The incipient nature of environmental regulation and management in Pakistan’s industry is reflected in the lack of a proper, comprehensive and effective air quality monitoring capability that can be used to track and address specific instances of air pollution and air quality degradation. The current air quality monitoring framework and facilities, to the extent that they exist, are wholly inadequate, in scale, technical capacity, and operational methods, to meet actual requirements given the country’s overall economic, production and population base.
At present, any systematic and technical monitoring of air pollution in Pakistan is limited to isolated instances where the means, resources, and corporate or political willingness are available and have been combined to establish sound environmental management and monitoring regimes. These cases are typically localized to plant or companywide activities. Industry, region, or countrywide implementation of air quality monitoring practices does not exist.
The existing capability of air pollution monitoring is primarily limited to three mobile air quality monitoring stations and some other portable equipment, owned and operated by various public sector organizations. The mobile stations are operated by the following organizations:
a Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission, Karachi
a Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR), Karachi
a Punjab Environmental Protection Department, Lahore.
These mobile stations are generally equipped with instruments to measure all common gaseous pollutants (nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, volatile organic compounds, carbon monoxide and ground-level ozone).
The mobile station operated by the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission, Karachi has the following equipment:
a High volume sampler
a Size selective inlet (SSI) for high volume sampler to allow inhalable particulate matter sampling
a Nitrogen oxides analyzer based on chemiluminescent technology (Make: HORIBA; Model: APNA-350E)
a Sulfur dioxide analyzer based on ultraviolet fluorescent technology (Make: HORIBA; Model: APSA-350E)
a Carbon monoxide analyzer based on gas filtration correlation (GFC) technology (Make: Thermo Environmental Instruments; Model: 48H)
a Ozone analyzer based on the ultraviolet photometry technology
a Meteorological instruments for wind speed, wind direction, temperature and humidity.
The mobile stations operated by the PCSIR, Karachi and the Punjab Environmental Protection Department, Lahore are identical. These were manufactured by the French firm Environment S.A and are equipped with the following:
a High volume sampler
a Sulfur dioxide analyzer based on ultraviolet fluorescent technology
a Nitrogen oxides analyzer based on chemiluminescent technology
a Carbon monoxide analyzer based on gas filtration correlation (GFC) technology
a Ozone analyzer based on the ultraviolet photometry technology
a Meteorological instruments for insolation, wind speed, wind direction, temperature and humidity.
In the absence of ambient air quality standards and any monitoring network, there is no standard reporting format for ambient air quality. Since the monitoring is often commissioned by different public and private sector organizations, the results are usually reported in the form of ‘project reports’ submitted to the client. The reports are rarely published as public document.
The results reported in a recent air quality assessment in Karachi are reproduced from the project report in Exhibit 2.1.
There is no formal system of air quality data storage and reporting. Whatever air quality data is in hand is available with the different public and private organizations and the agencies that conducted the studies. However, the data has not been collated and made available in standard format.
Apart from the availability of ambient air quality data, its integrity is another important concern. To compare air quality measurements from different cities and locations and from different times at the same location, it is important to know the following about each measurement:
a Analyzer technology
a Measurement technique
a Precise sensor location
a Calibration history
a Instrument detection limit
a Instrument sensitivity
a Sampling frequency
a Averaging time
a Time of measurement
a Meteorological conditions (wind speed and direction, insolation, etc.).
This information is not regularly reported with the data, which makes it impossible to assess the quality of the data.
Emissions of pollutants from fuel combustion and other processes and their impacts on human health, plants and structures are well known. However, the data on air quality collected in Pakistan is not sufficient to develop a comprehensive picture of the state of the air quality and its impacts. Therefore, it is imperative that air quality monitoring networks be established in selected cities of the country. Such networks are needed for:
a Establishing the baseline air quality for the purpose of environmental assessments of development projects
a Determining the exposure levels of citizens to harmful air pollutants
a Assessing the potential damage to vegetation, structures and material from air pollutants
a Determining the background pollution levels for application in industrial zoning or town planning
a Validating and fine-tuning atmospheric dispersion models
a Evaluating impacts of policies for mitigation and abatement of air pollution
a Assessing transport of pollution across provincial and international boundaries.
The need and details of establishing an air quality network in major cities of the country are discussed in the Action Plan.
Exhibit 2.1: Air Pollution Measurement in the Karachi Metropolitan Area
|
Site |
SO2 (ppb) |
NOX (ppb) |
O3 (ppb) |
CO (ppm) |
TSP (mg/m3) |
|||||
|
|
Max. |
Mean |
Max. |
Mean |
Max. |
Mean |
Max. |
Mean |
Total |
< 10mg |
|
Civic Center |
1.7 |
1.3 |
36 |
17 |
13 |
1.06 |
6.9 |
6.5 |
233 |
195 |
|
Gardens Road |
1.3 |
1.3 |
25 |
16 |
14 |
12.0 |
7 |
6.8 |
254 |
200 |
|
Elender Road |
1.5 |
1.3 |
37 |
22.5 |
17 |
13.6 |
7.5 |
7.0 |
263 |
193 |
|
West Wharf |
1.4 |
1.3 |
14 |
10.7 |
18 |
12.5 |
7.0 |
6.8 |
238 |
216 |
|
SITE Industrial Area |
2.6 |
1.6 |
37 |
26.5 |
14 |
12.3 |
7.2 |
7.0 |
222 |
205 |
|
Korangi Industrial Area |
1.5 |
1.3 |
44 |
22.6 |
15 |
13.4 |
7.1 |
6.7 |
318 |
238 |
|
Ibrahim Haidry |
1.3 |
1.2 |
12 |
9.5 |
16 |
12.8 |
7.1 |
7.0 |
261 |
238 |
|
Gizri |
1.2 |
1.2 |
19 |
14 |
15 |
12.4 |
6.8 |
6.5 |
214 |
179 |
|
SPARCENT |
1.0 |
1.0 |
12 |
8 |
10.0 |
9.0 |
5.5 |
4.5 |
225 |
190 |
|
Bin Qasim |
8.0 |
5.0 |
23 |
15 |
– |
– |
– |
– |
307 |
– |
|
Federal B Area |
1.2 |
1.1 |
18 |
14.5 |
16.5 |
13 |
7.1 |
6.5 |
290 |
248 |
Source: Suparco, 1999