ABSTRACT

Air quality is one of the most pressing issues in the environment, mainly due to the
increase in the level of pollutant emissions, which is induced by numerous human activities. To limit
the damage caused by air pollution, understanding it in simpler terms has become a vital
requirement for both individuals and authorities looking to examine air quality situations quickly.
One of the most common and widely used methods to understand the extent of air pollution is the
Air Quality Index (AQI).

Traditionally throughout India, AQI calculated for the concentration of a single

pollutant is used to evaluate the city's air quality. However, this method has drawbacks because
the effect of other harmful pollutants is ignored. Hence a more efficient method that takes multiple
pollutants simultaneously into account is used to study the air quality of Rourkela. In addition to
that, the effects of meteorological factors such as wind speed are also studied over the period. The
results from the research can be used as reference material by both researchers and governments
to design remedies against air pollution accordingly which can pave way for a healthier lifestyle
and a pollution-free environment

Keywords: Air quality index, Multi-contaminant based air pollution, Health effects
CHAPTER 1
1 INTRODUCTION

Air pollution is one of the most serious environmental risks to

human health, causing a whopping 4.1 million early deaths each year
around the world. According to a survey, around 91 percent of the
world's population lives in places where the WHO's guidelines for air
quality are exceeded. [1] However, in an ever-evolving world where there
is technological advancement every day, awareness of air pollution has
increased a lot, which in turn has attracted more research on the same.
One of the most prominent methods to study and analyze air quality is
the Air Quality Index (AQI), which is a numerical index that integrates
many pollutant concentrations into one single index, and then
categorizes them under various prescribed categories to signify the air
condition of the region. This makes it easy to compare air quality
patterns over different periods of time and space, as well as forecast
pollution which may occur in the future. There are many different types
In 1971, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) was the first
organization to develop an AQI. Following that, other nations, such as South Korea, and
Australia, adopted the AQI in their own nation although with minor modifications
depending on their nation’s requirements. [2] In India, the National Air Quality Index
(AQI) was first launched in New Delhi on October 17, 2014, under the Swachh Bharat
Abhiyan. The AQI takes eight major air pollutants, which are PM10, PM2.5, NO2, SO2,
CO, O3, NH3, and Pb into account while calculating AQI for any region. These pollutants
have National Ambient Air Quality Standards established for them. The results found
after calculating the AQI are further used for categorizing cities as Good (having AQI
within 0-50), Satisfactory (having AQI within 51- 100), Moderately Polluted (having AQI
within 101-200), Poor (having AQI within 201-300), Very Poor (having AQI within 301-
400), and Severe (having AQI within 401-500) using a specified colour code. The AQI is
monitored under a program called as National Air Monitoring Program (NAMP). The
monitoring of pollutants is carried out every 24 hours. NAMP is run by the joint
collaboration of the Central Pollution Control Board and several State Pollution Control
Boards. Under this, there are 804 operating stations present in 344 cities which are
spread over 28 states and 6 Union territories There are a total of 38 stations established
in Odisha, out of which 4 are present in and around Rourkela. [7], [8]
CHAPTER 2
2.1 LITERATURE REVIEW
[1] thoroughly studied the followed AQI method of China and after careful
research, developed a new and improved AQI. For the developed AQI method, response
coefficients of the concentration of the pollutants studied, namely, nitrogen dioxide,
ozone, and fine particulate matter were collected. Using these response coefficients and
the developed equation for calculating AQI, the AQI values for the considered time
period were calculated. In the end, the performance of the new AQI was compared with
the existing AQI and it was determined that AQHI and AQI performed similarly in terms
of sensing and predicting probable and acute health hazards from air pollution.

[2] paved the way for more research on AQIs based on multiple pollutants.
Different types of AQIs around the world were grouped into 2 broad categories, i.e. AQIs
based on the concentration of only a single pollutant and AQIs which take the effect of
multiple pollutants simultaneously into account. More research on the same showed
that AQIs based on a single contaminant had severe drawbacks as they largely
underestimated the impact of multiple contaminants by only representing the
concentration of the major pollutant, which in turn made them difficult to be used as a
universal AQI. On the other hand, AQIs which took multiple air pollutants into account,
 In the end, after combining the advantages and disadvantages of both types of
AQIs, a new type of AQI was proposed which could act also provide health messages
based on the AQI calculated, thus being a major problem solver for today's
deteriorating environment.

Similarly, in India, [3] presented a new AQI model which could be a better
solution to understand and study the air quality. The research was done the city of
Ahmedabad, India for 2 seasons, i.e. summer and winter. Mainly, several monitoring
instruments which used multiple sensors, were used to collect the monitoring data for
major pollutants in 6 prime locations. Among the pollutants monitored by the
instrument, sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ozone (O3), suspended
particulate matter (PM10), fine particulate matter (PM2.5), and carbon monoxide (CO)
were the major pollutants. After collecting the required data and performing analysis, it
was observed that the particulate matters were more responsible for pollution rather
than the gaseous pollutants. Also, it was observed that pollutants concentration in
winter was higher than that of summer.

[4] presented the now globally accepted Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) as a
new AQI system. It was developed by taking into account the rate of mortality due to
air pollution in different cities of Canada. The model developed for the AQI took the
quantifiable number of deaths of people as one of the factors and a simple linear model
 The calculated AQHI had a value on a scale of 0-10, with 0 being the lowest
possible AQI value. Based on the AQHI value, the area of study could be categorized
under 4 major categories .

A new accurate and efficient modeling technique for calculating AQI was
proposed by [5] which is less complex and time-consuming. A support vector machine
(SVM) model was used for this. The results and accuracy of the model are analyzed by
using different parameters of support vector machine such as coefficient of
determination (R2 ) and mean of sum of squares error (MSSE).

[6] analyzed air pollution in modern cities in a broader sense. It was determined
that the air pollution which was close to the surface of Earth is the most dangerous. The
study was done by performing a three-dimensional simulation of different features of
spatial forms. These included the extent of enclosure of the surface, and the height of
the surface measured from a predefined level. The analysis included using a multiple
linear regression equation that used various parameters like coverage of the site in a
standardized way, the extent of the surface enclosure, and standardized difference of
height between a predefined point and the surface to determine the standardized wind
velocity ratio. It was finally concluded that out of all parameters, the difference in height
showed the most impact for near-surface air pollution, while the extent of the surface
 2.2 CRITICAL REVIEW
From the review done, it is concluded that the current AQI model used in
India takes a single pollutant into account while calculating the AQI. The effect of other
pollutants is ignored in this method. Hence, a new AQI is proposed to overcome the
shortcomings arising from single contaminant-oriented AQI, which considers multiple
pollutants and gives better results.
CHAPTER 3
3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The objectives of this project are as follows:

 To review and compare different AQIs used worldwide.
 To study and analyze the effects of different pollutants in the city of Rourkela.
 To propose a multi-contaminant-oriented AQI method that can be used instead as
an alternative method to calculate AQI.
CHAPTER 4
4.1 METHODOLOGY

In the existing AQI model, the Sub-indices for individual pollutants at a monitoring
location are calculated using its 24-hourly average concentration value (8-hourly in
the case of CO and O3) and health breakpoint concentration range. The equation used
is [2]:

AQI𝑖 = 𝐼ℎ𝑖𝑔ℎ − 𝐼𝑙𝑜𝑤/ 𝐶ℎ𝑖𝑔ℎ − 𝐶𝑙𝑜𝑤 (𝐶 − 𝐶𝑙𝑜𝑤) + 𝐼𝑙𝑜w

where C is the monitored ambient average concentration of pollutant i;

Clow is the breakpoint lower than or equal to C;
Chigh is the breakpoint higher than or equal to C;
Ilow and Ihigh are the sub-index values corresponding to Clow and Chigh respectively.
The concentration of CO is calculated in mg/m3 and other pollutants in μg m3 ⁄ . The
overall AQI is then obtained as the maximum AQI among all pollutants. [2], [8]
In the proposed model, the 24-hourly average concentration value (8-hourly in the
case of CO and O3) of multiple pollutants is taken into the account. The concentration
of the pollutants is calculated at the established NAMP stations throughout the city.
Then the AQI value is calculated using these concentration values. [12]

The formula used is:

AQI = 1000 10.4 × [(𝑒 0.000537 × O3 − 1) + (𝑒 0.000872 × NO2 − 1) + (𝑒 0.000487

× PM2.5 − 1)]

where O3 is the average concentration of the ground-level O3,

NO2 is the average concentration of the ground-level NO2
PM2.5 is the average concentration of the ground-level PM2.5,
calculated at each station. The concentration of O3 and NO2 are calculated in ppb,
whereas the concentration of PM2.5 is calculated in μg m3 ⁄ .
4.2 STUDY AREA
The area of study selected is the city of Rourkela. Located towards the northern edge
of Odisha, it is one of the prominent cities of Odisha. It is a very aesthetically pleasing
place as it is bordered by rivers and green hills. It is home to numerous industrial
plants spread throughout the city. The emissions from the plants coupled with climatic
changes contribute to the city’s air quality.
4.3 DATA USED
Primarily, there are 2 types of data used: -

4.3.1 POLLUTANT CONCENTRATION DATA

The concentration values of 3 pollutants, which are NO2, O3 and
PM2.5, are collected in μg m3 ⁄ for the study period for 4 different
stations present in Rourkela. The data collected is shown in Table 4.1.
Here,
1. Station 1 corresponds to RO SPCB, Sector-5, Rourkela
2. Station 2 corresponds to IDL Out Post
3. Station 3 corresponds to IDCO Water tank, IDC Kalunga
4. Station 4 corresponds to Govt. Hospital, Kuanrmunda
 4.3.1 WIND DATA
The wind data consisting of wind speed and direction are used to plot the wind rose diagram
for the study period. The data collected is from 6th July 2021 to 31st January 2022. [10]
CHAPTER 5
5 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
5.1 VARIATION OF AIRPOLLUTION
CONCENTRATION
First, the variation of the concentration of the 3 air pollutants over the course of the
study period is analyzed using graphical plots (Fig 5.1-5.9). The charts are plotted by taking the
data recorded by all 4 stations of Rourkela into account. The concentration values plotted are in
μg m3 ⁄ .
1.Variation of concentration of NO2 (Fig 5.1-5.3): -
2. Variation of concentration of O3 (Fig 5.4-
5.6): -
3. Variation of concentration of PM2.5 (Fig
5.7-5.9): -
Analyzing the graphs, the following conclusions can be drawn: -

1) Almost every month has all 3 pollution concentration levels below the NAAQS standard
values, which are 80 μg m3 ⁄ for NO2, 100 μg m3 ⁄ for O3, and 60 μg m3 ⁄ for PM2.5.

2) The only exception is the pollution concentration value of PM2.5 for March-21, which is 95 μg
m3 ⁄ .

3) The NO2 concentration is more in the winter season than in the summer season. The primary
reason for this is the emission of large volumes of NO2 to fuel for additional heat
required by industrial plants during the winter season to carry out their work process.
Another contributing factor is that NO2 stays in the air for a lot longer period during the
winter season.

4) Conversely, the O3 concentration is higher during the summer season. This is due to the
influence of heat and sunlight. The compounds that contribute to the O3 concentration level,
such as oxides of nitrogen and hydrocarbons, react more vigorously with the heat and
sunlight, hence increasing the overall concentration level.

5) The PM2.5 concentration level is similarly affected by the increase in vehicular and industrial
emissions. This can be observed by looking at the PM2.5 concentration values observed in
Station 2, which corresponds to IDL Out Post. The area has a large number of industrial plants,
which in turn may contribute to the high level of PM2.5 concentrations.
5.2 AQI CALCULATION

The AQI values corresponding to each month and the corresponding stations
are calculated.
To do the calculation, first, the units of NO2 and O3 are converted to ppb
from μg m3 ⁄ using the following conversion factors: - [11]
i. For NO2, 1 ppb = 1.88 μg m3
ii. For O3, 1 ppb = 2 μg m3
Table 5.1 shows the health precautions corresponding to the AQI value. [12]
The final calculated AQI values with health message for each month and station is
shown
Tablein
5.2.
Analyzing the graphs, the following conclusions can be drawn: -

1) The range of AQI values for all stations is 2-6.

2) Thus, Rourkela lies in either low or moderate risk health zone depending on the AQI of the
month.

3) Stations like Station 2 corresponding to IDL Out Post have higher AQI values in summer due to
the heavy influence of industrial emissions during the period. Also, Station 2 had the highest
combined AQI value which shows the effects of industrial emissions.
5.2 ANALYSIS OF WIND DATA
Using the wind speed and wind direction data available from 6th July 2021- 31st January 2022, the
data is graphically plotted (Fig 5.14-5.15). [10
From the 2 figures (Fig 5.14-5.15), the following conclusions can be drawn: -

1) The wind speed in Rourkela varies from 2-22 km/h, thus falling in the category of light to
gentle breeze.

2) The major wind flow direction in Rourkela is from towards North-East, with the next major
direction being the South.

3) Station 1 corresponding to RO SPCB, Rourkela has low AQI values recorded even though it is
close to industrial plants. This is because the station is located in a Westward direction from
the plants, hence the concentration of pollutants is low.

4) On the other hand, Station 2 corresponding to IDL Out Post, has higher AQI values as it is
located in a Northward direction from major industrial plants located in that area, hence
increasing the concentration of air pollutants
CHAPTER 6
6.1 CONCLUSION

After studying and analyzing the effects of the 3 pollutants, it is concluded

that Rourkela is a city with low to moderate levels of air pollution. Even though it is
home to numerous industrial plants, the pollutant emission level along with the
direction of wind flow keeps the concentration of pollutants in check.
It is also concluded that the proposed AQI model which takes 3 pollutants into
account, provides consistent values with prescribed health messages. This helps the
citizens to keep themselves safe from any potential hazards due to air pollution.
It is concluded that the proposed AQI model can be a great alternative to the
existing model, as it nullifies the drawback of taking only a single pollutant into
account.
6.2 FUTURE SCOPE AND RESEARCH

 More stations for collecting air pollutants data could be installed which would give a larger
sample size to work with.

 Also, the effects of other hazardous pollutants can be studied, by combining their
concentration values into the equation used