Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Research Articles

Spatial and seasonal variations in particulate matter and gaseous pollutants around integrated industrial estate (IIE), SIDCUL, Haridwar: a case study

The holy city of Haridwar is now emerging as a key industrial destination of the north India due to the presence of IIE Haridwar. Due to increased anthropogenic activities like vehicular emissions and industrial discharges in the Haridwar region, air pollution levels has raised greatly. The objectives of the study were (1) to determine the Spatial and seasonal variations of air quality in and around IIE, Haridwar and (2) to find out the Air Pollution Index (API). For this monthly monitoring of pollutant gases (SO2 and NO2) and particulate matter (SPM and RSPM) for two years (2012 and 2013) were done at six ambient air quality monitoring locations, one at each land use area (rural/agricultural, urban residential, protected area, industrial and commercial land use). The average SPM, RSPM, SO2, NO2 in the study area were found as 86.92 µg/m3, 81.04 µg/m3, 23.23 µg/m3, 24.73 µg/m3, respectively. It was observed that the average SPM levels exceed WHO standard limit of 120 µg/m3 at IIE Haridwar during study period. The average API during study period was 50.14 which indicates light air pollution. Meteorological conditions along with the distance from sources, particularly road transportation play a major role in deciding the ambient air quality over a region.

Monitoring ambient air quality in Indian city airsheds

An understanding of sources contributing to a city’s air pollution problem is crucial for building an effective clean air action plan. All the non-attainment cities under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) are planning or conducting a source apportionment study. Irrespective of the approaches and equipment selected to conduct these studies, the initiation process requires an understanding of the pollution loads, mix of sources, and geography of the city to decide how much to monitor for better spatial representation and how many times to monitor for better temporal representation. In this report, we defined (a) The size of NCAP city airsheds (b) The recommended number of ambient air quality monitoring sites in an airshed (c) The operational sampling frequency to support receptor-based source apportionment studies. These resources are necessary for strengthening the monitoring needs of an airshed to track pollution levels, to conduct receptor-model-based source apportionment studies, and to support long-term air quality management plans. Together, 122 NCAP cities were clubbed into 94 airsheds representing a total of 154 cities and a total population of 290.6 million - 66 airsheds contain only one city; 16 airsheds contain two cities, nine airsheds contain three cities and four airsheds (Chandigarh, Delhi, Mumbai, and Kolkata) contain 11, 7, 7, and 4 cities respectively. For the 94 airsheds, a total of 1700 sampling sites are recommended to measure and analyse particulate matter, at an average of 18 per airshed. The Tier-1 cities on the NCAP list - Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Pune require at least 33, 41, 78, 36, 70, 68, and 32 sampling sites, respectively, which is more than the current operational monitoring capacity in the cities.

Association Between PM2.5 Exposure Level and Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma in Taiwanese Adults: A Nested Case-Control Study.

Primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) is the most common type of glaucoma. However, little is known about POAG in adults and exposure to air pollution. The current study aims to investigate whether exposure to particulate matter with a mass median aerodynamic diameter of ≤2.5 μm (PM2.5) is associated with POAG diagnosis. Patient data were obtained from the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2010 (LHID2010) of Taiwan for the 2008–2013 period. PM2.5 concentration data, collected from the Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Network established by the Environmental Protection Administration of Taiwan, were categorized into four groups according to World Health Organization (WHO) exposure standards for PM2.5. We estimated the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% CIs for risk factors for POAG with logistic regression. The OR of per WHO standard level increase was 1.193 (95% CI 1.050–1.356). Compared with the normal level, the OR of WHO 2.0 level was 1.668 (95% CI 1.045–2.663, P < 0.05). After excluding confounding risk factors for POAG in this study, we determined that increased PM2.5 exposure is related to POAG risk (ORs > 1, P < 0.05). In this study, PM2.5 was an independent factor associated with open-angle glaucoma. Further research is required to better understand the mechanisms connecting PM2.5 and open-angle glaucoma.

Investigating a Low-Cost Dryer Designed for Low-Cost PM Sensors Measuring Ambient Air Quality.

Air pollution in urban areas is a huge concern that demands an efficient air quality control to ensure health quality standards. The hotspots can be located by increasing spatial distribution of ambient air quality monitoring for which the low-cost sensors can be used. However, it is well-known that many factors influence their results. For low-cost Particulate Matter (PM) sensors, high relative humidity can have a significant impact on data quality. In order to eliminate or reduce the impact of high relative humidity on the results obtained from low-cost PM sensors, a low-cost dryer was developed and its effectiveness was investigated. For this purpose, a test chamber was designed, and low-cost PM sensors as well as professional reference devices were installed. A vaporizer regulated the humid conditions in the test chamber. The low-cost dryer heated the sample air with a manually adjustable intensity depending on the voltage. Different voltages were tested to find the optimum one with least energy consumption and maximum drying efficiency. The low-cost PM sensors with and without the low-cost dryer were compared. The experimental results verified that using the low-cost dryer reduced the influence of relative humidity on the low-cost PM sensor results.

Environmental Monitoring of Ambient Outdoor, Indoor Air Quality Pollutants, PM 10 and PM 2.5 Conducted to Evaluate Its Impact Analysis and Quantification in Industrial Area of Dammam, KSA

The core objective of this study is to conduct precise and real-time monitoring of the industrial area Dammam located in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) which consists of a number of various chemicals, minerals and petrochemicals along with administrative blocks. The objective of this study is to monitor possible outdoor and indoor air pollutant in the industry working environment. This study shall help us to enable decision to be made on appropriate control measures as may be required to protect the health of employee and occupant who may be exposed to air contamination at workplace. Air pollution monitoring in ambient air environment finding shall be compared with national ambient air quality environmental standard while parameters monitoring in indoor air environment is compared with international standards such as occupational health and safety administration (OSHA), National institute for occupational safety and health (NIOSH) and Australian national health and medical research council (NHMRC). This environment review study for ensuring industry regulatory compliance for the facility and general authority of meteorology and environmental protection (GAMEP) previously known as presidency of meteorology environment (PME). This study shall be comprehensive in nature and cover two major types of monitoring and assessment such as ambient air quality monitoring and indoor air quality monitoring.

Фотоприймальний пристрій, стійкий до фонової засвітки, з розширеним динамічним діапазоном вхідних сигналів

Measurement of periodic optical information signals in the background light noise with a photodetector with extended dynamic range is an urgent task of modern electronics and thus has become the aim of this study. To increase the dynamic range of the photodetector, a new version of the automatic gain control (AGC) circuit has been developed, which consists of an AGC controller, an output photodetector amplifier and an AGC detector. The authors measured the dynamic range of the photodetector when receiving optical radiation with a wavelength of 1064 nm in the power range from 2.10–8 to 2.10–5 W at a modulation frequency of 20 kHz with the AGC on. Under these conditions, the dynamic range of the photodetector was found to be up to 67 dB. If the AGC was off, the dynamic range did not exceed 30 dB. Thus, the study made it possible to create a photodetector with an extended dynamic range up to 67 dB based on a new version of the AGC circuit. The design of the photodetector allowed choosing a useful signal of a particular modulation frequency in the frequency range from 3 to 45 kHz and effectively suppresses the frequencies caused by optical interference in the low frequency range from the frequency of the input signal of constant amplitude up to 3 kHz inclusive. This compensates the current up to 15 mA, which is equivalent to the power of light interference of about 15 mW. Further research should address the issues of reliability of the proposed photodetector design and optimization of its optical system. The photodetector can be used in geodesy and ambient air quality monitoring.

Raw &amp;amp; Processed Data to Support Energy, Emissions &amp;amp; Air Pollution Analysis in India

There is weak institutional capacity to address air pollution in an integrated manner, because there is little in the way of an organized knowledge base that may help support pollution control planning. In this paper, we present a repository of resource links with information directly relevant for energy, emissions, and pollution analysis in India covering (1) Official national and state level portals; guidelines, acts, and rules documents (2) Ambient air quality monitoring (3) Satellite retrievals and tools (4) Global and regional health impact analysis and tools (5) Compiled statistics, maps, and other geo-spatial databases (6) Compiled databases on energy, emissions, meteorology, and reanalysis fields (7) Compiled statistics on Indian energy sectors. The resource links in the paper were last accessed in January 2021.

Correlating Particulate Matter Concentrations with Wind Speed and Temperature using Machine Learning Algorithm

Almost from the last century, various environmental scientists are trying to correlate particulate matter (PM) concentrations with meteorological factors, for example, wind speed and temperature. This article tries to practically relate those with respect to popular machine learning algorithms to investigate any unusual data distribution in between those. PM concentration is dependent upon various factors, that include source of PM and meteorological factors. This article investigates the one-versus-one relation pattern of PM concentration and meteorological factors of temperature and wind speed. Concentration of PM2.5 and PM10 is collected from continuous ambient air quality monitoring station (CAAQMS) of Talchar coalfield, Odisha, India, along with wind speed and atmospheric temperature for 24 days continuously. Total five different machine learning algorithms are developed to build regression models, for example, Linear Regression, Nearest Neighbour Regression, Support Vector Regression, Decision Tree and Random Forest. The following combination of parameters is evaluated: PM2.5-Wind Speed, PM2.5-Temperature, PM10-Wind Speed and PM10-Temperature. Every one-versus-one relation is trained and tested with each of the five algorithms. In every case, linear regression fetches the best result as it produces the least root mean square error. Also, an overview, descriptive statistical analysis and graphical representation of every parameter considered are illustrated in this article. Main objective of this article is evaluating various regression analysis algorithms that represent relation between meteorological parameters and PM concentration, along with the traditionally studied linear model.

Hygienic Assessment of Ambient Air Quality in Chita, a Priority Area of the Federal Clean Air Project

Introduction: The article is devoted to poor ambient air quality in some cities of the Russian Federation, one the most important social and environmental issues of today. The city of Chita is a priority area in term of ambient air pollution included in the Federal Clean Air Project of the National Ecology Project. Our objective was to assess air quality in residential areas of the city for a further improvement of the ambient air quality monitoring system and air quality action planning. Materials and methods: We analyzed the results of measuring ambient air quality at the monitoring sites of the government environmental monitoring system for 2014–2018 and statistical data on the volume and composition of industrial emissions. The spatial analysis of the impact of enterprises on residential areas was carried out in accordance with the guidelines of the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor). Results and discussion: We established high concentrations of benzo(a)pyrene (up to a 10.5-fold excess of the average daily maximum permissible concentration (MPC)), particulate matter (up to a 1.63-fold excess of the average daily MPC and a 11.4-fold excess of the single MPC), nitrogen dioxide (up to a 1.18-fold excess of the average daily MPC), hydrogen sulfide (up to a 11.94-fold excess of the single MPC), phenol, soot, and some other hazardous air contaminants. We determined priority sources of anthropogenic emissions and other factors contributing to poor air quality in Chita. Conclusions: Our findings indicate the necessity to enhance the existing ambient air quality monitoring network and programs, to assess spatial distribution of resulting exposure levels and population health risks, and to decide on the adequacy of the air quality action planning in the city of Chita in accordance with the comprehensive plan.

Investigations on PM10, PM2.5, and Their Ratio over the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Worldwide monitoring of ambient outdoor air quality is critical for planning mitigation measures and controls for public safety. Several airborne pollutants are measured and continuously monitored by multiple government environmental agencies. Such pollutants include particulate matter (PM) levels, both PM10 and PM2.5, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, lead, and volatile organic compounds. However, scientific studies related to air pollution and the temporal variability of PM levels in the United Arab Emirates are limited. This study comprehensively analyzes the spatiotemporal variations in PM10, PM2.5, and the PM2.5/PM10 ratio over the Emirate of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates during 2017–2018. The PM levels are high during April–September, peaking in July each year, likely because of intense dust and sandstorms; the same levels are low during October–March. Industrial areas have higher annual average PM10 levels (162 μg/m3) compared to urban core areas (132 μg/m3) and suburban areas (131 μg/m3). In general, the values of the PM2.5/PM10 ratio are low ranging between annual averages of 0.29 and 0.49 across the industrial, urban core, and desert/suburban areas. This is a characteristic particular to arid and semi-arid environments owing to the prevalence of high quantities of PM10 leading to a low PM2.5/PM10 ratio. In addition, this low ratio indicates that, within the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, air pollution is primarily driven by natural processes related to sand particle uplift, movement, and deposition rather than by human activities.

AMBIENT AIR QUALITY STATUS OF DEWAS INDUSTRIAL AREA OF MADHYA PRADESH, INDIA

A study has been conducted to assess the ambient air quality status of Dewas industrial area of Madhya Pradesh, India. Total nine locations were selected in Dewas industrial area for ambient air quality monitoring. The eleven pollutants mainly particulate matter less than 10 µ size (PM10), particulate matter less than 2.5 µ size (PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulphur dioxide (SO2), ozone (O3), ammonia (NH3), benzene (C6H6), benzo (a) Pyrene (BaP) – particulate phase, lead (Pb), Arsenic (As) and Nickel (Ni) were monitored during different four quarters from April 2019 to March 2020. The study revealed that average concentration of gaseous pollutants viz, NO2, SO2, O3, NH3, C6H6 in ambient air were well within standard limits at all selected locations, however concentration of particulate matter (PM10, PM2.5) and heavy metals (Pb &amp; Ni) except As level were found exceeding the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) 2009, India at few monitoring locations. Benzo (a) Pyrene (BaP) –particulate phase in ambient air was not detected during this study. Ambient air Quality Index was found to be moderate (115.56-198.36) at six locations and satisfactory (17.60-94.94) at three locations in Dewas industrial area. Overall ambient Air Quality Index of Dewas industrial area was observed, satisfactory to moderate during this study w.r.t. Air Quality Index. KEY WORDS: Industrial Area, Ambient Air, Air Pollutants, Air Quality Index

Human, Forest and vegetation health metrics of ground-level ozone (SOMO35, AOT40f and AOT40v) in Tehran.

We aimed to investigate the spatial O3 indices (SOMO35: annual sum of maximum daily 8-h ozone means over 35ppb, AOT40: the accumulated exposure over an hourly threshold of 40ppb during daylight hours between 8:00 and 20:00 in the growing seasons of plants) in Tehran (2019-2020). The data of ambient O3 concentrations, measured at twenty-three regulatory ambient air quality monitoring stations (AQMSs) in Tehran, were obtained. The annual mean O3 concentrations were found to be 15.8-25.7ppb; the highest and lowest annual mean concentration of ambient O3 were observed in Shahrdari 22 and Shahr-e-Rey stations, respectively. Spatial distribution of exposure to O3 across Tehran was in the range of 1.36-1.64; the highest O3 concentrations were observed in the northern, west and south-western parts of Tehran, while the central and south areas of Tehran city experienced low to moderate concentrations. The indices of SOMO35, AOT40f and AOT40v across AQMSs in Tehran was in the range of 1830-6437ppb. Days, 10,613-39,505ppb.h and 4979-16,804ppb.h, respectively. For Tehran city, the indices of SOMO35 and AOT40f were 4138ppb. days and 27,556ppb.h respectively. Our results revealed that the value of SOMO35 across AQMSs of Tehran was higher than the recommended target value of 3000ppb. days. To reduce O3 pollution and its effects on both human and plants health, the governmental organizations should take appropriate sustainable control policies.

APPLICATION OF AIR QUALITY INDEX AND INVERSE DISTANCE WEIGHTING FOR MAPPING THE DISTRIBUTION OF AIR POLLUTION AT SEVERAL URBAN DISTRICTS OF HANOI CITY

The air pollution level can be assessed using air quality index - AQI calculated from the concentration of some gases and particle matters which are measured at ambient air quality monitoring stations. The calculated AQI values are characterized by temporal continuity but spatial discontinuity. However, AQI values of each monitoring station is interpolated by the IDW (Inverse Distance Weighting) method in GIS which helps us to assess the air quality at a detailed and specific level for every location in the study area by establishing distribution maps of air pollution. The interpolation of AQI values for zoning air quality in several urban districts of Hanoi during the Winter (October, November, December 2019) shows that in general, the areas with a very bad level of air quality occupied an important surface in the Northwest of urban districts (on the territory of Bac Tu Liem, Ba Dinh, Tay Ho, Cau Giay) for last 3 months of the year. The areas with a bad level of air quality occupied a large surface in the Southeast in October and December, but its surface became narrow in November. But in November, areas having a bad level of air quality were expanded to the Southeast while they occupied only a small surface at the center of the study area in October and December. Although the distribution of each level vary in terms of coverage, their common pattern has been conserved during three months of Winter. The distribution map of air quality provides the complete picture of the air pollution situation and it helps to adequately evaluate this issue in the urban districts of Hanoi city.

Methodological Approaches to Optimizing Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Programs within the Framework of the Federal Clean Air Project (on the example of Nizhny Tagil)

ntroduction: One of the key socially significant results of implementing the Federal Clean Air Project is the maximum possible mitigation of inhalation health risks by achieving the target rate of reducing emissions (by 20 % against the level of 2017) in a number of cities included in the federal project as priority areas. Materials and methods: Ambient air pollution monitoring as a measure of this accomplishment is indispensable both for verification of applying the model to estimating surface concentrations of pollutants, assessing health risks, and evaluating changes in ambient air quality. For the objectivity of such assessments, it is fundamental to determine the list of priority health-threatening air pollutants, to select monitoring sites that best characterize population exposure to these chemicals, and to plan air quality monitoring programs setting sampling frequency and volume. Results: The article presents the results of implementing methodological approaches adopted by the Russian Federal Service for Surveillance in the Sphere of Consumer Rights and Human Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor) to optimize ambient air quality monitoring within the framework of solving the tasks of the Federal Clean Air Project in the city of Nizhny Tagil, Sverdlovsk Region, in 2019. The Nizhny Tagil air quality monitoring program for 2020 has been developed and tested. This program, in conjunction with similar programs carried out by the Russian Federal Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring Service (Roshydromet) and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Sverdlovsk Region and taking into account their implementation over the past five years, helps provide implementers of the federal project with air pollution data to address its key challenges. Conclusions: The adopted ambient air quality monitoring program implemented in Nizhny Tagil in 2020 by the Center for Hygiene and Epidemiology in the Sverdlovsk Region meets terms and requirements of the Federal Clean Air Project.

An integrated approach for analyzing air quality monitoring data: a case study in Hanoi, Vietnam

In this research, we propose an integrated approach to retrieve the information of air quality monitoring data for air quality assessment. Used data is the hourly concentrations of PM10, PM2.5, SO2, NO, NO2, O3, and CO measured by an ambient air quality monitoring station in Hanoi, Vietnam, in the period of 2010–2018. First, the dataset was preprocessed to remove outliers by a simple removing method. Then, the missing values were filled up using a deep learning technique. After that, the preprocessed data went through the process of analysis to infer the probability distributions. After the probability density functions (pdf) of the hourly concentrations of these air pollutants in the year were determined, the information of air quality data in each year including the annual mean and median, the maximum concentration, and the number of exceedances of hourly thresholds for the period of 2010–2018 was obtained. High level of PM2.5, exceeding its national annual standard, was observed implying the potential of health risk to the people. Trend and temporal variations of these air pollutants were also analyzed. It is found out that the effect of direct emission from local traffic activity on the ambient levels of SO2 and PM2.5 is not dominant.

URBAN METABOLISM AND TRANSPORTATION ASSESSMENT OF KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA

Carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas has become an indicator in global warming and climate change. Meanwhile, cities are a medium whereby the source of carbon dioxide is released due to the urbanization and transportation sector. This situation leads to unpredictable impact to the environmental, social and economic condition of the city. Kuala Lumpur is a capital city that experiences rapid growth and was chosen for input-output analysis while Bukit Bintang road and Tunku Abdul Rahman road were chosen for ambient air monitoring due to traffic congestion problems in the city centre. The ambient air quality monitoring was measured on Saturday, Sunday and Monday for 8 hours. The sampling started at 7.00 a.m until 3.00 p.m. with a 5-minute log interval. The study found that carbon dioxide emission from both roads in Kuala Lumpur contributed to 376 ppm of carbon dioxide showing that transportation was a massive source of greenhouse gas emission in the city. Meanwhile, the input-output analysis in Kuala Lumpur showed a significant increase between 2010 and 2016 where electricity consumption, food consumption input, water consumption, gas emission and wastewater output rise due to urbanization and increasing population in the city. In contrast, the enforcement of mandatory waste management by the government has resulted in the decrease of solid waste output in Kuala Lumpur. The greenhouse gas released output in terms of Global Warming Potential from the input-output analysis was 5.88 MMtCO2eq. The study showed that the impact of urbanisation such as ambient air pollution is closely related to energy consumption and greenhouse gas emission.

Dust and Radon Levels on the West Coast of Namibia – what did we learn?

Abstract The study investigated the potential for adverse health impacts from exposures to inhalable atmospheric dust and radon in the main towns along Namibia's central-western coast. An ambient air quality monitoring network was established at the end of 2016 to measure and track the inhalable dust (specifically PM10) and radon concentrations. Data collected between November 2016 and the end of December 2018 were assessed and selected PM10 samples were analysed for mineral and radionuclide content. In addition, emissions from anthropogenic sources were quantified and simulated using a regional dispersion model. Episodic dust storms associated with easterly winds are a common phenomenon during the winter months in the western part of Namibia. During such events, dust is transported over long distances westwards towards and well into the Atlantic Ocean. In view of the natural and anthropogenic nature of atmospheric dust, the study differentiated between sources of natural dust and those arising as a result of man-made processes. It was found that PM10 concentrations were, on average, higher at the coastal monitoring stations than at the stations located further inland, often exceeding the daily World Health Organisation (WHO) guideline value. Whilst high atmospheric dust concentrations were mostly associated with easterly wind conditions, sea salt was found to be a significant PM10 contributor at the coastal stations. Modelled results, which only included emissions from man-made sources, indicated that these sources contribute very little to the total PM10 concentrations measured at the coastal towns. The radiation exposure doses associated with the inhalation of atmospheric dust and radon were found to be well-below the world-wide average inhalation doses provided by the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR).

Evaluation of vehicular pollution levels using line source model for hot spots in Muscat, Oman.

A detailed investigation was carried out to assess the concentration of near-road traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) using a dispersion model in Muscat. Two ambient air quality monitoring (AQM) stations were utilized separately at six locations near major roadways (each location for 2months) to monitor carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrogen oxides (NOx). The study aimed to measure the concentration of near-road TRAP in a city hot spots and develop a validated dispersion model via performance measures. The US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) Line Source Model was implemented in which the pollutant emission factors were obtained through Comprehensive Modal Emission Model (CMEM) and COmputer Programme to calculate Emissions from Road Transport (COPERT) model. Traffic data of all vehicle categories under normal driving conditions including average vehicle speed limits and local meteorological conditions were included in the modeling study. The analysis of monitoring data showed that hourly (00:00 to 23:00) concentrations of CO were within the US EPA limits, while NOx concentration was exceeded in most locations. Also, the measured pollutant levels were consistent with hourly peak and off-peak traffic volumes. The overall primary statistical performance measures showed that COPERT model was better than CMEM due to the high sensitivity of CMEM to the local meteorological factors. The best fractional bias (0.47 and 0.39), normalized mean square error (0.44 and 0.50), correlation coefficient (0.64 and 0.70), geometric mean bias (1.07 and 1.57), and geometric variance (2.00 and 2.32) were obtained for CO and NOx, respectively. However, the bootstrap 95% CI estimates over normalized mean square error, fractional bias, and correlation coefficient for COPERT and CMEM were found to be statistically significant from 0 in the case of combined model comparison across all the traffic locations for both CO and NOx. In overall, certain roads showed weak performance mainly due to the terrain features and the lack of reliable background concentrations, which need to be considered in the future study.

Spatio-temporal variation of air pollutants around the coal mining areas of Jharia Coalfield, India.

Jharia Coalfield (JCF) is one of the oldest coalfields in the eastern part of India and falls under critically polluted areas as per CPCB/MoEFCC Notification. Therefore, a study of air pollution and its management is the demand of the day. This study had been undertaken to know the current status of JCF concerning air quality. Ambient air quality monitoring with reference to particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), SO2, NOx and trace elements had been conducted in the coal mining areas of JCF. The study area was divided into two groups, mainly fire and non-fire for the sampling of air. Principal component analysis (PCA) identified coal mine fire as a major source of air pollution in the mining areas of JCF. Air quality index (AQI) was calculated which revealed that the air quality index of coal mine fire-affected areas was nearly 1.5 times higher than that of the non-mine fire areas. Graphical abstract.

The Effects of Ambient Air Pollution on Mitochondrial Respiration in Circulating Platelets: The Role of Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Abstract Objectives Circulating platelets act as “fast responders” to endothelial damages. Dietary long-chain polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to ameliorate cardiovascular function decrement after exposure to air pollution. This project aimed to explore the role of omega-3 fatty acids in mitochondrial respiratory function in circulating platelets exposed to ambient air pollution. Methods Platelets were isolated from healthy male adult volunteers (n = 20) from the Research Triangle Area (RTP), NC and measured for mitochondrial respiratory rates using an extracellular flux analyzer (Seahorse Mitochondrial Stress Test). Omega-3 indices were measured in total blood by OmegaQuant LLC. Local ambient air pollution data were obtained from the ambient air quality monitoring stations. Results Oxygen consumption rates corresponding to maximum mitochondrial respiration and spare respiration capacity were correlated with PM2.5 levels (r = 0.56 and r = 0.57 respectively, all P &amp;lt; 0.05). Additionally, moderation analysis revealed that the associations between these respiratory parameters and PM2.5 levels were contingent upon the levels of omega-3 indices (all P &amp;lt; 0.05). Specifically, the Johnson-Neyman method indicated that for omega-3 indices of 5.11 or higher, the two associations reached statistically significant: levels of PM2.5 were positively correlated with the two respiratory parameters. Conclusions Taken together, these preliminary findings suggest that exposure to PM2.5 increases platelet mitochondrial respiration and that this effect is potentiated by omega-3 fatty acids. Funding Sources This project was supported by the U.S. EPA Intramural Research Program.