Keeping track of pollution levels

Keeping track of pollution levels
S Lalitha
A mobile pollution laboratory also travels around the City to identify places which are the hot spots when it comes to pollution so that permanent stations can be installed at those places later...

As part of efforts to create awareness among the public about the prevailing pollution levels in the City, an automatic air quality monitoring station with a mammoth display board has been installed outside the City railway station recently. The board gives a continuous display of the level of pollutants in the air around.
The prevailing levels of nitrous oxide, sulphur dioxide, respirate particulate matter and carbon monoxide in the City are highlighted here along with the correct timing. The readings in bold keep alternating between shades of red, orange and green.

“It is on a trial basis now and once the figures spelt out on it have reached an accuracy level, it would be made fully operational,” said Jayaprakash, Senior Environmental Officer at Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB). The equipment has been installed at a cost of Rs 70 lakh over two months ago and is only the second such online equipment in the City, “ he added.

The only other such equipment was inaugurated over a year ago at the Pollution Board office at Sanagoranahalli, near Rajajinagar, by former President APJ Abdul Kalam. It is also in the testing phase now and developed calibration problems recently which have been set right.

Chairman of KSPCB, Dr H C Sharat Chandra, said, “The idea behind such displays is to ensure that if the permissible limit is crossed by some pollutants, the traffic in the area can be diverted to the other areas.” This is what is done in other cities like Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad which have online monitoring stations.

These boards are in addition to the six manual monitoring stations installed at Peenya, Whitefields, Yeshwanthpur police station, Victoria Hospital, the K H B Industrial area and the Umco Batteries at Mysore Road, said Dr B R Balagangadhar, Chief Scientific Officer at KSPCB. Bellary already has an automatic monitoring system in place.

A mobile pollution laboratory also travels around the City to identify places which are the hot spots when it comes to pollution so that permanent stations can be installed at those places later, he added.