TERI Conducts Source Apportionment Study on Air Pollution in Kolkata and Howrah

The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) has been contracted by the state pollution control board to conduct a source apportionment research on air pollution in Kolkata and Howrah. The survey's objective is to estimate the various sources of the city's air pollution.

The process of determining the proportionate contribution of pollution sources to airborne particulate matter is known as a source apportionment study.

It will provide a well-researched assessment of the proportion that various sectors, such as transportation, industry, or trash burning, contribute to the ambient air's concentration of PM2.5 and PM10, the two most dangerous air pollutants.

PM2.5 refers to particulates smaller than 2.5 microns, while PM10 refers to particles between 2.5 and 10 microns in size.

The similar research was conducted by TERI for Delhi and published in 2018.

For Kolkata and Howrah, the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) completed a source allocation study in 2017–18. In 2019, the report was sent in.

According to the research, during the winter months in Kolkata, cars accounted for 25% of PM2.5 in the air, secondary aerosols for 32%, wood combustion for 15%, and coal burning for 9%.

Vehicles were responsible for 31% of PM2.5 in Howrah, secondary aerosols for 27%, and coal and wood combustion for 1% each.

Pollutants known as secondary aerosols, or secondary particles, are created in the atmosphere when naturally occurring or man-made gases mix with one another.

Experts in air quality management said that since the previous research was conducted some time ago, it would be beneficial to have updated data.

In recent years, the Bengali cities whose air quality was determined to be below acceptable standards have implemented some measures. An expert predicted that new data will demonstrate the extent to which these initiatives had improved the quality of the air.

Bengal contains six of the 131 Indian cities that the National Clean Air Programme has classified as "non-attainment" cities: Kolkata, Howrah, Asansol-Raniganj, Durgapur, Haldia, and Barrackpore.

Cities that have not met the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for five years are considered non-attainment cities.

For the source apportionment research, TERI has been contracted. Additionally, they will examine the environment's carrying capacity. The project has been ongoing for a while. According to a PCB representative, TERI will deliver its findings in the middle of 2024.

According to Arindam Datta, a senior fellow at TERI and part of the research team, the source apportionment survey was carried out inside the Kolkata municipal area as well as 10 kilometers outside of it.

It indicates that the locations included by the research include the whole city of Howrah, Andul, Hind Motor, Konnagar, Dankuni, Sonarpur, Maheshtala, Basanti, and Titagarh.

Our research will concentrate on both domestic and external causes of pollution. We'll investigate Kolkata's pollution problem and determine how much of it originates beyond the city limits, said Datta.

Knowing how much pollution comes from locations just outside of Kolkata would help the state government include more agencies under it in the battle against bad air.

"The state can ask the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) and neighboring municipalities to take corrective measures if it is found that places in the Kolkata metropolitan area are responsible for a significant portion of the city's air pollution," said Dutta.

The towns in nearby districts as well as Kolkata itself are included in the metropolitan region of Kolkata.

An efficient plan would need to be developed in collaboration with both the Center and the other states if the analysis reveals that part of the pollution is caused by them.

An emission inventory, which is the total weight of pollutants produced, will also be created as part of the research.

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