Study finds hazardous air quality from open garbage burning at Bhiwandi

A short-duration study at Bhiwandi, Thane, by anti-pollution campaigner Awaaz Foundation found hazardous levels of particulate matter (PM) in the air. The study

A short-duration study at Bhiwandi, Thane, by anti-pollution campaigner Awaaz Foundation found hazardous levels of particulate matter (PM) in the air. The study was carried out for 30 minutes at a spot near dumps

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Awaaz Foundation recorded PM10, PM2.5, and PM1 concentrations for about half-an-hour on January 17 and analysed the readings with the help from independent air quality monitoring group UrbanSciences, pollution data was analysed as one-minute averages.

Peak levels recorded at 5.45pm was as high as 722 microgrammes per cubic metre (µg/m³) for PM10, 612 µg/m³ for PM2.5, and 227 µg/m³ for PM1. Pollution levels for intervals of five seconds, indicating sustained levels, were as high as 1,761 µg/m³ for PM10, 1,396 µg/m³ for PM2.5, and 268 µg/m³ for PM1.

While safe limits for PM10 and PM2.5 are only available for daily or annual averages (PM1 has no safe limit identified yet), experts said such a study helps identify the extent of emission generation at source but the amount of danger to citizens can only be recorded after understanding how far people live and what will be the end concentration of particulate matter by the time it reaches them. “Pollutants get diluted as we move from the source of burning to where people and we must also factor in our own respiratory filtration system. It is important to know how much pollution is generated but is more important is to understand how we may be affected by it depending on wind velocity, humidity and other factors,” said Dr Arun Kumar Sharma, University College of Medical Sciences in Delhi, who has carried out similar studies.

Sumaira Abdulali, convener, Awaaz Foundation and member of the citizens’ group Clean Air Collective said that the Bhiwandi roadside dump had mostly plastic trash. “There is an urgent need to identify specific sources of air pollution and to formulate specific action plans for tackling each of these sources individually. This is the first of several other source measurements across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.”

Data measured at one-minute intervals are commonly used in the USA to determine site-specific data, monitor degree of exposure by individuals in their daily routines and to change their routines to limit exposure as appropriate, the study said.

Doctors said levels were extremely harmful to residential areas located close to garbage burning sites. “Particulate pollution levels may be extremely high at the point source (in this case garbage dump) but depending on the severity of the fire, citizens within a radius of 2 km are still being exposed to hazardous levels of air quality for a limited period of time,” said Dr Sanjeev Mehta, chief pulmonologist, Lilavati Hospital in Bandra. “Daily exposure to such levels reduces lung capacity for everyone exposed.”

Researchers said this kind of citizen-science led study is highly scalable. “Taking this study as a reference, the combined use of a thousand of such monitors together can draw out hotspots and inferences to help understand both source emission level and parallel exposure level to each household,” said Ronak Sutaria, founder and director, UrbanSciences.