Analysis and Quantification of Airborne Heavy Metals and RSPMs in Dehradun City

Abstract

Air pollution is becoming a major environmental and public health problem worldwide. Exposure to different air pollutants has several adverse effects on human health. In the present study, we attempt to determine the concentration of respirable suspended particulate matters (RSPMs) and levels of the heavy metals in ambient air of Dehradun city. The RSPM concentration of all the areas under study were well under the NAAQ standard limit. The Ghantaghar area reported the maximum RSPMs of 87.5507 ?g.m-3. The samples collected from four different locations of Dehradun were primarily analysed for heavy metals like Pb, Fe, Cr and Cd using atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The measured concentrations were compared with the standard safe limits provided by United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). It is seen that all the heavy metals, as well as the RSPM, are well under permissible safe limits set by USEPA, OSHA, and CPCB. It can, therefore, be concluded that the ambient air quality of Dehradun, in terms of heavy metal contamination as well as RSPM concentration in air is safe. Strict monitoring of heavy metal emissions in air should be done regularly to maintain the ambient air of Dehradun area as healthy.