Environmental Monitoring and Assessment (2005) 105: 369–389DOI: 10.1007/s10661-005-4345-y c© Springer 2005

AIR QUALITY STATUS OF AN OPEN PIT MINING AREA IN INDIA

S. K. CHAULYACentral Mining Research Institute, Barwa Road, Dhanbad, India

(e-mail: chaulyask@yahoo.co.in)

(Received 5 April 2004; accepted 13 August 2004)

Abstract. This investigation presents the assessment of ambient air quality carried out at an open pitcoal mining area in Orissa state of India. The 24-h average concentrations of suspended particulatematter (SPM), respirable particulate matter (RPM, particles of less than 10 µm aerodynamic diameter),sulphur dioxide (SO2) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx ) were determined at regular interval throughoutone year at 13 monitoring stations in residential area and four stations in mining/industrial area.During the study period, the 24-h and annual average SPM and RPM concentrations exceeded therespective standards set in the Indian ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) protocol in most of theresidential and industrial areas. However, the 24-h and annual average concentrations of SO2 andNOx were well within the prescribed limit of the NAAQS in both residential and industrial areas.A management strategy is formulated for effective control of particulate matter at source and othermitigative measures are recommended including implementation of green belts around the sensitiveareas.

Keywords: air pollution, green belt, impact assessment, management, monitoring

1. Introduction

Environmental impact of coal mining cannot be ignored but, to some extent, isunavoidable (Chaulya and Chakraborty, 1995; Kumar, 1996; Tichy, 1996; Corti andSenatore, 2000; Tripathi and Panigrahi, 2000; Baldauf et al., 2001; Collins et al.,2001). Most major mining activities contribute directly or indirectly to air pollution(Kumar et al., 1994; CMRI, 1998). Sources of air pollution in the coal mining areasgenerally include drilling, blasting, overburden loading and unloading, coal loadingand unloading, haul roads, transport roads, stock yards, exposed overburden dumps,coal handling plant, exposed pit faces and workshop (CMRI, 1998). These airpollutants reduce air quality and this ultimately affects the people, flora and faunain and around mining areas (Chaudhari and Gajghate, 2000; Crabbe et al., 2000;Wheeler et al., 2000; Nanda and Tiwary, 2001). The major air pollutants producedby open pit mining are suspended particulate matter and respirable particulatematter (Sinha and Banerjee, 1997; CMRI, 1998), which is in contrast to vehicularemissions where lead and gaseous pollutants are the major concern (Meenalbal andAkil, 2000; Almbauer et al., 2001).

The environmental impact of coal mining areas must be assessed by detailedstudies of air quality (Jones, 1993; Chaulya et al., 2000; Ferreira et al., 2000).

370 S. K. CHAULYA

Analysis of temporal and spatial variations of air pollutant concentration is alsoessential. Where the concentration of air pollutants exceeded the standard limit,effective mitigative measures including design of green belts can be devised forsensitive areas (Kapoor and Gupta, 1984; NEERI, 1993; Shannigrahi and Agarwal,1996; Sharma and Roy, 1997). In India the national ambient air quality standard(NAAQS) was formulated in 1994 to assess and compare the air pollution levelfor different areas (CPCB, 1998). Similar standards were also formulated by var-ious international bodies, namely United States Environmental Protection Agency(USEPA), European Union (EU), World Health Organisation (WHO) and WorldBank (Table I).Considering the facts, a detailed study was carried out for assessmentand management of air quality at Lakhanpur area.

2. Study Site

The Lakhanpur area has recently been formulated in the Ib Valley Coalfields andit lies in the Jharsuguda district of Orissa state (Figure 1). The area consists oftwo opencast projects (OCP), namely Lakhanpur and Belpahar, which produced2.82 and 4.15 Mt yr−1 during 1999–2000, respectively. The drainage of the area iscontrolled by Ib River and its feeder streams. The geology of the area is mainly ofLower Gondwana system.

The climate of the area is dry tropical, and there are four seasons, namely summer(March–May), rain (June–August), autumn (September–November) and winter(December–February). Meteorological data for a period of 27 years (1973–1999)were collected from the Meteorological Station of the Indian Meteorological De-partment (IMD) located at Jharsuguda (Figure 1). During the summer months thetemperature can reach 47 ◦C and in winter months can fall to 10 ◦C. Annual meanmaximum and minimum temperatures are 33.2 and 20.5 ◦C, respectively (Table I).Wind velocity in the area varies from 2.28 to 4.45 m s−1 with an average of 3.28m s−1. The annual calm period (wind velocity <0.6 m s−1) for the area is 50 and40% of total duration at 08:30 and 17:30 hours, respectively. The predominantwind direction for the area is towards the south-west. The south-west monsoon isthe principal source of rainfall in the area, the average rainfall at the JharsugudaIMD station being 1400 mm yr−1 and these being on average 81 rainy days in ayear.

3. Methodology

3.1. SAMPLING

Monitoring stations were placed to evaluate air quality and plan any control mea-sures. The 24-h average sampling and analysis were done twice in a weekfor residential areas (buffer zone) and six times monthly for industrial areas

AIR QUALITY STATUS OF AN OPEN PIT MINING AREA IN INDIA 371

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372 S. K. CHAULYA

Figure 1. Location of the study site and sampling stations.

(core zone/mining area) during the year from September 1998 to August 1999.The sitting of 17 air sampling stations (thirteen in the buffer zone and four inthe core zone, Figure 1) was based on prevailing micro-meteorological conditionsand availability of infrastructure. Details of sampling stations along with the re-spective sources of air pollution and activities during sampling are given in TableII.Concentrations of carbon monoxide (CO) and lead (Pb) were below detectablelimits or negligible as per the bi-monthly monitoring report (CMRI, 1999) for thearea during September 1997 to August 1998 and because of this CO and Pb con-centrations were not measured in the present study. Suspended particulate matter(SPM) including PM10 (particulate matter <10 µm aerodynamic diameter) or res-pirable particulate matter (RPM), sulphur dioxide (SO2) and oxides of nitrogen

AIR QUALITY STATUS OF AN OPEN PIT MINING AREA IN INDIA 373

TABLE IIDetails of sampling locations, probable sources of air pollution, sample recovery and summary of24-h average SPM and RPM concentrations exceeding the standard limit

% of recoveredsamples exceeding theNAAQS 1994

Station Sources of Total number % of samplecode Location air pollution of samples recovery SPM RPM

Residential area (Buffer zone)A1 Tingismal village 1, 2 104 91 50 0

A2 Khaliapalli village 1, 2 104 94 0 0

A3 Soldia village 1, 2 104 90 0 0

A4 Ubuda village 1, 2 104 92 0 0

A5 Kusuraloi village 1, 2 104 93 4 0

A6 Banjipalli village 1, 2 104 93 0 0

A7 Chharla village 1, 2 104 90 25 0

A8 Training institute’shostel

2 104 91 63 46

A9 Khadam village 1, 2 104 92 42 0

A10 Bandhbahal colony 1, 4 104 93 50 42

A11 Darlipalli village 1 104 94 21 0

A12 Jurabaga village 1, 2 104 91 50 0

A13 Kusuraloi village 2 104 93 0 0

Industrial area (Core zone)A14 Project office of

Lakhanpur OCP2 72 90 48 67

A15 Coal handling plant(CHP) ofLakhanpur OCP

1, 2, 3 72 91 64 89

A16 CHP of BelpaharOCP

1, 2, 3 72 92 61 85

A17 Central excavationworkshop (CEWS)of Belpahar OCP

1, 2 72 91 40 56

Note. 1: area sources (fire area/ exposed dump/ exposed pit surface/ stockyard/ coal handling plant/workshop/ railway siding/ domestic coal burning, etc.); 2: line source (transport road/ haul road/unpaved road, etc.); 3: point sources (drilling/ blasting/ dozing/ loading/ unloading, etc.) and 4:other sources (other industry/ commercial activity, etc.).

(NOx ) were sampled by high volume samplers (HVS; Model APM 460 of Envi-rotech Instrument Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, India) with an average flow rate >1.1m3 min−1 and having gaseous sample collection attachments. The 24-h averagesamples were obtained following the NAAQS protocol of the Central PollutionControl Board, New Delhi (CPCB, 1998). Pre-weighted rubber cup and glass fibrefilter of Whatman were used for measurement of SPM and RPM concentrations,

374 S. K. CHAULYA

respectively. The exhaust gas was used after having passed the SPM/RPM hivolfor collection of gaseous samples. SO2 and NOx were collected by bubbling thesamples in a specific absorbing solution (sodium tetrachloromercurate for SO2 andsodium hydroxide for NOx . The impinger samples were put in ice boxes immedi-ately after sampling and transferred to a refrigerator until analyzed.

The HVS having RPM and gaseous attachment were kept on the single storiedhouses’ roof-top, approximately 3 m (±0.3 m) height above ground, at all themonitoring stations. The height of sampling for a particular monitoring station wassame throughout the study period. The HVS were regularly calibrated for the propermeasurement of air pollutants. Samples were collected at regular intervals, and aminimum of eight samples for residential area and six samples for industrial areawere collected within a month. During the study period there were no significantchange in the climate within a month, and mining, allied activities and sources of airpollution were almost uniform in the area. Therefore, the number of samples wasrepresentative of a complete month both for residential and industrial areas. All thesamples were not accepted when errors were observed and the percentage of samplerecovery ranged from 90–94% (Table II). The recovered samples were consideredas actual total measurements for analysis and impact assessment of air quality.

3.2. ANALYSIS

SPM and RPM were measured by difference in weight of cup and filter paper usingelectronic balance of Mettler, Switzerland; SO2 by the improved West and Gaekemethod with ultra-violet fluorescence, and NOx by the Jacob-Hochheiser modifiedmethod (Na-Arsenic) with gas phase chemiluminescence using Spectronic 20D ofMilton Roy, UK (Stern, 1968; CPCB, 1998). The 24-h average data measured forall the monitoring stations during one year were statistically analysed following Ott(1995) and annual averages of the air pollutants were calculated for each station.The 24-h and annual average concentrations of air pollutants were compared withthe NAAQS protocol to quantify the air quality status in the study area. Themonitoring stations were grouped into six categories by comparing the percentageof SPM or RPM concentration with the respective standard limit for each particulararea. The categories of SPM or RPM concentration with respect to the relevantstandard limit were: very good (0–50%), good (>50–75%), fair (>75–100%), poor(>100–125%), very poor (>125–150%) and dangerous (>150%).

Linear regression analysis was carried out to derive the best fit equation andcorrelation coefficient between measured SPM and RPM concentrations (Tayanc,2000). Temporal and spatial variations of particulate matters were analysed fol-lowing Christakos and Hristopulos (1996), Vyas and Christakos (1997), Christakosand Vyas (1998), Panago et al. (1998), Christakos (1998 and 2000), Christakosand Serre (2000) and Cristakos et al. (2001 and 2002). Temporal variation ofSPM and RPM concentrations were evaluated to establish the seasonal trend us-ing polynomial regression analysis and to obtain the line of best fit (Monn et al.,

AIR QUALITY STATUS OF AN OPEN PIT MINING AREA IN INDIA 375

1995; Tayanc, 2000; Salvador et al., 2001; Jones et al., 2002; Triantafyllou andKassomenos, 2002; Triantafyllou et al., 2002; Triantafyllou, 2003).

3.3. INTERPOLATION AND PREDICTION OF SPM

Kriging, the optimum interpolation technique was used to obtain the spatial dis-tribution of SPM concentration over the one-year period. The idea behind krigingbeing to make inferences from unobserved value of a random process from dataobserved at known spatial locations (Tayanc, 2000). A detailed explanation ofthe kriging method is available in the various literatures (Delfiner and Delhomme,1975; Journel and Huijbregts, 1978; Cressie, 1991; Tayanc, 2000; Triantafyllou,2001).

To predict the reduction in annual average SPM concentration after implementa-tion of various control measures in the study area, emission rate for different miningand allied activities were calculated based on the empirical formulae developed byCMRI (1998) and Chaulya et al. (2002). The validated air quality model, fugitivedust model (FDM) was used for modelling exercise (Ermak, 1977; Horst, 1977;California Department of Transportation, 1979; Hanna et al., 1982; USEPA, 1995;Chaulya et al., 2003). FDM was run for the study area utilising the mine plan ofthe mines (for locating different activities), activity-wise emission rate and hourlyaverage meteorological data. From the modelling exercise, annual average SPMconcentration due to mining and allied activities at the 17 receptor locations waspredicted. The receptor locations were selected such that those were the exactlysame sampling stations where present monitoring was carried out. The predictedvalues at the receptor locations were added to the regional background level toget the total predicted annual average SPM concentration. Regional backgrounddata was the average of the annual monitored data in upwind direction with re-spect to the mine. The predicted values were rectified to overcome the model erroras per the validation study carried out by Chaulya et al. (2003). The differencebetween the present and predicted annual average SPM concentrations were cal-culated for the 17 receptor locations to assess the expected pollution reduction inthe area after implementation of all the suggested control measures. Finally, thereduction in annual average SPM concentrations at the seventeen sampling stationswere interpolated by the kriging technique as discussed earlier to visualise the postmanagement scenario in the study area.

4. Results and Discussion

4.1. SPM CONCENTRATION

The annual average SPM concentration at all the monitoring stations in the residen-tial area was much higher than the permissible limit of 140 µg m−3 and it ranged

376 S. K. CHAULYA

Figure 2. Variation of SPM concentrations in the residential area with annual average, 24-h averagemaximum, minimum and 95th percentile values, and comparison with the threshold value.

from 164.7 µg m−3 (A6) to 318.6 µg m−3 (A8) (Figure 2).The A4, A5, A6 andA13 monitoring stations categorized as ‘poor’, the A8, A10 and A12 stations as‘dangerous’ and all other stations as ‘very poor’. The 24-h average SPM concentra-tions varied between 72.3 µg m−3 (A6) and 497.1 µg m−3 (A8). The 24-h averagereadings never exceeded the standard limit at the A2, A3, A4, A6 and A13 stationsduring the study period; however, they did elsewhere, 4 (A5) to 63% (A8) of thetotal measurements exceeding the standard limit (Table II).

The annual average SPM concentrations in the industrial/mining area variedfrom 511.0 (A14) to 598.6 µg m−3 (A16) (Figure 3),and it was higher than thethreshold limit of 360 µg m−3 at all the monitoring stations. The A14 and A17stations categorized as ‘very poor’, and the A15 and A16 stations as ‘dangerous’.The 24-h average SPM concentrations ranged from 338.8 (A14) to 799.8 µg m−3

(A15). The percentage of measurements of the 24-h average SPM concentrationthat exceeded the standard limit was found to vary between 51 (A17) and 75% (A15and A16).

4.2. RPM CONCENTRATION

The annual average RPM concentrations in the residential area were more than theprescribed limit of 60 µg m−3 at the A1, A9 and A12 monitoring stations (cat-egorized ‘poor’), the A10 station (categorized ‘very poor’) and the A10 station(categorized ‘dangerous’), whereas they it was below the permissible limit at othermonitoring stations (categorized ‘fair’) (Figure 4).The range of annual averageRPM concentrations was between 53.2 (A6) and 101.4 µg m−3 (A8). The 24-h

AIR QUALITY STATUS OF AN OPEN PIT MINING AREA IN INDIA 377

Figure 3. Variation of SPM concentrations in the industrial area with annual average, 24-h averagemaximum, minimum and 95th percentile values, and comparison with the threshold value.

Figure 4. Variation of RPM concentrations in the residential area with annual average, 24-h averagemaximum, minimum and 95th percentile values, and comparison with the threshold value.

average RPM concentrations were found to vary between 40.8 (A9) and 171.9 µgm−3 (A8). The 24-h average RPM concentrations never exceeded the prescribedlimit except at the A8 and A10 monitoring stations (42 and 46% of total measure-ments, respectively).

The annual average RPM concentrations in the industrial/mining area weremore than the prescribed limit of 120 µg m−3 at all the four monitoring stations(Figure 5),the A14 and A17 monitoring stations being in the ‘very poor’ category,

378 S. K. CHAULYA

Figure 5. Variation of RPM concentrations in the industrial area with annual average, 24-h averagemaximum, minimum and 95th percentile values, and comparison with the threshold value.

and the A15 and A16 stations in the ‘dangerous’ category. The range of annual av-erage RPM concentrations was between 164.2 (A14) and 193.5 µg m−3 (A16). The24-h average RPM concentrations varied from 102.5 (A14) to 425.6 µg m−3 (A17).The percentages of readings exceeding the 24-h average threshold limit of 150 µgm−3 ranged from 56 (A17) to 89% (A15) of the total measurements (Table II).

4.3. SO2 AND NOx CONCENTRATIONS

The annual average SO2 concentrations among all the monitoring stations rangedbetween 23.3 (A6) and 36.8 µg m−3 (A12), being well below the threshold limits of60 (residential) and 80 µg m−3 (industrial). The 24-h average SO2 concentrationswere between 16.0 (A6) and 55.2 µg m−3 (A12), well within the standard limitsof 80 (residential) and 120 µg m−3 (industrial). The SO2 in the residential areasderived from open burning of raw coal and other domestic and commercial activities.The annual and 24-h average NOx concentrations were found to be well within theprescribed limit at all the monitoring station in the study area and the range ofannual average NOx concentrations lying between 23.9 (A2 and A3) and 41.9 µgm−3 (A12). The 24-h average NOx concentrations varied from 19.0 (A1, A3 andA4) to 58.1 µg m−3 (A12).

4.4. SPATIO-TEMPORAL VARIATIONS

The temporal variations of SPM and RPM fitted third order polynomial trend (aver-age correlation coefficient (R2) of 0.77 ± 0.17 for SPM and 0.85 ± 0.10 for RPM).

AIR QUALITY STATUS OF AN OPEN PIT MINING AREA IN INDIA 379

Figure 6. Linear regression of annual average SPM and RPM concentrations for the seventeenmonitoring stations.

The correlation coefficient between SPM with RPM was 0.86 (± 0.12). On averagethe RPM in the ambient air of the mining area constituted 31.94 (±1.76)% of theSPM, the best fit equation being y = 0.3326x − 3.5469 (correlation coefficient of0.99) (Figure 6). Linear regression analysis was also performed between concen-trations of NOx and SO2, and the correlation coefficient of NOx with SO2 was 0.57(±0.20).

The concentration of particulate matter at most of the monitoring stationsreached a maximum during winter and was at its minimum in the rainy season; thisis similar to the reports by various researchers (Soni and Agarwal, 1997; CMRI,1999; Ghose and Majee; 2000; Nanda and Tiwary, 2001; Reddy and Ruj, 2003) forIndian coal mining areas, and Karaca et al. (1995) and Tayanc (2000) for Istanbulin Turkey. However, for certain urban areas maximal concentrations of particu-late matters are observed in summer season (Crabbe et al., 2000; Ferreira et al.,2000; Meenalbal and Akil, 2000; Almbauer et al., 2001). The average monthlyproduction rate was almost uniform throughout the study period. Therefore, thereason for temporal or seasonal variations was only related to the meteorologicalparameters. In winter, anti-cyclonic conditions prevailed, which was characterisedby calm or light winds and restricted mixing depth due to a stable or inversion at-mospheric lapse rate, resulting in little dispersion or dilution of pollutants, which,in its turn, helped in the build-up of pollution concentrations to the higher levels.Monsoon experienced the lowest SPM and RPM levels because of the wash-out ofair borne particulates and other gaseous pollutants by intermittent precipitation. Itwas also observed that in general the SPM and RPM levels tended to decrease withincreasing relative humidity.

380 S. K. CHAULYA

The strong correlation between SPM and RPM indicates that the concentrationof RPM, which is the main concern for human health affects (Wheeler et al., 2000;Baldauf et al., 2001), would be useful for benchmarking the RPM concentrationwithout field measurement for any open pit coal mining area with similar conditions,by knowing the SPM concentration. Coal transportation was the main source ofSPM generation as reported by various researchers (Sinha, 1995; Soni and Agarwal,1997; Ghose and Majee, 2000; Chaulya et al., 2003). Based on the dust samples’analysis of the mining area by differential thermal analyser, it was reported that anaverage of 78 (±6)% of dust was of coal origin (CMRI, 1999). This indicates thatmajor share of dust pollution in the study area was from mining and allied activities.

Maximal concentrations of SPM and RPM found in the mining area (Figure 7a)and levels gradually diminished with increasing distance due to transportation,deposition and dispersion of particles as analysed by different researchers (Ermak,1977; Horst, 1977; Hanna et al., 1982; Chaulya et al., 2002). The dispersion ofparticulate matter tended to be towards the south-west, which followed the annualpredominant wind direction of the area (Chaulya et al., 1998; Corti and Senatore,2000; Baldauf et al., 2001).

The annual and 24-h average SPM and RPM concentrations were comparedwith the national ambient air quality standards (health related) of United SatesEnvironmental Protection Agency (USEPA, 1992 and 1996). The annual averageSPM concentration was higher at all the monitoring stations than the prescribedlimit of 75 µg m−3, whereas 24-h average concentration exceeded the standardlimit of 260 µg m−3 at few stations during summer and winter seasons. Similarly,the annual average RPM concentration was above the threshold limit of 50 µg m−3

at all the monitoring stations. The 24-h average RPM concentration was higherthan the standard limit of 150 µg m−3 at few stations during winter and summerseasons. The annual and 24-h average SO2 and NOx concentrations were wellwithin the standard limit at all the monitoring stations.

In general, the 24-h and annual average SPM and RPM concentrations were alsohigher than the USEPA, EU, WHO and World Bank standards (Table I) at most of themonitoring stations, whereas SO2 and NOx concentrations at all the stations werealso well within the international standards. Therefore, an effective action plan isrequired to control and manage air pollution in the residential areas surrounding themines, where the people are directly exposed to a high concentration of particulatematter.

5. Management Strategy

5.1. CONTROL AT SOURCE

The air quality of the Lakhanpur area has deteriorated and implementation of ef-fective control measures is needed. Apart from the regular environmental control

AIR QUALITY STATUS OF AN OPEN PIT MINING AREA IN INDIA 381

Figure 7. Spatial distribution of annual average SPM concentrations (µg m−3): (a) during the presentcondition and (b) reduction from the present level during the post management scenario.

382 S. K. CHAULYA

TABLE IIISuggested mitigative measures at different locations of Lakhanpur area

Station code Location Additional recommended control measures

A1 Tingismal village R3, R8, R9, R11

A2 Khaliapalli village R3, R8, R9, R11

A3 Soldia village R3, R8, R9, R11

A4 Ubuda village R3, R8, R9, R11

A5 Kusuraloi village R3, R8, R9, R11

A6 Banjipalli village R3, R8, R9, R11

A7 Chharla village R1–R3, R8, R9, R11

A8 Training institute’s hostel R1–R3, R8, R11

A9 Khadam village R3, R8, R11

A10 Bandhbahal colony R3, R8, R11

A11 Darlipalli village R3, R8, R9, R11

A12 Jurabaga village R1–R3, R8, R11

A13 Kusuraloi village R3, R8, R9, R11

A14 Project office of Lakhanpur OCP R1–R3, R8–R11, R14, R15

A15 CHP of Lakhanpur OCP R1–R13, R16

A16 CHP of Belpahar OCP R1–R13, R16

A17 CEWS of Belpahar OCP R1–R13, R16

Key: R1: check/ stop overloading of trucks/ dumpers; R2: use of covered transportation; R3:regular cleaning of roads; R4: remote control sprinkling system on haul road and transportroad; R5: effective use and maintenance of sprinkling system; R6: arrangement for additionalsprinkling system; R7: regular maintenance of all heavy earth moving machinery and othermachinery; R8: vehicular emission norms to be strictly enforced; R9: all major roads to bemetalled and properly maintained; R10: application of chemical binder in the haul road; R11:regular watering on haul road, transport road and other roads; R12: mechanical dust aerators/collectors to be installed wherever possible; R13: crushers of coal handling plants to be enclosedand dust control equipment should be deployed; R14: old inactive overburden dumps to beproperly reclaimed and revegetated biologically using both grass and plant species; R15: activeoverburden dumps to be properly wetted to avoid wind erosion; and R16: implementation ofgreenbelt around different mining activities.

measures adopted by the mining company, a few additional measures might aidthe control of air pollution at source (Table III). CMRI (1999) provided details ofcontrol measures and the technical reasons for the recommendation of a particularmeasure for a specific site.

Restriction of trucks/dumpers speed and overloading, and regular road cleaningare essential in order to control dust pollution from transportation, together withregular water spraying on roads. Washing of dumpers/trucks’ wheels/body at anappropriate distance from site entrance, loading and unloading in area protectedfrom wind, minimization of drop heights, use of sheet or cover on loaded vehicles,

AIR QUALITY STATUS OF AN OPEN PIT MINING AREA IN INDIA 383

and application of water sprays/sprays curtains to moisten transported material arealso essential.

At almost all the locations, the sprinkling system was observed to be faulty.Regular maintenance/repair of the sprinkling system and construction of a moreeffective sprinkling system, alongwith application of binding agents/chemicals onthe unpaved roads are required. In addition, unpaved roads should be converted toblack-topped roads, with regular maintenance/repair of roads to maintain compact-ness, gradient and drainage, sweeping of paved roads, and the imposition of speedlimits on trucks and other vehicles. Biological reclamation of overburden dumpsand wastelands is also desirable. Dust collecting devices for point sources shouldbe installed along with insisting on good maintenance. Effective control measuresat the coal handling plant, excavation area and overburden dumps should also beimplemented to mitigate the SPM emission at source.

Haul and transport roads are the major sources of particulate matters (around80% of total emission) in the study area. Transported materials fall on the roadduring plying/running of dumpers/trucks due to overloading and jerking. Subse-quently, fallen materials are being crushed during frequent movements of heavyearth moving machinery. This result into deposition of huge amount of dust onroads in addition to settling of dust emitted in the atmosphere due to various min-ing activities. Movements of vehicles on these dusty roads lead to emission ofhuge amount of dust which ultimately creates major air pollution problem in themining area. For effective control, the dust has to be collected from the roadsurface and deposited in a solid form in an eco-friendly manner, and this can beachieved by utilising a “road dust collecting system.” The system will be used forcollecting of huge quantity of dust being accumulated on the haul and transporta-tion roads of the mining area as well as public roads. The road dust extracted bythe system would minimize the concentrations of SPM and RPM in the miningand urban areas. Moreover, the coal dust extracted from haul roads of the coalmines and making it into a solid form would be used for various economic pur-poses which will add a further advantage to the technique as well as to the miningindustry.

5.2. GREEN BELT DEVELOPMENT

A new approach adopted in recent years has involved the growth of green plantsaround the source of pollution. A green belt is the mass plantation of pollutant-tolerance trees (evergreen and deciduous) for the purpose of mitigating the airpollution in an effective manner by filtering, intercepting and absorbing pollutants(Sharma and Roy, 1997). The capacity of plants to reduce air pollution is wellknown (NEERI, 1993; Sharma and Roy, 1997; Shannigrahi and Sharma, 2000).Optimum green belt development, including factors such as distance of green beltfrom source, width and height of green belt, may be achieved using an existinggreen belt attenuation model (Kapoor and Gupta, 1984; Chaulya et al., 2001).

384 S. K. CHAULYA

The likely effectiveness of a green belt in attenuating the pollution is given by theattenuation factor, which is defined as the ratio of mass flux reaching a particulardistance in the absence of the green belt, to the mass flux reaching the same distancein the presence of the green belt (Kapoor and Gupta, 1984). However, the selectionof tree species that can be grown around a mining site is very important. Plantsdiffer considerably with reference to their pollution sensitivity, some being highlysensitive and others hardy and tolerant (Shannigrahi and Agarwal, 1996; Sikarwaret al., 1998; Chaulya et al., 2001).

Selection of species: A green belt with a variety of native species is preferableto maintain species diversity, rational utilisation of nutrients and for maintainingthe health of the trees. Air pollution tolerance indices (APTI) and the expectedperformance indices (EPI) of plant species are the important parameters for selec-tion of species. APTI of tree species may be calculated by means of the formulaproposed by Singh and Rao (1983): APTI = [A(T + P) + R]/10. Where, A is theascorbic acid content in mg g−1 of dry weight, T is total chlorophyll in mg g−1

fresh weight, P is pH of leaf extract, and R is relative water content (%). On thebasis of the air pollution tolerance index and some relevant phyto-socio-economiccharacters, performance index (EPI) of plant species may be calculated. Treesmay be graded as best, excellent, very good, good, moderate, poor and very poorcategories (Chaulya et al., 2001). Species belonging to the first four categoriesare recommended for planting. Plant species having an EPI more than 60% areselected to include the characteristics, namely (i) native in nature to sustain in themicro-climatic, soil and human interaction, (ii) trees growing up to 10 m or more inheight with thick perennial foliage, and (iii) fast growing plant species which canattain their full height in a short period of time.

India has a host of native plant species which can serve as good filter for varioustypes of air pollutants (SPM, SO2 and NOx ). It is however important to select plantsthat can tolerate the local climatic conditions. The plant species selected for thedevelopment of green belt and retardation of air pollutants are as follows: (i) forSPM [Butea monsperma (Palas), Spathodea companulata (Sapeta), Fiscus infecto-ria (Pakur), Cassia fistula (Amaltas), Anthocephalus cadamba (Kadam) and Casiasiamea (Minjari)]; (ii) for SO2 [Pterospermum acerifolium (Muchkun), Bauhiniavariegate (Kanchhar), Bambusa spp. (Bans), Delbergia sisoo (Sisum), Ecalyptusspp. (Eucalyptus), Cassia siamea (Minjari) and Zizyphus jujube (Ber)] and (iii)for NOx [Bauhinia variegate (Kanchhar), Zizyphys jujube (Ber), Syzigium cuminii(Jamun), Mimusops elengi (Bakul), Eucalyptus spp. (Eucalyptus), Pterospermumacerifolium (Muchkun) and Mangifera indica (Aam)].These plant species will begrown around highly polluting sources like CHP, office complex, workshop, pitboundary, dumping yard and along both sides of roads. Plantation may be done asper the technique described by Chaulya et al. (2001). The developed green beltswill help to control and check the dust on the surface, the leaves and bark, andcan also tolerate SO2 and NOx (gaseous pollutants) effectively (Sikarwar et al.,1998).

AIR QUALITY STATUS OF AN OPEN PIT MINING AREA IN INDIA 385

5.3. POLICY ISSUE

In addition to the above air pollution control measures, there is a need for strictenforcement of existing air pollution laws to bring down the air pollutants levelwithin the NAAQS and enforcement of compliance monitoring mechanism by var-ious statutory bodies like Central and State Pollution Control Boards, Indian Bureauof Mines, and Ministry of Environment and Forests. For effective implementationand monitoring of air control measures proper motivation and willingness of politi-cians are also essential. Government of India has recognised the fact and recentlya task force is constituted to modify the existing rules and regulations for bettermanagement of environmental quality in the mining areas and strengthen the mech-anisation for effective implementation and monitoring of the environmental controlmeasures at various mining areas in India.

5.4. POST MANAGEMENT SCENARIO

A quantitative assessment of the expected pollution reduction is made as per themethodology described earlier. Figure 7a illustrates the present annual averageSPM concentration and Figure 7b depicts the reduction (i.e. present minus postmanagement values) in annual average SPM concentration in the study area due toimplementation of various mitigative measures to control air pollution at sources aswell as development of green belts. The SPM concentration reduction in the ambientair was predicted to be varied from 30–35% of present level. The problem of healthhazard related to air pollution will also be greatly reduced for the living beinglocated in and around the mining area. Utilising the road dust collecting system,huge amount of coal dust deposited on the haul roads will be converted into solidform which will be used for various economic purposes. Thus, by implementingthe system, wastage of coal will be reduced and further add an economic advantagefor the coal mining industry and the saved amount may be utilised for welfare ofthe tribal in the region.

6. Conclusions

SPM and RPM were the major sources of emission from various open pit miningactivities, whereas emissions of SO2 and NOx were negligible. The annual and24-h average concentrations of SPM and RPM were higher than the NAAQS atmost of the places both in the mining and residential areas. Temporal variationsof SPM and RPM fitted polynomial trends well and a good correlation existedbetween them as per the linear regression analysis. In open pit coal mining areaswith similar conditions, the linear regression of SPM with RPM may be used forbenchmarking the concentration of one type of particulate matter by knowing thelevel of the other.

386 S. K. CHAULYA

Air quality in the Lakhanpur area has exceeded the standard limit in-spite ofregular environmental control measures adopted by the mining company. A fewmore additional measures are required at the respective sensitive sites to controlgeneration of particulate matters at source and a green belt should also be developedin and around the polluting sources. With the implementation of additional controlmeasures at appropriate sites, the air quality in the study area could be brought withinthe national ambient air quality protocol threshold limit. Constructive measuresat political level are essential to create motivation for implementation of variouscontrol measures and also to reduce the air pollution level in the mining area. Thiswould lead to an eco-friendly mining and better habitat for all those living in the area.

Acknowledgments

Author is grateful to Drs. M. K. Chakraborty, M. Ahmad and R. S. Singh, andMr. A. K. Chowdhury, Scientists, Central Mining Research Institute, Dhanbad, In-dia, for necessary help in conducting the field study and preparing the manuscript.Author is also thankful to M/s Mahanadi Coalfields Limited, Sambalpur, for spon-soring this study and providing necessary facilities.

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