Any national action plan first requires a systematic monitoring mechanism in practice, which provides feedback by measuring and recording the various variables associated with their sources. It seeks to provide information on the characteristics and functioning of variables in time and space and in particular on the occurrence and magnitude of impacts of such variables. It also provides an acceptable database. As already stated in previous chapters, Nepal does not have such system in operation. Therefore a continual system monitoring of origins, pathways and destinations of variables is the prerequisite for initiating effective preventive and control measures in dealing the increasing air pollution problems in the country. Equally important is a systematic evaluation system to judge the relative significance of associated impacts. That is a monitoring and evaluation mechanism in place forms the base for future actions for air quality management in Nepal.

The chapter on baseline studies has already highlighted the current status of monitoring and evaluation practices in Nepal. The significant contribution of the previously mentioned project specific or personnel research basis monitoring works undertaken so far has been in convincing the policy makers and to some extent to the general public about the deteriorating air quality of major urban centers and the allied impacts. The first prerequisite prior to initiating any action programs in any developing countries is to create the political will and in this front these studies have achieved considerable success in Nepal. It is reflected in the Ninth Five-year Plan, the main policy document of HMG/Nepal, which also outlines the long-term Government strategy in dealing the emerging environmental issues. The main thrust of the Government strategy is on:

• Information system e.g. establishing a National Environmental Data Bank with special focus on ambient air qualities of major urban centers
• High priority to involve private sector and non-Governmental organizations
• Emphasis on pollution prevention
• Provisions of pollution taxes or charges as well as incentives
• Environment Protection Fund

1. National Pollutant Concentration/ Monitoring Network

• National Air Quality Monitoring Network
• Urban Center Air Quality Monitoring Network
• National Meteorological Parameters Monitoring Network

 
1. The Need of National Air Quality Monitoring Network

The national air quality-monitoring network is basically for knowing the baseline conditions of "Criteria Pollutants" in the atmosphere. The criteria pollutants as defined by the USA, EC and WHO include:

• Carbon monoxide (CO)
• Nitrogen dioxide (NO₂)
• Ozone (O₃)
• Sulfur dioxide (SO₂)
• Particulate matter of diameter less than 10 m (PM₁₀)
• Lead.

• The carrying capacity is one of the major natural resource.
• The knowledge of the carrying capacity of the atmosphere is not only important in developing the pollution prevention or control strategy but also important in prioritizing the economic activities.
• As Nepal gives high priority on environmental impact study prior to start any development project, the effectiveness of such study relies on the baseline information.
• Without knowing the baseline conditions, the predicted environmental impacts of any development work become only a subjective judgement.
• The nature of national environmental standards (emission or technology) is based on the knowledge of carrying capacity.
• The change in the baseline conditions is the precursor for environmental legislation.
• To address and deal the transboundry air pollution issues.

• The geographical situation of the country, i.e. the low terai land, the mountainous region, and high Himalayas
• The meteorological conditions of the country
• Location of urban centers and pollution prone zones, and
• Pollution sources across the border.

1. National Action Program on Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Network

• Highlight the need of such a network as a priority program of Government.
• Identify the institution that will take the responsibility in operating such a network. The creation of an autonomous body like Nepal Environmental Protection Agency or Department of Environment under the umbrella of MOPE is one option that is advocated from many sectors.
• If required, legislative arrangement to create such an institution.
• Designing a network mechanism being a highly technical in nature and cost intensive, approach donor agencies to materialize projects to carry out detail feasibility study. This study will identify the minimal required monitoring stations, the cost involved and operational aspects.
• Make necessary arrangements to involve the local manpower from the very beginning of the project so that they can be retained in the actual design, construction and operation of the network.
• Seek foreign assistance to finance the establishment of such a network.
• Running of such a network is generally financed by the taxes or charges levied on polluters. Inclusion of provisions of pollution taxes or charges on the prevailing legislation is required.
• Establishment of national ambient air quality monitoring networks by 2005.

1. The Need of Urban Air Quality Monitoring Network

• The rural urban migration rate is almost 7%. Almost 14 percent of total population lives in urban centers. This has given rise to construction activities in the cities.
• Because of availability of basic infrastructures and proximity to raw materials as well as markets, industries are also clustered in few major cities.
• Due to economic activities, the movement of vehicles is almost confined to these areas.
• Vegetation and open spaces are declining day by day.
• Solid waste collection and disposal practices are in minimal standard level.
• Use of fossil fuel in domestic cooking purposes is increasing

1. Action Programs on Urban Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Network


As today, there exists no ambient air quality monitoring stations in any of the urban centers of the country. There are 58 municipalities, which can be categorized as urban centers of Nepal. Based on population, industrial activities, vehicular flow, and tourist flow urban centers are classified into following three groups to prioritize the establishment of air quality monitoring stations.
 

Category One	Category Two	Category Three
Kathmandu Valley	Biratnagar, Birganj, Pokhara, Hetauda, Nepalganj, Mahendranagar	Rest of the municipalities

Based upon the above classification, it will be appropriate for Nepal to start the establishment of urban monitoring network first in the Category One, i.e. the Kathmandu Valley and the experiences gained in Kathmandu will help to expand the similar monitoring stations in category two and category three urban centers.
 

2. Outline of the Monitoring Framework for Kathmandu Valley

Program Outline

• A training needs assessment
• Point out of seven sites in Kathmandu Valley
• Fixed air monitoring stations at seven different locations in the Valley to obtain representative data
• Propose organizational set up for an effective air quality management system
• Human resources development to implement and operate the air quality monitoring system
• Produce and report regular time series data on air quality
• Capacity building of MOPE to perform assessment of air quality data (e.g. source/receptor relationship of pollutants)

In most of the developed and developing countries, the general practices of running such monitoring stations include:

• Environmental protection agencies, an autonomous body, working under the umbrella of environment Ministry.
• Municipalities, and
• Private sector institutions.

Proposed Measurement Program: Stations, Parameters and Methods

The proposed monitoring network in Kathmandu Valley has taken all relevant aspects into consideration. The type of stations and location aspects are presented in table 1 and the proposed parameters and methods of measuring program in table 1.1.

Table 1 Measurement Stations
 

Type of Station	Location	Number of stations
traffic / roadside	5 meters from the curbside, and sampling in a height of 4 to 5 meters above terrain	4
urban background	Top of roof	1
regional/urban background	East and west side, respectively, of Kathmandu Valley	2

Proposed Measuring Programs: Meteorological Parameters

To provide measurement data that are representative for the meteorology in the Valley of Kathmandu, the topography of the Valley is taken into consideration. The project will assist Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (a meteorological station located at the airport) to provide hourly averages that are stored in a computer for the data assessment to be implemented in the air quality management. Furthermore, a supplementary meteorological mast will be set up at DHM to provide more representative data for the meteorological conditions in the urban center.

The parameters to be provided will be:

• wind speed (10 meter height at airport, 25-30 meter height at DHM)
• wind direction (10 meter height at airport, 25-30 meter height at DHM)
• temperature
• barometric pressure
• relative humidity
• solar radiation

Proposed Other Programs

The proposed project will also prepare the inventory of various emission sources in the Kathmandu Valley. These include:

Traffic density: inventory of roads (distances with conditions), total number of vehicles and then the traffic density. A program is to be undertaken by DOTM.

Inventory of stationary sources: MOPE and MOI are currently implementing four different projects related to industrial pollution prevention. The ongoing projects will prepare inventory of industries and their emissions in the Valley.

Fuel quality: the existing laboratories of Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) and Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology (NBSM) will be strengthened to import the quality fuels and avoid adulteration of fuels in the supply chain.

1. Expansion of Urban Air Quality Monitoring Networks

1. The Need of National Meteorological Monitoring Network

• Wind speed and direction
• Temperature and Humidity
• Turbulence
• Atmospheric stability
• Topographic effects on meteorology

• Microscale- of the order of 1 km (e.g. chimney plumes)
• Mesoscale – of the order of 100 kms (e.g. mountain-Valley winds)
• Macroscale – of the order of thousands of km (e.g. highs/lows over continents or oceans)

The meteorological conditions are specifically important to determine the "creation rate" as well as the "destruction rate" so that the actual concentration of released pollutants in the atmosphere is determined. It is highlighted in the following material balance equation.

(Annual average concentratio= over all meteorologies (concentration for that meteorology)* (frequency of occurrence of that meteorology)

1. Strengthening of Department of Hydrology and Meteorology

1. Compliance Monitoring Network

 

 

As per the prevailing legislative framework, the line ministries are responsible for monitoring the compliance of the respective standards. The Department of Transport is entrusted with the vehicular emission standards. Similarly, Ministry of Industry is responsible for complying the industry specific standards.

The current legislative arrangements are mainly due to the lack of separate department or autonomous body under the umbrella of environment Ministry. Also, entrusting the responsibilities to line ministries some how contradict the main objectives of such ministries and the monitoring aspects has been less effective. Therefore, a more effective compliance monitoring system has to be developed.
 

1. Proposed Compliance Monitoring Network

• The role of MOPE lies in creating a separate department or autonomous body, which will have the ultimate authority for compliance monitoring.
• Supporting legislative arrangements (incentives/disincentives; penalties, etc)
• Developing different environmental standards for both stationary as well as mobile sources.
• Accreditation of private laboratories and workshops.
• Monitoring of the work of accredited private institutions.
• Certification to green products
• Legal actions against non-compliance of emission standards

• The role of line ministries should be confined to pollution prevention activities.
• Demonstration programs on pollution prevention activities
• Developing compliance programs

• A self-monitoring mechanism has to be developed so that the industries continuously monitor themselves their emissions.
• The accredited laboratories will have the responsibility of monitoring the compliance of industry specific emission standards.
• Accredited workshops will have the responsibility to monitor the emission standards of mobile sources.
• These private sector institutions will also have the responsibility of reporting the non-compliance of standards to concerned regulatory body.

Non-Governmental organizations also have an important role to play in the compliance-monitoring network.

• Acting as watchdogs between Government and business and between business and consumers.
• Making public the lists of main polluters as well as recognize the environmentally conscious companies. This helps to promote environmentally friendly values.
• Promoting pollution prevention activities. This helps in reducing the pollution at source
• Create awareness among public to promote environmentally friendly products or services.

1. Monitoring of In-house Air Quality


The in-house air quality especially in mountainous regions where the fuel wood is used for cooking and space heating purposes need to be assessed mainly due to neglect in ventilation. The estimation of air pollutants in a house and its effect on the health of people living in the houses is the major area of study of rural air pollution aspects. ICIMOD, which has been involved in various studies of mountainous region, is such institution, which can significantly contribute in this area also.
 

2. Sustainability Issue of Monitoring Network System

• Organizational set up
• Human resource development
• Establishment of the system
• Operation and maintenance
• Research and Development

As currently Government is seeking DANIDA assistance in establishing the monitoring network in Kathmandu Valley, similar other projects can help to establish other monitoring networks as explained earlier. The project work will also look into the human resources development aspect during the project phase.

Once the system is established, the operation and maintenance as well as the research and development works are to be managed locally. For this purpose, following options are identified for generating financial resources:

• Tax on fossil fuels
• Pollution charges
• Foreign assistance

• 20% of these money on the operating cost of monitoring system
• 20% money on human resource development
• 20% money on R & D activities
• 30% money on soft loans to private sectors to initiate pollution prevention and control activities
• 10% money to be deposited on the environmental protection fund annually

1. Regional Air Pollution Monitoring Network

• India borders Nepal in south, east and west. Major industrial activities are taking place on both sides of the borders.
• In the highly populated states of India- U.P., Bihar and West Bengal, the main source of energy is thermal power, which uses fossil fuel in huge quantities. These are the main source for oxides of sulfur and nitrogen and tropospheric ozone, which are the main cause of acid precipitation and photochemical oxidant.
• High Himalayas of Nepal block the movement of these pollutants in the north.
• Nepal is landlocked and the monsoon in Nepal is caused by the Indian Oceans.
• Nepal's main source of energy comes from the hydropower plants, the renewable source of energy. Nepal also has huge potential of generating hydro-electricity, which can be used to deal the air pollution issues of both countries.

• Define a grid system covering around 150 km * 150 km area.
• Identification of sources of pollutants in the defined area and prepare annual inventories.
• Meteorological study.
• Identify the models to be used to determine the pollutant concentration.

1. National Emission Inventory


National emission inventory is the compilation either by the measurement or (more usually) by estimations, of a map of the distribution of the emissions over a national boundary, showing the positions of the more important sources and the amounts they emit. National emission inventory also provides the basis for comparing the level of pollution among countries and opens door for mutual cooperation to reduce the pollution load. The per capita emission of a particular pollutant is frequently used these days to compare the contribution of pollutants of global or regional concern. National emission inventory also provides the basis to measure the effectiveness of national pollution prevention or control strategies. Also these can be used as a tool to develop new strategies or legislation. National emission inventory is the base of the air pollution system.
 

1. National Action Program on Emission Inventory

First Phase:    Estimation of emission based on emission factors used in other countries

• Identification of emission sources
• National import of fossil fuel (coal, petroleum products, natural gases, etc)
• National production of fossil fuels
• National use of bio-mass (fuel wood, rice-husk, bagasse, etc)
• Inventory of national air pollution prone industries (e.g. cement, sugar, paper and pulp, etc)
• Inventory of mobile sources (based on age groups and types)
• Adoption of the emission factors (for fuels, point sources, mobile sources, bio-mass) used for other countries (especially in South Asian countries)

• Qualitative analysis of the fossil fuel used in Nepal (both import and national production)
• Share of fossil fuels in major sectors (e.g. industries, vehicles, and household purposes)
• Measurement of emissions of major point sources (for both using control technology or without control technology)
• Classification of mobile sources as per the age of vehicles (registered before 1980, 1980-1992, 1992-1999, and later)
• Classification of vehicles as per the type and fuel used for above age groups (passenger cars, light duty commercial vehicles, heavy-duty vehicles)
• Develop national emission factors
• Compile GIS based emission inventory of pollution sources, by category and type.

1. Program on Estimation of Emission Inventory

• Total Suspended Particles
• Sulfur dioxide
• Nitrogen dioxide
• Ammonia

1. Emission Sources

Natural Air Pollution Sources

• Wind blown dust
• Pollen and other aero-allergens
• Sea salt nuclei
• Smoke, flyash and gases from forest fires
• Microorganisms
• Gases and odors from swamps and marshes
• Fog
• Volcanic ash and gases
• Natural radioactivity
• Ozone from lighting and ozonosphere
• Meteoritic dust
• Natural Hazes ( Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains )

The sources of man- made pollution have been covering a wide spectrum of types. The accompanying table 1.2 includes a classification of major types, categories and examples of air pollution sources and their characteristic pollution emissions.

Table 1.2 Classifications of Air Pollution Sources and Emissions
 

Source Type	Category	Samples	Pollutants
Dust Production Processes	Crushing, grinding, screening  Demolition  Milling	Road mix plants Urban renewal Grain elevators	Mineral and organic particulate
Combustion	Fuel burning Motor vehicles Refuse burning	Home heating units and power plants  Autos, buses and trucks Community and apartment house incinerators, open burning dums	Oxides of sulfur, oxides of nitrogen, carbon monoxide, smoke, flyash, organic vapors, mental oxide particles, and odors
Manufacturing Processes	Metallurgical plants Chemical plants   Waste recovery	Smelters, steel mills, aluminum refineries,  Pulp mills super phosphate fertilizer plants, cement mills Metal scarp yards, auto body burning, rendering plants	Metal fumes (lead, arsenic, and zinc) fluorides and oxides of sulfur  Hydrogen sulfide, oxides of sulfur, fluorides, organic vapors, particles, odors  Smoke soot, organic vapors, odors
Agricultural Activities	Crop spraying and dusting Field burning  Frost damage control	Pest and weed control    Struggle and slash burning Smudge ports	Organic phosphates, chlorinated hydrocarbons, arsenic, lead Smoke, flyash and soot
Solvent	Spray painting   Inks Solvent cleaning	Automobile assembly, furniture and appliance finishing  Photogravure and printing  Dry Cleaning, degreasing	Hydrocarbons and other organic vapors
Nuclear Energy  Activities	Ore preparation Fuel fabrication Nuclear fission Spent fuel processing Nuclear device testing	Crushing, grinding and screening  Gaseous diffusion  Nuclear reactors Chemical separation  Atmospheric explosions	Uranium and beryllium dust  Fluoride Argon-41 Iodine-41 Radioactive fallout (Strontium-90, Cesium 137, Carban-14)

1. Emission Factors

• Emission testing is expensive. For simple, well-defined sources (e.g. a power plant stack), it can be tedious but it is not difficult. For a poorly defined source (e.g. road dust from an unpaved road or CO from a forest fire), reliable test results are difficult to get.
• Emission testing is only possible after the facility is in place and often we want to know what emissions from a new facility will be before it is built.

1. Calculation of Emission Factors for Fossil Fuel and Biomass Fuels


The emission factor for fuels is calculated using the following equation.

EF = S * (1-R) * 1/C * 10

Where,

EF = Emission factor (tS PJ^-1)

S = Sulfur content of fuel (%)

R = Retention factor (proportion of sulfur that is retained in the

ash after combustion), (kg/kg)

C = Net calorific value (TJt^-1)

10 = unit conversion factor

To have a systematic system to be followed in the country, for developing and updating the national emission inventories associated with various fuels, the information such as sulfur content, retention factor, calorific values of fuel, quantitative information’s (moisture, ash, carbon etc.) on coal, oils are required. Then with the above proposed quantitative inventories of national sources and qualitative information of fuels used, Nepal can further works towards identifying the emission factors for other sources which then only establishes the national system of updating emission inventories.

And then the stoichometric reactions can be used for the calculated fuel flow rates of various stationary and mobile sources.
 

Table 1.3 Emission Factors to be used for the Estimation of SO₂
 

Fuel / Industrial process	Emission Factor (ER) used in south and south east Asia
Coal Petroleum Products Biomass Fuels	314.4 (t S PJ-1) 226.8 (t S PJ-1) 7.3 (t S PJ-1)
Copper smelting Primary lead smelting Secondary lead smelting Primary Zinc Smelting	1060 (kg S t-1) 160 (kg S t-1) 20 (kg S t-1) 500 (kg S t-1)
Pulping Process Alkaline (kraft) Alkaline (soda) Acid sulfite Natural sulfite semi-chemical (NSSC)	1.9 (kg S t-1) 1.9 (kg S t-1) 1.5 (kg S t-1) 5.0 (kg S t-1)
Sufuric acid production	15.3 (kg S t-1)

Source: Harry Vallack, SEI: Atmospheric environmental issues in developing countries.

Symbols used (P = peta, T = tera, S= sulfur, t = tons)

Table 1.4 Emission factors for NOx for various fuels and activities
 

	Emission factors (kg t-1)
	hard coal	brown coal	coke	LPG	Gasoline	jet fuel	Kerosene	diesel oil	RFO	Naphtha	natural gas
Electricity generation	9.95	8.46		3.74	16.7		21.2	27.4	10.0	16.0	4.40
Other transfor-mation	9.95			3.74				27.4	10		4.40
Own use	7.5		9.0	2.63	16.7		7.46	9.62	5.84	7.34	2.24
Iron and steel	7.5			2.63	16.7		7.46	9.62	5.84	7.34	2.24
Chemical and petrochemical	7.5	6.38	9.0	2.63	16.7		7.46	9.62	5.84		2.24
other industry	7.5	6.38	9.0	2.63	16.7		7.46	9.62	5.84	7.34	2.24
civil aviation						10.5
road transport				18.1	31.7		27.4	27.4	27.4
residential	1.88	1.60	2.25	0.88	16.7		2.49	3.21	1.95		1.57
Agri.,commerce etc	3.75	3.19	4.50	1.58	16.7		4.48	5.77	3.50	4.40	1.57

Source: Harry Vallack, SEI: Atmospheric environmental issues in developing countries.

Table 1.5 Emission Factors for Mobile Sources (g/km)
 

Fuel Type	Vehicle Type	TSP	CO	HC	NOx	SO2	Pb
High speed diesel                     Gasoline	Truck Bus Minibus Jeep Tractor 3-wheeler Car 3-wheeler 2-wheeler	3.00 3.00 1.50 0.90 0.90 1.50 0.20 0.21 0.50	12.0 12.0 2.25 3.10 2.25 2.25 62.0 22.6 24.0	3.70 3.70 1.26 1.30 1.26 1.26 8.30 14.13 19.00	13.0 13.0 13.0 1.40 1.40 13.0 2.70 0.20 0.07	1.75 1.75 0.39 0.38 0.39 0.39 0.13 0.05 0.02	0.02 0.02 0.003

Source: Shrestha and Malla, 1996

Table 1.6 Fuel Efficiency and Average Km Traveled
 

Fuel Type	Vehicle Type	Average fuel consumption (liters)	Fuel efficiency (Km/l)	No. of operation vehicles	Average km traveled / vehicle
High speed diesel                 Gasoline	Truck Bus Minibus Jeep Tractor 3-wheeler Car 3-wheeler 2-wheeler	8704 8718 7373 2315 4785 2592 1595 1479 341	4.5 3.0 4.5 8.0 4.4 12.5 10.6 11.0 45.5	736 110 372 3555 822 335 10664 1588 30220	39168 25254 33178 18520 21054 32400 16907 16269 15515

Table 1.7 Emission factors for stationary sources (g/kg)
 

Fuel type	Sector	TSPs	CO	HCs	NOx	SO2
Animal wastes	Household	10.0	50.0	7.5	0.7	6.0
Agri-residues	Household Industrial	10.0 29.0	75.0 35.0	7.5 5.0	0.7 1.2	6.0 3.4
Fuelwood	Household/Commercial Industrial	15.0 18.0	40.0 28.5	7.0 35.7	0.7 1.9	0.6 0.07
Charcoal	Household/Commercial Industrial	20.0 20	250.0 250.0	10.0 10.0	2.25 2.25	0.39 0.39
Coal	Industrial	36.0	45.0	10.0	7.4	18.0
Kerosene	Household/Commercial Industrial	3.5 0.69	38.0 0.63	0.2 0.12	2.49 7.46	4.25 5.0
Light diesel oil	Industrial	0.3	0.63	0.12	2.4	6.0
LPG	Household/Commercial	0.1	24.0	0.2	5.25	0.02

Source: Shrestha and Malla, 1996
 

2. Emission Inventories on the Regional Level