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CE 568 Industrial Pollution Control

Air Pollution Control

Dr. C.T.K. Gunawardana

Department of Civil Engineering,
University of Peradeniya

1984 Dec - Bhopal Gas Tragedy

1984 Dec - Bhopal Gas Tragedy, World’s worst industrial disaster

Gas leak Dec 1984 - It is considered to be the world's worst industrial
disaster. Over 500,000 people were exposed to methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas.
Series of ignorance
Death over 3150
$470 million settlement

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• Chernobyl nuclear power station April 1986 : the world‟s worst nuclear disaster. The
accident, which occurred as a result of an experiment involving the switching off of
safety systems in one of the four reactors, caused the deaths of 31 people. At least
129 others suffered acute radiation sickness, and many thousands are expected to die
prematurely as a consequence of exposure to radiation released from the stricken
plant. Costs of the disaster exceeded $350 billion.

2006 Southeast Asian haze event

• Fire-related large-scale air pollution problem that occurs regularly. Generally it is
worst between July and October.
• haze is largely caused by illegal agricultural fires due to industrial-scale slash-and-
burn practices in Indonesia.
• Affected - Malaysia, Singapore, southern Thailand, South Korea

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1930: Meuse River Valley, Belgium

• Main sources: zinc smelter, sulfuric acid factory,
glass manufacturers
• 60 deaths recorded
1948: Donora, Pennsylvania
• Main sources: iron and steel factories, zinc
smelting, and an acid plant
• 20 deaths observed
1952: London Killer fog
• Primary source: domestic coal burning
• 4,500 excess deaths recorded during week- long
period in December

Pollution due to process industries

• Traditionally, industries and its basic components were designed based upon
technical and economic considerations only. Now-a-days, it is essential to
consider environment, health and safety as factors during design.

• During any project, though it is essential that ‘economic sustainability’ is

attained; however, it is also essential that ‘ecological sustainability’ and ‘social
sustainability’ are also attained.

• EIA is a major instrument in decision making and for measurement of

sustainability in the context of the regional carrying capacity. It provides the
conceptual framework for extending the cumulative assessment of
development policies, plans and projects on a regional basis.

• Sustainable development of chemical process industries is a process in which

the exploitation of resources and the direction of the investments are all made
consistent with future as well as present heads.

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Major polluting industrial sectors

Air Pollution

• “Air pollutants” means any solid, liquid or gaseous substance (including

noise) present in the atmosphere in such concentration as may be or tend to be
injurious to human being or other living creatures or plants or property or
environment.

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Sources of air pollutants

Mobile Sources Stationary Sources

(vehicles) (power plants, factories)
VOCs, NO2, PM NO2, SO2, PM

Area Sources
Natural Sources
(drycleaners, gas stations)
(forest fires, volcanoes)
VOCs
PM

Acid deposition development

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An inversion is an extremely stable layer of the atmosphere that forms over

areas.

Temperature inversions trap pollutants close to the ground. These

inversions involve layers of hot air sitting above cooler air near ground level.
When particles accumulate in the air layer, they are unable to rise into the
atmosphere where winds will disperse them.

Air Pollutants

Primary pollutants:
emitted directly into the atmosphere and are found in form in which they were
emitted,
• Particulates,
• Sulfur dioxide,
• Carbon monoxide,
• Nitrogen dioxide and
• Hydrocarbon

Secondary pollutants:
derived from the primary pollutants by chemical or photochemical reactions
In the atmosphere,
• Ozone (O3),
• Peroxyacetyle nitrate (PAN), etc.

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Criteria pollutants:
– Six major air pollutants identified as causing health effects at concentrations
above thresholds established at levels known to be safe. These are:

• are those for which concentration limits have been set as the dividing line
between acceptable air quality and poor air quality

• Maximum ambient air standards have been set

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Criteria Air Pollutants

• Two kinds of ambient pollutants are regulated under the Clean Air
Act: Criteria pollutants and hazardous air pollutants.

• The Clean Air Act characterizes five primary pollutants and one
secondary pollutant as criteria air pollutants. These six pollutants are
emitted in relatively large quantities by various sources and tend to
threaten human health or welfare.

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Criteria pollutants Hazardous Air Pollutants

• Few • Numerous
• not bioaccumulated • may bioaccumulate
• lung is primary target • many target organs
(except CO) • dose-response data rarely available
• health effects readily • long latent periods
available

Particulate Matter
• Particulate matter (PM) describes a wide variety of airborne material. PM
pollution consists of materials (including dust, smoke, and soot), that are
directly emitted into the air or result from the transformation of gaseous
pollutants.
• Particles come from natural sources (e.g., volcanic eruptions) and human
activities such as burning fossil fuels, incinerating wastes, and smelting
metals.
• Includes: soil particles, soot, lead, asbestos, sea salt, and sulfuric acid
droplets
• PM10 and PM2.5

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Air Pollution and Health effects

Health effects

Until the mid 1990s, most research focused on the association of PM exposure
with respiratory disease. Since then, there has been growing evidence of
cardiovascular health effects from PM.

Source: Pope and Dockery, JAWMA, 2006

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-37276219

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Layers of Earth’s Atmosphere

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Composition of the Atmosphere

Determinants of Pollutant Concentration

• Weather patterns
• Wind
• Stability (vertical movement of air)
• Turbulence
• Precipitation
• Topography
• Smokestack height and temperature of gases

• Nearby natural and built structures may lead to downward moving

currents causing aerodynamic or building downwash of smokestack
emissions.

• On the local level, the primary factors affecting transport and dispersion of
pollutants are wind and atmospheric stability.

• Wind dilutes pollutants and rapidly disperses them throughout the

immediate area.

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Related Global issues

• Smog
• Acid rains
• Global Warming
• Green house gas emission
• Extreme weather – sea level rise, polar ice,
• Ozone layer

Photochemical Smog

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Air Quality Monitoring

Air quality monitoring

High and low volume air samplers: High and low volume air samplers are
instruments used to collect samples of air particles. The difference between high and
low volume air samplers is the amount of air sampled.

High volume air samplers typically sample more than 1500 cubic metres
(m3) of air over a 24-hour period, while low volume air samplers draw through only
24m3 of air, or less.

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Air Quality Index

• Air Quality Index (AQI) or Air Pollution Index (API), a scale 0 - 500 is used
to characterize the quality of the air at a given location.

• AQI is an indicator developed by governments to communicate to the

public how polluted the air currently is or how polluted it is forecast to
become.

• Different countries have their own air quality indices, corresponding to

different national air quality standards.

https://www.cea.lk/web/images/pdf/airqulity/AQI-
SL_Calculation_Guideline_CEA.LK_V1.0.pdf

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Air Quality in Sri Lanka

Source: https://www.iqair.com/sri-lanka

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Ambient Air Quality Monitoring in Sri Lanka

Two automated ambient air quality monitoring stations are currently located in Battaramulla and Kandy city.

Six air pollutants, namely; Fine particles (PM2.5), Coarse + fine particles (PM10), Sulphur Dioxide (SO2),
Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), Ground Level Ozone (O3) and Carbon Monoxides (CO) are monitored regularly.

USEPA/NAAQS
• Environmental Protection Agency EPA is required under the Clean Air
Act to set national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) to
protect public health from exposure to these pollutants.

• Areas that exceed the NAAQS are designated as nonattainment, and

must institute air pollution control programs to reduce air pollution
to levels that meet the NAAQS.

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Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs)

https://www.epa.gov/haps/initial-list-hazardous-air-pollutants-modifications

Controlling Hazardous Air Pollutants

The Clean Air Act requires the EPA to regulate toxic air pollutants, also known as air
toxics, from large industrial facilities in two phases.

Phase 1
• The first phase is “technology-based,” where EPA develops standards for
controlling the emissions of air toxics from sources in an industry group (or
“source category”).
• These maximum achievable control technology (MACT) standards are based on
emissions levels that are already being achieved by the controlled and
low-emitting sources in an industry.
Phase 2
• The second phase is a “risk-based” approach called residual risk.
• EPA must determine whether more health-protective standards are necessary.
• Within 8 years of setting the MACT standards, the Clean Air Act requires EPA to
assess the remaining health risks from each source category to determine whether
the MACT standards protect public health with an ample margin of safety, and
protect against adverse environmental effects.
• Every 8 years after setting the MACT standards, the Clean Air Act also requires EPA
to review and revise the standards, if necessary, to account for improvements in
air pollution controls and/or prevention. The first eight year review, when
combined with the residual risk review, is called the risk and technology review -
RTR.

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National Regulations

• Ambient Air quality is managed in line with the National Environmental

(Ambient Air Quality) Regulations published under gazette No: 1562/22 on
15.08.2008; the successor to the first regulations published in 1994

• Emission sources are controlled by the National Environmental (Stationary

Sources Emissions Control) Regulations published on 05.06.2019 by the
gazette No: 2126/36.

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