Foreword

In accordance with Municipal Solid Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000, ambient air quality at the landfill site and at the vicinity is required to be monitored for air pollutants like; sulphur dioxide, suspended particulate matter, methane, ammonia and carbon monoxide. State Pollution Control Boards and Pollution Control Committees have developed capabilities to monitor ambient air in respect of S02, N02, SPM, RSPM and for carbon monoxide at selected locations. However, monitoring of Methane (CH4) needs special attention. Though methane emissions are not ruled out from municipal solid waste (MSW) dump sites, their detection in ambient air still poses difficulty. Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in collaboration with National Environmental rEngineering Research Institute (NEER/), Nagpur and Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), Delhi has made an attempt to assess status of methane emissions from dump-sites. Methane measurement has been carried out using flux boxes. Methane generation rates from MSW dump-sites at Nagpur and Delhi are presented in the report. CPCB acknowledges the Work done by NEERI and IARI. The stUdy has been co-ordinated by Dr.B.Sengupta, Member Secretary, Dr.A.B.Akolkar, Additional Director and Sh.S.K.Singh, Environmental Engineer of CPCB.