PCB bluffs on air quality: Experts
PCB used defunct machines and outdated norms to give city a clean certificate
KOCHI: The State Pollution Control Board has come out with a clean certificate for the air quality in Kochi using faulty measurements, dysfunctional equipment and outdated norms, investigations reveal.
The PCB said the city which witnesses round-the-clock construction activities and hosts the busiest traffic junction in the state has a healthy ambient air quality.
The PCB report confirms that the Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter (RSPM) in Greater Kochi is within healthy limits.
As per the PCB report, RSPM values slightly exceeded at three stations, south overbridge, Vyttila and MG Road while at Irumpanam it was above the limit.
While the permissible limit is 60 micro grams per metre cube, the busiest Vyttila junction registered only a nominal increase of 65.82ig/m3.
In south, the reading is 71.02ig/m3, MG Road 74.39 ig/m3 and at Irumpanam 106.64ig/m3.
The PCB is monitoring the ambient air quality in Greater Kochi under the National Ambient Air Quality Monitoring (NAAMP) programme at seven stations such as MG Road, south overbridge, Vyttila, Irumpanam, Kalamassery, Eloor and Udyogamandal.
However, PCB chairman K. Sajeevan admitted that the method of recording air quality data was to be upgraded. “The board will soon review the existing system before upgrading it to the revised national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS),” he said.
In 2010, the Union government had revised the NAAQS with 12 pollutant parameters while the Kerala PCB is still following the earlier version notified in 1994 which had only seven parameters.
“The ambient air quality data in the ‘Water and Air Quality Directory’ of the PCB is not a realistic document as the board is not equipped to monitor it. Earlier, there were ambient air quality samplers installed at four locations in the city which have been either defunct or removed. Now, without having any mechanism for regular monitoring, how can the board confirm that the RSPM value is within the permissible limits,” asks Dr. C.M Joy, environmental expert.
Since the board is not taking readings on a regular basis, even weather patterns can influence the data. If the readings are taken just after a rainy day, the presence of suspended particles will be the minimum as the dust might settle down during rain, it has been observed.