Comprehensive Analysis of PM 1 Composition in the Eastern Indo-Gangetic Basin: A Three-Year Urban Study

Sujit Das, Anamika Roy, Renu Masiwal, Mamun Mandal, Robert Popek (), Monojit Chakraborty, Dinesh Prasad, Filip Chyliński, Amit Awasthi and Abhijit Sarkar ()
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Sujit Das: Laboratory of Applied Stress Biology, Department of Botany, University of Gour Banga, Malda 732103, India
Anamika Roy: Laboratory of Applied Stress Biology, Department of Botany, University of Gour Banga, Malda 732103, India
Renu Masiwal: Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad 201002, India
Mamun Mandal: Laboratory of Applied Stress Biology, Department of Botany, University of Gour Banga, Malda 732103, India
Robert Popek: Section of Basic Research in Horticulture, Department of Plant Protection, Institute of Horticultural Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences—SGGW, Nowoursynowska Street 159, 02-776 Warsaw, Poland
Monojit Chakraborty: Environmental Engineering and Social Planning Division, LEA Associates South Asia Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi 110044, India
Dinesh Prasad: Department of Bioengineering and Biotechnology, Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi 835215, India
Filip Chyliński: Instytut Techniki Budowlanej, Filtrowa Street 1, 00-611 Warsaw, Poland
Amit Awasthi: Department of Applied Sciences, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun 248007, India
Abhijit Sarkar: Laboratory of Applied Stress Biology, Department of Botany, University of Gour Banga, Malda 732103, India

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 20, 1-17

Abstract: Particulate matter (PM) pollution poses a severe threat to the environment and health worldwide. This study aimed to evaluate the mass concentration, physicochemical characteristics, and emission sources of aerodynamic diameters of ≤1 µm (PM 1 ) within an urban sprawl situated in the eastern Indo-Gangetic basin over three years (2017–2019). The study encompassed the monitoring of PM 1 using an ambient PM 1 sampler; physicochemical characteristics were determined through scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). Possible emission sources were analysed through principal component analysis (PCA) and enrichment factor (EF) analyses. The results showed that the PM 1 concentrations were consistently high throughout the research period, even exceeding the national standards for PM 2.5 and PM 10 , especially during the post-monsoon period. Significant seasonal fluctuations were confirmed by the elemental and inorganic ion analyses, highlighting the dominance of elements like Al, Ca, Fe, K, and Mg and inorganic ions like NH 4 + , SO 4 2− , and NO 3 − . Vehicular exhaust and non-exhaust (47%), sea salt and biomass burning (26%), and industrial activities (10.3%) are the dominant sources of PM 1 . Therefore, the findings are thought-provoking and could inspire policymakers to formulate reduction policies in India.

Keywords: PM 1; elemental characterisation; inorganic ion composition; source apportionment; urban sprawl (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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