Gurgaon: Haryana is set to enhance its air quality monitoring capabilities by upgrading one air monitoring station each in Faridabad and the city. These upgraded stations will be equipped to measure pollution sources using techniques like the chemical mass balance (CMB) receptor model, which is a mathematical tool used to identify and quantify the contributions of different pollution sources to the overall levels of pollutants at a specific location.
The state is planning to conduct real-time source apportionment studies as well. As part of the studies, vans will travel to various districts to capture a wide range of pollutants, including PM10, PM2.5, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, ozone, volatile organic compounds, black carbon, elements, and secondary inorganic aerosols.
"A tender will be issued for the operation of two mobile vans costing around Rs 20 crore. We will have more clarity over where the pollutants are coming from by next winter as by then, we are likely to have the real-time source apportionment vans. These vans will be sent to different locations for carrying out the study and analysing the data," he said, adding that two vans are enough for the purpose as sources of pollution are not going to change rapidly across the geography of the state.
"Data will be continuously collected and analysed. This will help us develop targeted strategies to reduce emissions and improve air quality," he added.
Meanwhile, the upgraded air monitoring stations will track pollutants such as PM10, PM2.5, SO2, NO2, Benzene, Toluene, and Xylene. They will also analyse the collected PM10 and PM2.5 samples for their elemental composition, ions, elemental carbon, organic carbon, PAHs and other source-specific molecular markers.
The CMB model compares the ambient data with the source profiles and quantifies the contribution of each source to the observed pollution levels. This helps in identifying which sources are the most significant contributors to air pollution in each area.
"We have not yet identified which air station will be modernised, but this model is useful for localised air quality issues and has been used in regulatory applications to develop strategies for reducing emissions and improving air quality. We will have to rope in an international agency for this," said Nirmal Kashyap, head of air cell, HSPCB, Haryana.
Every winter, the air quality in Delhi-NCR plummets to dangerous levels as the region is enveloped by a blanket of toxic haze due to a combination of falling temperatures and rising emissions. Farm fires also contribute significantly to the pollution during this period. The source appropriation study's findings will guide authorities in forming policies to combat air pollution.
Currently, two such studies are underway in the state -- one for Faridabad, by TERI, and another for Gurgaon, Sonipat and Panipat, by Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI). While the TERI study is complete and its data being analysed, the study by ARAI, which started on Feb 1 last year, is likely to be complete by Feb 2025.
Two similar studies have already been conducted in Delhi, one by IIT Kanpur in 2010, and the other by National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) in 2019.