AIR QUALITY MONITORING

 Sampling and measurement of air pollutants is called Air Quality Monitoring

 An integral component of any pollution control programme
 The information so obtained is helpful in monitoring and implementing control measures
for reducing pollutant concentrations
 Through monitoring, the current trends in air quality can be evaluated by comparing the
data with the regulated standards
 The information so obtained is helpful in implementing control measures and assessing
the effects of air pollution control strategies
 The monitoring programmes of governmental agencies are usually designed for assessing
long term pollution trends, but is often necessary to obtain short term sampling to
establish the existence of particularly high levels of air pollutants
Measurement of air quality generally fall into two classes:
1. Stack sampling:
 Deals with pollutants emitted from a source such as smoke stack
 Provides information on the nature and quantities of various pollutants that are
emitted into the atmosphere
2. Ambient air quality measurement
 Pollutant levels in ambient atmosphere are measured
 Used to:
i. Determine the areas and time periods when the levels of pollution exceeds
the acceptable values
ii. Evaluate parameters for air pollution modeling
iii. Establish and evaluate control measures
AIR SAMPLING:
 Capturing the contaminant from a known volume of air, measuring the amount of
contaminants captured and expressing it as a concentration
 Volume of air is measured against the amount of contaminants captured(mg/m3 or ppm)

Volume of air = flow rate through filter medium x time (in minutes)

An air sample requires three basic measurements:

1. Amount of pollutants collected.
2. Flow of air through the medium
3. The run time (in minutes)
AIR SAMPLING SYSTEM

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A typical air sampling system consists of:
1. A flowmeter
 Measure air flow through sample collector
 Can be positioned either upstream or downstream from collector if pressure drop
across the collector is low, but when this is not the case , flowmeter must be
placed upstream(fig b) (otherwise serious errors can result)

2. A pump
 To draw air sample through the system
3. Sample collector
 Function is to retain the desired pollutant either alone or as a mixture.
 The pollutant thus collected is analyzed at a later stage.
  Choice of type of collector to be used is governed by nature of pollutant and
method of analysis
 Individual sample collectors are generally grouped into two categories:
i. Those used to collect gaseous pollutants
ii. Those used to collect particulate pollutants

General requirements for sampling site selection:

1. Purpose of monitoring
2. Number and type of instruments required
3. Duration of measurements
4. Should be easily accessible
COLLECTION OF GASEOUS AIR POLLUTANTS:
Several methods are available for collection of gaseous air pollutants from ambient atmosphere.
The common ones are:
1. Grab sampling
2. Absorption in liquids
3. Adsorption on a solid material
4. Condensation( freeze-out sampling)
1. Grab sampling
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2. Absorption in liquids

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3. Adsorption on solids
4. Freeze-out sampling

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COLLECTION OF PARTICULATE POLLUTANTS
Particulate pollutants in atmosphere are grouped generally into:
1. Those that settle out due to the force of gravity
 Large particles > 10µm diameter
 Collected using sedimentation techniques
2. Those that remain suspended as aerosols
 Smaller particle size
 Collected using: Filtration, impingement, precipitation(thermal or electrostatic)
1. Sedimentation (dust fall jar)

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2. High volume Filtration (The hi vol sampler)
3. Tape sampler

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4. Impingement

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5. Precipitation:
5.1. Electrostatic Precipitation

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5.2. Thermal precipitation

STACK SAMPLING
The collection of samples from stacks of industries are carried out by using special methods

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intended for that purpose it is possible to collect samples from chimney pots which is used for
both particulate matter and gaseous pollutants. The figure below is the chimney with ports in it

 Difficult to obtain representative sample

 Selection of sampling site and number of sampling points are important
 Sampling site should be eight stack or duct diameters downstream and two diameters
upstream from any source of flow disturbance such as bends, fitting, constrictions etc.
 Gas stream from a stack will be normally under turbulent conditions, and any flow
disturbance would cause non uniform and unstable gas flow profiles and non uniform
particle concentration patterns
 These problems can be reduced by providing proper distance so that adequate mixing can
be ensured
 But in good number of cases multiple sampling is required for getting representative
sample
 Traverse samples to be used –two sets of traverse points 90 degree apart taken in the
same plane for circular stacks

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Main Objective of Sampling and Analysis of Air Quality
1. Assess the extent of pollution;
2. Provide air pollution data to the general public in a timely manner;
3. Support implementation of air quality goals or standards;
4. Evaluate the effectiveness of emissions control strategies;
5. Provide information on air quality trends;
6. Provide data for the evaluation of air quality models; and
7. Support research (e.g., long-term studies of the health effects of air pollution
National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)

▪ The U.S. National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) are limits on
atmospheric concentration of six pollutants that cause smog, acid rain, and other health
hazards established by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under
authority of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.), NAAQS is applied for outdoor
air throughout the country
▪ The six criteria air pollutants (CAP), or criteria pollutants, for which limits are set in the
NAAQS are ozone (O3), atmospheric particulate matter, lead, carbon monoxide (CO),
sulfur oxides (SOx), and nitrogen oxides (NOx). These are typically emitted from many
sources in industry, mining, transportation, electricity generation and agriculture. In many
cases they are the products of the combustion of fossil fuels or industrial processes.
▪ The National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants cover many other
chemicals, and require the maximum achievable reduction that the EPA determines is
feasible.
The NAAQS are health based and the EPA sets two types of standards: primary and secondary.
a. The primary standards
▪ Designed to protect the health of 'sensitive' populations such as asthmatics,
children, and the elderly.
b. The secondary standards
▪ Are concerned with protecting the environment.

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▪ They are designed to address visibility, damage to crops, vegetation, buildings,
and animals
▪ Designed to protect public welfare, damage to property, transportation hazards,
economic values, and personal comfort and well-being from any known or
anticipated adverse effects of a pollutant.
▪ The EPA established the NAAQS according to Sections 108 and 109 of the U.S. Clean
Air Act, which was last amended in 1990
▪ These sections require the EPA
(1) To list widespread air pollutants that reasonably may be expected to endanger public
health or welfare;
(2) To issue air quality criteria for them that assesses the latest available scientific
information on nature and effects of ambient exposure to them;
(3) To set primary NAAQS to protect human health with adequate margin of safety
(4) To set secondary NAAQS to protect against welfare effects (e.g., effects on
vegetation, ecosystems, visibility, climate, manmade materials, etc); and
(5) To periodically review and revise, as appropriate, the criteria and NAAQS for a given
listed pollutant or class of pollutants."
AMBIENT AIR QUALITY STANDARDS IN INDIA
▪ Ambient air quality refers to the condition or quality of air surrounding us in the
outdoors.

▪ National Ambient Air Quality Standards are the standards for ambient air quality set by
the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) that is applicable nationwide.

▪ The CPCB has been conferred this power by the Air (Prevention and Control of
Pollution) Act, 1981.

▪ The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1981 was enacted by the Central
Government with the objective of arresting the deterioration of air quality.

▪ The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1981 describes the main functions of
the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)

▪ The mandate provided to the CPCB under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution)
Act empowers it to set standards for the quality of air.

▪ The current National Ambient Air Quality Standards were notified on 18 November
2009 by the Central Pollution Control Board.

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India’s revised National Ambient Air Quality Standards are notified for 12 parameters:

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Prior to the November 2009 standards, India had set Air Quality standards on 11 April 1994, and
this was later revised on 14 October 1998. The 2009 standards further lowered the maximum
permissible limits for pollutants and made the standards uniform across the nation. Earlier, less
stringent standards were prescribed for industrial zones as compared to residential areas.

Further, a new National Air Quality Index (AQI) has been launched in October 2014 to
disseminate information on air quality in an easily understandable form for the general public.
The measurement of air quality is based on eight pollutants, namely, PM10, PM2.5, NO2, SO2,
CO, O3, NH3, and Pb for which short-term (up to 24-hourly averaging period) National Ambient
Air Quality Standards are prescribed and the worst reading in these pollutants represents the AQI
for that city.

International Standards
The 2005 World Health Organization's "WHO Air quality guidelines" offer global guidance on
thresholds and limits for 4 key air pollutants that pose health risks - particulate matter (PM),
ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and sulfur dioxide (SO2).

Guideline values prescribed by WHO are

PM2.5
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10 μg/m3 annual mean
25 μg/m3 24-hour mean
PM10
20 μg/m3 annual mean
50 μg/m3 24-hour mean
O3
100 μg/m3 8-hour mean
NO2
40 μg/m3 annual mean
200 μg/m3 1-hour mean
SO2
20 μg/m3 24-hour mean
500 μg/m3 10-minute mean

The WHO Guidelines indicate that by reducing particulate matter (PM10) pollution from 70 to 20
micrograms per cubic metre (μg/m), air pollution-related deaths can be cut by around 15%.
Indian Standards are slightly less stringent as compared to WHO guidelines.
National Air Quality Index
National Air Quality Index (AQI) transforms complex air quality data of eight pollutants into a
single number (index value), nomenclature and colour.

National Air Quality Index (AQI) was launched on 17 October 2014 to disseminate information
on air quality in an easily understandable form for the general public. The measurement of air
quality is based on eight pollutants, namely,

 Particulate Matter (size less than 10 µm) or (PM10),

 Particulate Matter (size less than 2.5 µm) or (PM2.5),
 Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2),
 Sulphur Dioxide (SO2),
 Carbon Monoxide (CO),
 Ozone (O3),
 Ammonia (NH3), and
 Lead (Pb)

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for which short-term (up to 24-hourly averaging period) National Ambient Air Quality
Standards are prescribed. It may be noted that ambient air quality standards are specified
separately in India for around 12 pollutants including the 8 that constitute the Air Quality Index.

AQI has six categories of air quality. These are: Good, Satisfactory, Moderately Polluted, Poor,
Very Poor and Severe. The AQI values and corresponding ambient concentrations (health
breakpoints) for the identified eight pollutants are as follows:
The AQI values and their associated health impacts are as follows:

AQI is considered as „One Number- One Colour-One Description‟ for the common man to judge
the air quality within his vicinity. The formulation of the index was an initiative under Swachh
Bharat Mission (Cleanliness Mission), based on the recommendations of IIT Kanpur and the
Expert Group formed in this regard.

 AQI index values can vary depending on the time of the day.

 AQI reflects the status of the worst pollutant in that city. i.e. higher reading in one city
can be due to high concentration of PM whereas in some other city it may be due to SO2.


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Even if the other 7 pollutants have a benign reading, if one pollutant is in the “poor”
category then AQI will be in the “poor” category.
EMISSION INVENTORY
An emissions inventory is a database that lists, by source, the amount of air pollutants discharged into the
atmosphere during a year or other time period.
An emission inventory usually contains the total emissions for one or more specific greenhouse
gases or air pollutants, originating from all source categories in a certain geographical area and within a
specified time span, usually a specific year.
An emission inventory is generally characterized by the following aspects:

 Why: The types of activities that cause emissions

 What: The chemical or physical identity of the pollutants included, and the quantity thereof
 Where: The geographic area covered
 When: The time period over which emissions are estimated
 How: The methodology to use
Emission inventories are compiled for both scientific applications and for use in policy processes
USE
Emissions and releases to the environment are the starting point of every environmental pollution
problem. Information on emissions therefore is an absolute requirement in understanding environmental
problems and in monitoring progress towards solving these. Emission inventories provide this type of
information.
Emission inventories are developed for a variety of purposes:
1. Policy use: by policy makers to track progress towards emission reduction targets develop
strategies and policies or
2. Scientific use: Inventories of natural and anthropogenic emissions are used by scientists as inputs
to air quality models
1. Policy use
Two more or less independent types of emission reporting schemes have been developed:
1. Annual reporting of national total emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollutants in response to
obligations under international conventions and protocols; this type of emissions reporting aims at
monitoring the progress towards agreed national emission reduction targets;
2. Regular emission reporting by individual industrial facilities in response to legal obligations; this
type of emission reporting is developed to support public participation in decision-making.
2. Scientific use
Air quality models need input to describe all air pollution sources in the study area. Air emission
inventories provide this type of information. Depending on the spatial and temporal resolution of the
models, the spatial and temporal resolution of the inventories frequently has to be increased beyond what
is available from national emission inventories as reported to the international conventions and protocols.

Compilation
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For each of the pollutants in the inventory emissions are typically estimated by multiplying the intensity
of each relevant activity ('activity rate') in the geographical area and time span with a pollutant dependent
proportionality constant ('emission factor').
1. Why: the source categories
To compile an emission inventory, all sources of the pollutants must be identified and quantified.
Frequently used source categorisations are :

 Those defined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in the Revised 1996
IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, IPCC Good practice guidance and
uncertainty management in national greenhouse gas inventories, IPCC Good practice guidance
for land use, land use change and forestry and more recently the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for
National Greenhouse Gas Inventories
 Those defined in the UNECE Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution
(LRTAP); recently the LRTAP Convention adopted a source categorisation that is largely
consistent with those of IPCC, to replace the more technology oriented Standardized
Nomenclature for Air Pollutants (SNAP) used until 2005.
Both source categorisations make a clear distinction between sources related to the combustion of (fossil)
fuels and those that are not caused by combustion. In most cases the specific fuel combusted in the former
is added to the source definition. Source categories include:
 1. Energy
A. Fuel combustion
a. Stationary combustion
i. Industrial combustion
ii. Residential heating
b. Mobile combustion (transport)
B. Fugitive emissions from (fossil) fuel use
2. Industrial Processes
3. Solvent and other product use
4. Agriculture
5. LULUCF (Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry)
6. Waste
Many researchers and research projects use their own source classifications, sometimes based on either
the IPCC or the SNAP source categories, but in most cases the source categories listed above will be
included.
2. What: the pollutants
Emission inventories have been developed and still are being developed for two major groups of
pollutants:
1. Greenhouse gases:
a. Carbon dioxide (CO2),
b. Methane (CH4),

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c. Nitrous oxide (N2O) and
d. A number of fluorinated gaseous compounds (HFCs, PFCs, SF6)
e. Other greenhouse gases, not included in the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC)
2. Air pollutants:
a. Acidifying pollutants: sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx, a combination of
nitrogen monoxide, NO and nitrogen dioxide, NO2) and ammonia (NH3),
b. Photochemical smog precursors: again nitrogen oxides and non-methane volatile
organic compounds (NMVOCs)
c. Particulates and particulate precursors
d. Toxic pollutants like heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants
e. Carbon monoxide (CO)
3. Where: geographical resolution
 Typically national inventories provide data summed at the national territory only.
 In some cases additional information on major industrial stacks ('point sources') is available.
Stacks are also called release points, because not all emissions come from stacks.
 Other industrial sources include fugitive emissions, which cannot be attributed to any single
release point.
 Some inventories are compiled from sub-national entities such as states and counties (in the
U.S.), which can provide additional spatial resolution.
In scientific applications, where higher resolutions are needed, geographical information such as
population densities, land use or other data can provide tools to disaggregate the national level emissions
to the required resolution, matching the geographical resolution of the model.
 4. When: temporal resolution
 Similarly, national emission inventories provide total emissions in a specific year, based on
national statistics.
 In some model applications higher temporal resolutions are needed, for instance when modelling
air quality problems related to road transport. In such cases data on time dependent traffic
intensities (rush hours, weekends and working days, summer and winter driving patterns, etc.)
can be used to establish the required higher temporal resolution.
 Inventories compiled from Continuous Emissions Monitors (CEMs) can provide hourly
emissions data.
5. How: methodology to compile an emission inventory
The European Environment Agency updated in 2007 the third edition of the inventory guidebook. The
guidebook is prepared by the UNECE/EMEP Task Force on Emission Inventories and Projections and
provides a detailed guide to the atmospheric emissions inventory methodology. Especially for Road
Transport the European Environment Agency finances COPERT 4, a software program to calculate
emissions which will be included in official annual national inventories.
QUALITY

 The quality of an emission inventory depends on its use.

 In policy applications, the inventory should comply with all what has been decided under the
relevant convention.
 Both the UNFCCC and LRTAP conventions require an inventory to follow the quality criteria
below :

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A well constructed inventory should include enough documentation and other data to allow readers and
users to understand the underlying assumptions and to assess its usability in an intended application.
How Does an Emissions Inventory Contribute to the Air Quality Management Process?
Governments use emission inventories to help determine significant sources of air pollutants and to target
regulatory actions. Emissions inventories are an essential input to mathematical models that estimate air
quality. The effect on air quality of potential regulatory actions can be predicted by applying estimated
emissions reductions to emissions inventory data in air quality models.
Emission trends over time can be established with periodic updates of the emissions inventory.
Inventories also can be used to raise public awareness regarding sources of pollution.
An emissions inventory includes estimates of the emissions from various pollution sources in a
geographical area. It should include all pollutants associated with the air quality problems in the area. For
example, an emissions inventory to support the management of ground-level ozone should include
sources of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and of volatile organic compounds (VOC).

How are Emissions Inventories Developed?

 Methods to determine emissions include, but are not limited to:

o Continuous monitoring of emissions from a source;
o Short-term emission measurements that are extrapolated to a longer time period, and
o Use of emissions factors
 The choice of method depends on the availability of data, time, staff and funding.
 An emissions factor is a representative value that attempts to relate the quantity of a pollutant
emitted with an activity level associated with the emission of that pollutant.

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An example format of an emissions factor is kilograms of particulate matter emitted per
megagram of coal burned.

 Emissions factors in the published literature typically are averages of available data of acceptable
quality, and are assumed to represent long-term averages for similar facilities.
 However, variations among facilities, such as the raw materials used, operational conditions and
emission controls, can significantly affect the emissions.
 Whenever possible, the development of local, source-specific emission factors is highly desirable.
EPA‟s Clearinghouse for Inventories & Emission Factors contains information on emissions inventories,
emissions factors and tools used for emissions inventories to support air quality management. EPA
uses models to estimate emissions related to mobile sources.

PREVIOUS YEAR QUESTIONS

1. Explain national ambient air quality standards

2. Write a note on ambient air sampling
3. Write short note on NAAQS. (8)
4. Explain high volume air sampler (12)
5. Explain various methods used for the sampling of particulate air pollutants (14)
6. Write short note on AQI (6)
7. Discuss the principles to be followed to ensure correct sampling of air pollutants. (10)
8. Explain high volume air sampler.
9. Discuss National Ambient Air Quality Standards. (5)
10.Explain the devices used for sampling gases and vapours. (5)

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