Parliament Question:- Ground Level Ozone
Parliament Question:- Ground Level Ozone
The ambient air quality standards for Ozone (O3) has been notified by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) among one of the twelve (12) pollutants under National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS), 2009. The ambient air quality standards for Ozone (O3) is prescribed as 100 µg/m3 for 8-hourly monitored value and 180 µg/m3 for 1-hourly monitored value for industrial, residential, rural and ecological sensitive area. As per the NAAQS, the method of measurement of Ozone (O3) in ambient air is UV photometric, Chemiluminescence, and Chemical method.
Ozone is a secondary pollutant which is formed in the ground level through atmospheric reactions (Troposphere) in the presence of sunlight and responsible factors are high temperature and emissions of Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx) & Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). Major sources for NOx include vehicles, power plants and burning of fuel/waste and VOCs are emitted from vehicles, petrol pumps, use of solvents and burning of waste.
The septs taken to control the precursors of ozone, i.e. NOx and VOC emissions are as follow:
Also, Government has launched National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) in 2019 as a national level strategy to reduce air pollution levels across the country. CPCB has identified 130 million plus/non-attainment cities (cities exceeding NAAQS, consecutively for five years). City Specific Clean Air Action Plans have been prepared and rolled out for implementation in all these 130 non-attainment/million plus cities to improve the air quality. These city specific clean air action plans target city specific air polluting sources like Soil & Road Dust, Vehicles, Domestic Fuel, MSW Burning, Construction Material and Industries with short-term priority action as well as those to be implemented in a medium to longer time frame along with the responsible agencies which improves the ambient air quality. Under NCAP, annual action planning for approved city action plans need to be submitted by concerned Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), which comprise the following actions to control NOx emissions:
Air pollution is one of the factors affecting respiratory ailments and associated diseases. Health is impacted by several factors, including food habits, occupational habits, socio- economic status, medical history, immunity, heredity, etc., of the individuals apart from the environment. CPCB has not conducted any surveys regarding various health ailments caused by exposure to Ground Level Ozone. However, the health effects of O3 are:
The CPCB in association with State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs), Pollution Control Committees (PCCs), and the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) monitors ozone and other pollutants under the National Air Quality Monitoring Programme (NAMP).
In order to control Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS), Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has notified the Ozone Depleting Substances (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000, that control the use, import, and export of ODSs in India.
This information was given by Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Shri Kirti Vardhan Singh in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.