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 & 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