Pollution Research Paper

AMBIENT AIR QUALITY IN AND AROUND SPONGE IRON INDUSTRIAL CLUSTERS IN SUNDARGARH DISTRICT OF ODISHA, INDIA

HADIBANDHU PANIGRAHY, SURJYA SANKAR MISHRA, CHANDAN SAHU AND SANJAT KUMAR SAHU

Abstract

The ambient air quality of sponge iron industries located in four distinct clusters in Sundargarh district of Odisha, India (i.e., Kuarmunda, Kalunga, Rajgangpur and Bonaigarh clusters having 12, 13, 7 and 12 numbers of industries and a cumulative capacity of sponge iron production of 2075, 2450, 1500 and 1700 TPD respectively) were assessed in the present work to judge the impact of various sponge iron plants operating in the area. For the purpose, monitoring of stack and ambient air quality inside the five industries in each industrial cluster and ambient air quality within a radius of 2.0 kms around the four industrial clusters (in East, West, North and South directions) was carried out every week with a frequency of two samples per week in three seasons (i.e. during rainy, winter and summer) during 2010 – 11 for a year following the uidelines of Central Pollution Control Board. The results suggest that all the industrial clusters have exceeded the permissible limit with respect to the particulate matter and NO2 emission from the stacks (PM:  106.07 and NO2: 96.47 against standard of 100 μg/Nm3 and 80 μg/m3 respectively). The particulate pollutants (SPM and RPM) inside and outside the plants in all the clusters were also found to be exceeded their respective standards (SPM:  891.23 and RPM: 284.40 and SPM: 322.77 and RPM: 138.31 against standard of 360 and 120 μg/m3 and 140 and 60 μg/m3 inside and outside the plants respectively), but the gaseous pollutants (SO2 and NO2) were marginally under the permissible standards. Also evident from the Air Pollution Index (API), all the clusters both inside (API: 148.14) and outside (API:  128.65) the plants suffered from Severe Air Pollution (SAP) situation. Hence, immediate implementation of corrective measures along with massive plantation in and around the sponge iron industrial clusters is the urgent need of the hour.