Mobile units to check how policy affects pollution

Besides these measures, the existing six monitoring stations under the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) will continue to monitor air quality from January 1, when the policy will be implemented for 15 days across the capital.

These monitoring machines will measure air quality data according to a protocol that has been put in place for this period, said sources in the environment department. Besides PM 10 and PM 2.5, other pollutants associated with vehicular pollution — like NOx, CO and hydrocarbons like benzene — will also be monitored.

“We are studying not just particulates which have received much attention but other vehicular pollutants as well. Some of these pollutants like benzene are a problem in otherwise clean areas like Civil Lines. We want to check the impact of this policy on those pollutants as well,” said a senior official.

A daily cumulative bulletin of this data, from the DPCC stations and the new ones, would be released from nine districts of the capital during the 15-day trial period of the policy, said officials.

The mobile machines would be set up in areas which experience heavy traffic, especially during rush hours, said officials.

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“We want to extend our monitoring to 200 locations, including our existing stations under the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and DPCC. Our mobile units will cover various areas affected by vehicular pollution. In the first few days, we will start the process at ITO and the intersection outside the Anand Vihar terminal, which experience logjams during peak hours in the morning as well as in the evening,” said a senior official in the environment department.

These machines will also check air quality in congested markets like Sarojini Nagar and Lajpat Nagar, said officials.

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On the mobile units, which would be used for the first time, a senior official said, “Ambient stations are not located near roads and intersections, so the impact of reduced vehicular pollution can be assessed more accurately with mobile equipment. To get a baseline, we have already started collecting data”.

The monitoring machines also give a better idea of actual human exposure to pollutants, he added.

“The exposure to particulates, according to studies published by independent agencies, is compounded several times to data from ambient monitoring stations. This is the first time we are trying to incorporate this data in our monitoring,” said the official.

An elaborate analysis of the impact on air quality would also help officials plan future policy measures like exemptions.

“An IIT Kanpur study says two-wheelers contribute around 33 per cent to particulates… open burning of leaf and garbage are also significant contributors. In a sense, we are doing our own studies to assess these source apportionment studies. If the level of pollutants do not go down significantly, we might have to target these sources,” said the official.