VEHICULAR POLLUTION CONTROL

Automobiles are one of the major source of air pollution in urban areas. In recent years several important initiatives have been taken to control pollution from transport sector. Emission standards & fuel quality specifications are being improved progressively as a result significant improvement in the ambient air quality has been achieved. Important steps taken for vehicular pollution control during the year are:

Vehicular emission norms

» Draft notification for emission norms for agriculture tractor and construction equipment vehicles proposed under GSR 702 (E)     dated 11.10.2002.

» Emission norms for in-use vehicles recommended for notification

 

Type	Current norms		Revised norms ( Recommendation)
	CO %	HC (PPM)	CO %	HC (PPM)
2 & 3 wheelers	4.5	-	3.5*	9000*
4 wheelers	3.0	-	0.5**	750**

                         * For post 2000 vehicles fitted with Catalytic Converter.

                         ** For Vehicles fitted with closed loop Catalytic Converter.

»  Emission norms for LPG vehicles notified vide GSR 788 E dated 17.11.2002.

»  Emission norms for four wheel vehicles for Kanpur & Pune has been notified vide GSR 940 (E) with effect from 1.4.2003.

»  Blending of 5 % alcohol with gasoline in nine sugar producing states and four union territories has been notified vide GSR no.      644(E) dated 12.9.2002.

Fuel Quality

»  As per Hon'ble supreme Court order all diesel buses are to be converted to CNG mode in Delhi . All existing diesel buses      have been converted to CNG from 1.11.2002

»   CNG filling stations augmented to 105 nos. and CNG vehicles has been increased to 75000.

»    Diesel with sulphur content of 0.05% are available in four metros.

Ambient Air Quality at a Glance

· SO2 and NO2 levels were within the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (annual Average) in Ahemdabad, Bangalore,    Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai.

· Short term violation of NO2 is observed specially during winter months in Mumbai , Delhi.

· Most Critical form of pollution is RSPM at all the seven cities.

· SPM levels were also exceeding the standards (Annual Average) in Ahemdabad, Bangalore, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and    Mumbai in residential areas.

The reason for high particulate matter pollution may be vehicular emissions, resuspension of dust, commercial and domestic use of fuel etc. In Ahemdabad emissions from power plants and industries may also contribute to particulate matter pollution. In Mumbai, emission from power plants and oil refinery may also contribute to particulate matter pollution.

Other Measures

The Expert Committee on Auto fuel Policy with CPCB Chairman as a member, has submitted its final report during August 2002. It has been recommended that Bharat stage - II norms to be extended to entire country from 1.4.2005, while Bharat Stage - III norms to be extended to 11 Mega cities from 1.4.2005 and all over the country from 2010. While Bharat stage-III emission norms for 2/3 wheeler to be implemented preferably from the year 2008 but not later than 2010.

AIR QUALITY TRENDS IN DELHI

Location	Pollutants	1996	2002	%Change
ITO-Traffic Intersection	SO2 (m g/cm3)	35	10	-71%
	NO2 (m g/cm3)	75	75	0%
	CO (m g/cm3)	5587	3258	-42%
	Pb (m g/cm3)	320	103	-68%
Residential Areas	SO2 (m g/cm3)	16	11	-31%
	NO2 (m g/cm3)	32	33	+>3%
	Pb	176	47	-73%
Industrial Areas	SO2 (m g/cm3)	21	13	-38%
	NO2 (m g/cm3)	35	35	0%
	Pb	233	68	-71%
Delhi(All Sites)	SO2 (m g/cm3)	24	11	-54%
	NO2 (m g/cm3)	47	47	0%
	CO (m g/cm3)	5587	3258	-42%
	Pb (ng/cm3)	213	61	-71%
	SPM (m g/cm3)	426	456	+7%
	RSPM (m g/cm3)	244	185	-24%

All values from CPCB monitoring stations except for RSPM from NEERI stations.
(-indicates reduction & +indicates increment).

Parameters	1996	2002	% Change
Vehicles Bus/Taxi/Autos	25 lakhs Diesel/Gasoline	37 lakhs All CNG	+48%
Diesel Consumption* Sulphur Content	916 ThMT 0.5%	1268 ThMT 0.05%	+38% -90%
Gasoline Consumption* Lead Content Benzene Content	406 ThMT 0.15 g/l 5%	541 ThMT 0.013 g/l 1%	+33% -91% -80%
CNG	0	95 MMSCD	+
% Calm	43	41
HC+NOx (g/km)	3.4	0.57	-83%
CO (g/km)	8.68	2.2	-75%

* indicates figures for 1995 Vs 2001. (-indicates reduction & +indicates increment).

Project Studies undertaken

· Estimation of levels of benzene in ambient air and its impact on health in Mumbai.

· Monitoring and inventory of volatile organic compounds in urban air of Delhi & Mumbai .

· Study on vehicular emissions inventory & source apportionment for the city of Pune:

Traffic Intersection Monitoring at Bhubaneswar

Ambient air quality and noise monitoring at the major traffic intersection in Bhubaneswar are being carried out with the help from Orissa State Pollution Control Board, Bhubaneshwar. The monitoring is being carried out in two phases covering two seasons - pre-winter and winter. The pre-winter monitoring has been completed in September 2002. The second round of monitoring is scheduled in first week of January 2003. The monitoring was carried out on 24 -hourly average basis in 9 major traffic intersections covering the entire Bhubaneswar City Area. The parameters monitored were Suspended Particulate Matter, Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter, VOCs, NO2, SO2, Lead in SPM and RSPM. The trends observed in pre-winter study indicate that air quality at traffic intersections and road corridors across the Bhubaneswar city appears to be safe and concentration of air pollutants were low compared to other capital cities. However at few intersections 4-hourly NO2 concentrations were found above 100 µg/m3 during daytime.

Noise monitoring was also carried out at all these station four times in 24 -hour representing all periods.

Air Quality at Selected Traffic Intersections in Bhubaneswar
(Sept, 2002)

Sl.No.	Monitoring Station	RSPM (µg/m3)	SPM (µg/m3)	Respirable Lead (ng/m3)	SOx (µg/m3)	NOx (µg/m3)
1	Raj Mandir Square	77	357	27.67	4	43.8
2	Ravi Talkies	99	211	68.00	0	37
3	C.R.P.F. Square	112	304	17.67	4	55
4	Khanda Giri	64	244	26.33	4	29.5
5	Nalco Square	91	311	45.00	2	31.2
6	Rupali Square	72	271	15.00	10	81.4
7	Capital Hospital	96	253	42.67	6	36.8
8	Rasulgarh	62	208	43.67	4	23.8
9	Laxmi Sagar Square	97	222	29.00	5	52

Status of Ambient Air Quality in and around Historical places in Kolkata :

The numbers of heritage building and temple are located in Kolkata attracting tourists from all over the World. With the deterioration of ambient air quality, it is likely that all these heritage buildings may be got affected. Therefore CPCB has carried out a monitoring programme in and around historical places in Kolkata during October & November'2002. Three places namely Dakshineswar temple, Belur Math and Victoria Memorial Hall were selected to asses the level of RSPM, SO2, NO2, Lead and PAH in ambient air. Four numbers of Respirable Dust Samplers were placed in four corners of each heritage site for 24 hours (8 hourly sampling intervals) to study the environmental impact of these buildings. The second round of monitoring will be carried in February 2003 to assess the seasonal influence on the level of pollutants.

Volatile Organic Matter in air of Vadodara

During winter season, volatile organic compounds were measured in the ambient air of Vadodara. The results show that average benzene level is ranging between 3.42 µg/m3 to 8.0 µg/m3, the peak value of 12.6 µg/m3 was measured during mid-night. The value has exceeded the threshold limit of 6.7 µg/m3 . Toluene level remained between 4.26 and 9.23 µg/m3, the peak value was 17.2 µg/m3 during midnight. Ethyl benzene, a known carcinogen, was found in the range of 1.68 to 3.42 µg/m3 .

Assessing Contribution of Various Sources in Ambient Air of Delhi

The problem of air pollution is complex in nature due to the existence of different sources, besides ever changing meteorological conditions. A study has been taken up to assess the impact of major pollutants emitted from various source categories on the ambient air quality of Delhi. The pollutants considered are carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, oxides of nitrogen and suspended particulate matter. The major sources include thermal power plants, small scale industrial clusters, motor vehicles, generators and domestic fuel consumption. Ground level concentrations of various pollutants were computed for each individual source category, during summer and winter seasons, using dispersion models.

Results indicate that the vehicular pollution is the primary cause for poor air quality in Delhi. Contribution of vehicles in NOx is lower as compared to other pollutants. As the atmospheric conditions during summer are favourable for better dispersions as compared to winter, the contribution of vehicles in summer comes down but still remains as major cause for poor air quality. While power plants contribute NOx, small scale industries have significant contribution of NOx and CO levels. However, study indicates that automobiles continue to be the major concern with regard to poor air quality in Delhi.