Air Pollution & it’s Effects

Presentation by:

Dr. Gazala Habib

Room 303, Block IV

Department of Civil Engineering

IIT Delhi

Air Pollution• Definition:

Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, or biological materials that causeharm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms, or damages the natural environment.

• Causes :

– Industries.

– Automobiles , Domestic fuels and Re-suspended dust from Roads.

– Fires.

– High Proportion of undesirable gases:

• sulphur dioxide

• carbon monoxide

• Effects:

– Human health

– Flora & Fauna.

– Acid rain

– Damage to buildings, corrosion, etc.

Acid Rain

Air Pollution & Cluster Effects

Air pollution Prevention & Control Maintain distance between the industrial and residential areas.

Using emission & particulate control devices like ESP, bag house filters,venturi scrubbers, etc.

Tall chimneys.

Desulphurization.

Unleaded Fuel.

Plantations (especially in mining areas/construction sites).

Automobiles with emission control system like DPF (Diesel ParticulateFilters).

Awareness, education, strict laws & legislation.

Health Effects of Particulate Matter

INTRODUCTION

Source: Guaita et al., 2011

Epidemiological studies:

Ambient PM ~increased hospital admission,

morbidity & mortality.

(Dockery et al., 1993; Pope et al., 1995; Pope,

2000; Pope et. al. 2004; Pope et. al. 2009; Fang et

al., 2013).

Global Mortality:

5.5 million people worldwide including 1.4 million

in India die prematurely due to fine PM.

(AAAS, 2016).

Outdoor air pollution: 5th largest killer in India(after high blood pressure, indoor airpollution, tobacco smoking, and poor nutrition)(Vos et al., 2015)

DEPOSITION OF PARTICULATE INTO LUNGS

• Inertial Impaction

• Sedimentation

• Diffusion & Brownian

motion

• Interception

Source: Bennett et al. (2008)

Extra thoracic region

Tracheobroncial region

Alveolar region

`

Deposition Mechanisms Involved

Major:

Minor:

DiffusionSedimentationImpaction

InterceptionElectrostatic

Naso-pharyngeal:impaction, sedimentation, electrostatic (particles > 1 μm)Tracheo-bronchial: impaction, sedimentation, diffusion (particles < 1 μm)Pulmonary:sedimentation, diffusion (particles < 0.1 μm)

Diffusion

•Caused by Brownian motion•Diffusion is the deposition mechanism for small particles.•Diffusion increases with decreasing particle size and flow rate.•More deposition occurs in the alveoli region because longer residence time andsmaller airway.

Sedimentation

• When gravitational force act on the particle

• Particles will settle to the lower surface of the airway. This occur more in thelower generation where the velocity is much lower and the airway is smaller

• Lung airways have different orientation so deposition of particle will be differentdepending on the direction of the particle flow and direction of gravitational force

ForceForce

Impaction

•Particle cannot follow the trajectory due to its inertia and hit the wall calledimpaction.•Impaction increases with particle size and flow rate.•This type of deposition occur through out the lung.•This is important, especially in the head airway where most of the large particles arescreened out.•Impaction occurs mostly in the upper generation airways due to high velocity

Inhalation Fraction

8.200076.01

115.01

pdIF

Inhalation fraction is the ratio of aerosol inhaled to the total aerosol in the airflow.

This is affected by the entry point, the orientation of the flow to the entry point, theflow rate and particle size.

IF is usually presented as orientation average

Total aerosol Aerosol inhaleIF =

Inhaling

India’s National Air Quality Index(AQI)

(Precautionary Warnings!!)

Seen News Recently?

Does poor Air Quality Affect us?

• Yes, IT DOES!

• Young people (High risk)

– Lungs are not fully developed

– Faster breathing rate: more air volume/body weight

• Very old people (High risk)

– Undiagnosed lung or heart diseases

– Pollution can exacerbate these conditions

• Persons already with chronic illnesses:

Respiratory

Cardiovascular

• Healthy persons:

While exercising outdoors with high pollutant concentration

• Pregnant Women:

Risk of pre-natal mortality

Air Pollution: Major Diseases

About AQI• AQI was launched in India on 6th April, 2015.

• AQI scheme reflects ‘one color, one code’ fordifferent types of air quality (good, satisfactory,moderate, poor, very poor & severe).

• The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) hasdeveloped the index in consultation with IIT, Kanpurand other expert groups comprising medicalprofessionals, scientists, NGO’s, etc.

Indian cities under AQI• Delhi

• Faridabad

• Agra

• Kanpur

• Lucknow

• Varanasi

• Ahmedabad

• Bangalore

• Chennai

• Hyderabad

• Mumbai

• Kolkata

• Chandigarh

Proposed Cities under AQI

• 46 more cities with > 1 million population.

• 20 more state capitals.

• Each city will have 6-7 monitoring stations with AQI display boards.

AQI: Importance•AQI transforms individual air pollutant (e.g. SO2,NO2, CO, PM10 , PM2.5, O3, Pb, NH3) levels into asingle number, which is a simple and luciddescription of air quality for the citizens.

•AQI helps citizens to avoid exposure to airpollutants and hence prevents negative healthimpacts.

•AQI indicates compliance with National AmbientAir Quality Standards (NAAQS).

•AQI aids local authorities in taking swift steps inimproving air quality.

•AQI guides policy makers to take broad decisionspertaining to environmental management ingeneral & air pollution in particular.

•AQI encourages citizens to participate in air qualitymanagement.

Pollutant SO2 NO2 PM2.5 PM10 O3 CO (mg/m3) Pb NH3

Averaging time (hr) 24 24 24 24 1 8 1 8 24 24

Indian Standard (µg/m3) 80 80 60 100 180 100 4 2 1 400

Pollutants Considered for AQI and Air Quality Standards

Development of Aggregate AQI

AQI=Max(I1,I2,...,In)

AQI categories and breakpoint concentrations with averaging times

(units: µg/m3 unless mentioned otherwise)

AQI Category

(Range)

PM10

24-hr

PM2.5

24-hr

NO2

24-hr

O3

8-hr

CO

8-hr

(mg/m3)

SO2

24-hr

NH3

24-hr

Pb

24-hr

Good (0-50) 0-50 0-30 0-40 0-50 0-1.0 0-40 0-200 0-0.5

Satisfactory

(51-100)

51-100 31-60 41-80 51-100 1.1-2.0 41-80 201-400 0.6 –1.0

Moderate

(101-200)

101-250 61-90 81-180 101-168 2.1- 10 81-380 401-800 1.1-2.0

Poor

(201-300)

251-350 91-120 181-280 169-208 10.1-17 381-800 801-1200 2.1-3.0

Very poor

(301-400)

351-430 121-250 281-400 209-748* 17.1-34 801-1600 1201-1800 3.1-3.5

Severe

(401-500)

430 + 250+ 400+ 748+* 34+ 1600+ 1800+ 3.5+

*One hourly monitoring (for mathematical calculation only)

AQI: Health Impacts

The higher the AQI, greater the air pollution and health concerns

AQI Possible Health Impacts

Good minimal impact

Satisfactory minor breathing discomfort to sensitive people

Moderatebreathing discomfort to the people with lung disease such as asthma and

discomfort to people with heart disease, children and older adults

Poorbreathing discomfort to people on prolonged exposure and discomfort to people with

heart disease with short exposure

Very Poorrespiratory illness to the people on prolonged exposure. Effect may be

more pronounced in people with lung and heart diseases

Severerespiratory effects even on healthy people and serious health impacts on people with

lung/heart diseases

AQI in Newspaper (15 oct. 2015, TOI)

Example of AQI Interpretation

Example of AQI Interpretation

AQI=179 (Moderate)

Voluntary Tasks for you

• Keep track of AQI from Newspapers, SAFARwebsite, etc.

• Educate and make others aware of the issuesof Air Pollution & its negative effects.

• Help in making air cleaner by sustainablegreen & clean practices.

References

• CPCB (2015). National Air Quality Index

• http://aqicn.org/map/india/#@g/21.5522/82.771/5z

• http://safar.tropmet.res.in/