PINAKI MAJUMDAR
Jamshedpur, April 20: Rising number of smoke-belching vehicles coupled with industrial emissions are poisoning the air people breathe in Jamshedpur and its adjoining areas.
A survey conducted by the regional office of the Jharkhand State Pollution Control Board (JSPCB) earlier this month indicated a rise in air pollution levels in the three commercial centres of Bistupur, Sakchi and Golmuri, and also in Adityapur industrial area in adjoining Seraikela-Kharsawan district.
According to data collated by the regional office in Adityapur, respirable suspended particulate matter (RSPM) was found above the permissible limit in all four places.
The RSPM level near the Bistupur roundabout was 129 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m3) whereas the permissible limit is 100µg/m3. In Sakchi, it was 137 µg/m3 and in Golmuri, 135µg/m3. The ambient air in Adityapur was the most polluted at 145µg/m3.
The other two parameters – sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide – were also found to be beyond prescribed limits.
The SO2 levels in Bistupur, Golmuri and Sakchi were 38.25µg/m3, 37.10 µg/m3 and 35.10 µg/m3, respectively, while the cap is 35µg/m3. In Adityapur, the SO2 level was highest at 42µg/m3.
The NO2 levels in ambient air in Bistupur, Golmuri and Sakchi were 44.60µg/m3, 44.26µg/m3 and 45.01µg/m3, respectively, and in Adityapur, the level was 48.65 µg/m3. The permissible limit is 40µg/m3.
The pollution control board officials said apart from the steel city and Adityapur industrial area, a similar survey was conducted at Barajamda in West Singhbhum.
All the parameters were much higher than the prescribed limits at this mining hub too.
A member of the survey team blamed diesel-run vehicles for increasing air pollution. “Common pollutants in diesel vehicle emission are unburned hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides. These make our ambient air toxic,” he explai ed.
Emissions from diesel vehicles have been reported to be significantly more harmful than those from petrol vehicles. Diesel combustion is a source of atmospheric soot and fine particles, which is a component of air pollution implicated in cancer, heart ailments and lung damage.
The district transport department has already served an ultimatum till July for conversions of diesel autos into CNG in the steel city.
