Thursday 25 August 2005

G6

PTH0063
Airborne metallic particulates from urban sources in a growing tropical town
Chandra Sekhar, Matli¹
1 National Institute Of Technology, India
Author email: mcs@nitw.ernet.in
Tirumala-Tirupati region is situated in the semi-arid part of south India. The area morphologically is characterized by district features: a hill range extending over the southern part of Tirupati and some isolated partial valley type elevations. The valley conditions result in peculiar type of wind currents and hence, unpredictable temperature profiles. Air quality in the study area is mostly affected by emissions from industry and road traffic. However, most of the industries, especially the larger ones are located in the eastern and northeastern part of Tirupati. Other urban related activities such as building constructions, land clearance, street sweepings, etc., add to the problem. The monitoring programme consisted of high volume air sampler which measures particulates. Monitoring was carried out at several locations representing different land use activities for a period of six months. Traffic emissions dominate the residential and commercial areas in the entire study area. Other sources being emissions from road surfaces, building construction, soil excavations and uncontrolled open burning of solid wastes. The increase in number of vehicles to take care of the floating pilgrim population (ranging from 100,000 - 150,000 per day on an average) is the main concern which is certain to provoke an increase in air pollutants. Lowest concentrations were measured at the stations chosen to represent back ground levels and highest concentration were measured at the commercial centers. The wind and thermal conditions have distinct effects on concentrations of metallic particulates in ambient air In summary, the results of the study indicate that concentrations of metallic particulates are closely associated with land use and weather conditions. However, long term monitoring programs are essential for modelling studies.

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