INDUSTRIAL EMISSIONS IN A COASTAL REGION OF INDIA - PREDICTION OF IMPACT ON AIR ENVIRONMENT

Industrial air pollution has assumed a menacing proportion in the deve loping countries, including India. Its control should not be delayed a ny more. The economic reforms and subsequent industrial development an d growing urbanization will aggregate the problem in coming years. Poo r land use planning for industrial development often results in the hi gh concentration of air pollutants in urban centers. This paper discus ses the impact of industrial activities on the air environment in a co astal region of India, as a case study. A Gaussian-Plume atmospheric d ispersion algorithm has been used to predict the ground level concentr ation of major pollutants released into the atmosphere due to industri al activities in the region. Typical diurnal variation of Pasquill's s tability and mixing height over the Cochin Region were used. Ground le vel concentrations (GLC) of major pollutants were predicted from as ma ny as 108 point sources from 15 industries located in the region. A ro ll-back approach was then applied to compute the degree of emission co ntrol required to keep the pollution levels within the permissible lim its of ambient air quality.