-01 9.44E-04 2.62E-04 3.56E þ 03 7.43E þ 04 9.73E-02
 Majumdar and Srivastava / Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association 62 (2012) 398–407 405

the lifetimes can be longer. In tropical countries such as India, it

Produced

9.37E-03

1.14E-05
2.21E-04
1.23E-05
6.46E-05
5.69E-05
8.57E-02
9.55E-02
Per Hour
(ppb)
can be assumed that atmospheric reactivity will be higher as

O3

—
compared to western countries. The VOCs of concern from
dumpsites are carbon tetrachloride, benzene, toluene, and ethyl-
benzene. Percentage distribution of these VOCs in different

CO2 equivalent

4.64E þ 02
5.93E þ 01

3.92E þ 00

2.79E þ 02
8.08E þ 02
components of environment is shown in Table 4. The principal

7.08E-01
6.90E-01

1.56E-01
1.70E-01
(kg)
residing environmental compartment for all these VOCs studied
is air, with more than 99% partitioning, followed by soil and
water (Table 4). It is thus important to monitor them in gas

Malad
phase. Although the pollutants are being released to air and
residing mainly in this environmental compartment, it is inter-

CO2 secondary

1.17E þ 02

7.00E þ 01
1.88E þ 02
1.21E-02
5.97E-02
1.72E-01
2.13E-01
3.89E-02
4.23E-02
esting to note that they are also moving to other media through

(kg)
partitioning even in vegetation. Table 4 also gives the number
of hops from one medium to another, persistence, and the long-
range transport of VOCs species. Carbon tetrachloride shows
the highest persistence, followed by chloroform and methyle-

3.47E þ 02
5.93E þ 01

3.70E þ 00

2.09E þ 02
6.20E þ 02
CO2 primary
nechloride. Among the hydrocarbons benzene is highest, fol-

6.49E-01
5.18E-01

1.17E-01
1.27E-01
(kg)
lowed by toluene. All of the chloro compounds are low-
reactivity species with half-life longer than 60 days. Long-
range transport is observed to be longest for carbon tetrachlor-
ide owing to its very low reactivity and high intermedium

Produced

1.11E-01

7.81E-05
3.07E-03
6.01E-04
2.04E-03
7.82E-04
4.16E-01
5.34E-01
Per hour
exchange.

(ppb)
O3

—
Table 5 presents the CO2 equivalent (primary, secondary, and
total) and ozone formation of each target VOC emitted from the
landfill sites. The CO2 equivalent of target VOCs from the
landfills in Malad and Deonar shows that the total yearly emis-

CO2 equivalent

5.51E þ 03
7.58E þ 02
4.78E þ 00
7.58E þ 00
2.47E þ 02
4.92E þ 00
2.33E þ 00
1.35E þ 03
7.89E þ 03
sions are 7.89Eþ03 and 8.08Eþ02 kg, respectively. The highest

(kg)
CO2 equivalent emitter is benzene, followed by toluene, in
Deonar due to their high concentration in air. In Malad, carbon
tetrachloride is the second highest emitter after benzene owing to
Deonar

its high GWP value. (GWP of CCl4 is 1400). Toluene shows the CO2 secondary

1.39E þ 03

6.71E þ 01
1.23E þ 00

3.37E þ 02
1.80E þ 03
highest ozone-forming potential in Deonar and benzene gener-

1.99E-01
3.19E-01
3.73E-01

5.81E-01
ates the most ozone in Malad. The average total ozone produced
(kg)

per hour is 5.34E-01 and 9.55E-02 ppb, respectively in Deonar

and Malad. Per hour ozone production was found to be highest
for toluene (4.16E-01 ppb in Deonar and 8.57E-02 ppb in
Table 5. CO2 equivalent and ozone produced from some VOCs in the dumpsites

Malad), followed by benzene (1.11E-01 ppb in Deonar and

4.12E þ 03
7.58E þ 02
4.46E þ 00
7.21E þ 00
1.80E þ 02
3.69E þ 00
1.75E þ 00
1.02E þ 03
6.09E þ 03
CO2 primary

9.37E-03 ppb in Malad). The total per hour ozone production

(kg)

from major VOCs was found to be 5.34E-01 ppb in Deonar

9.55E-02 ppb in Malad.
A good number of workers, rag pickers, are involved in the
solid waste management system in the dumpsites of Malad and
Worming
Potential
10.00

4.00

9.00
1400.00

10.00

10.00
10.00
10.00
Global

Deonar in Mumbai. The high concentration of different HAPs

including benzene measured in the dumpsite necessitates assess-
ment of the carcinogenic and noncarcinogenic health risks due to
the inhalation exposure of the target HAPs of the workers. The
Downwind

Production

cancer risk and noncancer hazards of the dumpsite workers are

Ozone

0.270

0.070
4.260
0.030
5.520
4.470
4.100

given in Table 6. Although the exposure level for VOCs

—

observed in the current study was well below the threshold

limit value–time-weighted average (TLV-TWA) value proposed
by the American Conference of Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH)
Carbon tetrachloride

(e.g., 1600 mg/m3 for benzene, 1.91Eþ05 mg/m3 for toluene,

Methylene chloride

4.42Eþ05 mg/m3 for xylene) and recommended exposure limit

proposed by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and
Ethylbenzene
Chloroform

Health (NIOSH) (325 mg/m3 for benzene, 3.82Eþ05 mg/m3 for

m-Xylene
o-Xylene
Benzene

toluene, and 4.42Eþ05 mg/m3 for xylene), the cumulative can-

Toluene
VOCs

Total

cer risk are quite high. The total carcinogenic risk considering all
target HAPs are calculated to be 2260 and 1150 persons in
406 Majumdar and Srivastava / Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association 62 (2012) 398–407

Table 6. Cancer risk and noncancer hazards of the dumpsite workers in Mumbai

Chronic Inhalation RfC Inhalation Unit Risk Concentration Daily Exposure

VOCs (mg/m3) (mg/m3)–1 (mg/m3) (mg/kg/day) HQ Risk

Deonar
Benzene 3.00E-02 7.80E-06 286.1289 2.71E-02 9.54E þ 00 2.23E-03
Carbon tetrachloride 1.00E-01 6.00E-06 0.376076 3.57E-05 3.76E-03 2.26E-06
Chloroform 9.77E-02 2.30E-05 0.774789 7.35E-05 7.93E-03 1.78E-05
Ethylbenzene 1.00E þ 00 2.50E-06 0.500381 4.75E-05 5.00E-04 1.25E-06
Methylene chloride 1.04E þ 00 4.70E-07 13.91544 1.32E-03 1.34E-02 6.54E-06
Xylene mixture 5.00E þ 00 0.378055 3.59E-05 7.56E-05
Toluene 1.00E-01 70.53178 6.69E-03 7.05E-01
Malad
Benzene 3.00E-02 7.80E-06 144.5645 0.013712975 4.82E þ 00 1.13E-03
Carbon tetrachloride 1.00E-01 6.00E-06 0.176412 1.67339E-05 1.76E-03 1.06E-06
Chloroform 9.77E-02 2.30E-05 0.675602 6.40857E-05 6.92E-03 1.55E-05
Ethylbenzene 1.00E þ 00 2.50E-06 0.215808 2.04709E-05 2.16E-04 5.40E-07
Methylene chloride 1.04E þ 00 4.70E-07 1.715037 0.000162684 1.65E-03 8.06E-07
Xylene mixture 5.00E þ 00 0.101796 9.65608E-06 2.04E-05
Toluene 1.00E-01 87.14092 0.008265939 8.71E-01

1 million in Deonar and Malad, respectively. Owing to the high Conclusion

toxicity and highest concentration, benzene imposes the max-
imum exposure, carcinogenic risk as well as non-carcinogenic
hazard. Except for benzene, the individual HQ values for none of
the other target HAPs exceeded unity, indicating no serious
threat to pollutant specific damage to target organs from them.
However, owing to the high HQ value of benzene, the HI value
considering all the target pollutants are 10.3 and 5.70 in Deonar
and Malad, respectively, which is higher than the acceptable
value of unity. In a previous study by Majumdar et al. (2008),
it has been shown that the calculated cancer risk for benzene and
the noncancer hazard quotient for BTX (Benzene, Tuluene &
Xylene) corresponding to the limiting occupational exposure
values set by various authorities around the world are alarmingly
high, considering 40 years of occupational exposure (Majumdar
et al., 2008).
Uncertainty of risk estimates
Uncertainties involved in risk estimates are firstly due to
extrapolation of slope factor of cancer risk from animal stu-
dies to human and from high dose to low dose. As a result, a
particular HAP may not cause cancer at all even though
calculated risk is greater than zero. The magnitude by which
calculated risk varies depends on the shape of the dose-
response curve, the possible existence of a threshold due to
DNA repair, or other mechanism. Secondly, uncertainty
related to exposure estimates also contribute to the uncertainty
of the risk estimate. Exposure estimates based on ambient
concentration varies with the time spent by an individual in
that microenvironment. It does not account for all microenvir-
onments in which an individual spends time and personal
activity. Pollutants transfer rates among media and chemical
transformation rate constants also contribute to uncertainty of
exposure assessment.
The investigation of VOCs in the air of Deonar and Malad
dumpsites in Mumbai reveal that they emit a number of
hazardous air pollutants in a considerable amount. These
HAPs are distributed to other environmental compartments
from air and persist in the environment for long period.
Also, they are transported to long distances and there is the
possibility of distant locations to get affected from these
emissions. Moreover, the dumpsite emissions are particularly
harmful for the health of the workers involved in the work and
pose both carcinogenic and noncarcinogenic threats. It thus
warrants regular health checkup of dumpsite workers and
proper management of municipal waste. The quantity of
CO2 equivalent released and long-range transport of benzene
and carbon tetrachloride stress the need of proper municipal
waste management.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the reviewers for their valu-
able suggestions for improving of the paper.
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About the Authors
Dipanjali Majumdar is currently working as a Scientist in the National
Environmental Engineering Research Institute, Kolkata Zonal Centre, Kolkata,
India.
Anjali Srivastava is Director Grade Scientist and Scientist & Head of Kolkata
Zonal Centre.