SPM MONITORING IN VARIOUS LABORATORIES

Abstract

The indoor environment often has a higher level of SPM than the outdoor surroundings in cities and town. Unfortunately, indoor pollution has not been given much importance in India, although most people spend as much as 80-90% of their time indoors. SPM, specially the respirable dust, is very.harmful and causes various diseases. In last few years more emphasis is given on the control of respirable particles. Hence the present study was taken to monitor PM PM ,o —2.5, • —10 and TSP in the various laboratories of Civil Engineering Department and Earthquake Engineering Department. For monitoring the concentration of PM2.5, PK° and TSP, the precise instrument should be required. The Retsch Cascade Impactor (RCI) and Haz-dust monitor were chosen for the present study. The Time Weighted Average (T.W.A.) of PM2.5 have been found to be 167, 129, 226, 38, 177, 351, 198 and 28 pg/m3 in soil laboratory, workshop, quasi static laboratory and shock table laboratory of Earthquake Engineering Department and transportation laboratory, geotechnical laboratory, concrete laboratory and testing hall of Civil Engineering Department respectively. The Time Weighted Average (T.W.A.) of PM10 have been found to be 324, 226, 354, —67;335 286-3—and-TSP-have-been-found -to-be-5-88;4-97;6977 166, 665, 882, 570 and 198 pg/m3 in all the above mentioned laboratories. Except the shock table laboratory of Earthquake Engineering Department and testing hall of Civil Engineering Department, in all other laboratories the T.W.A. of PM2.5, PM10 and TSP are higher than the permissible limit as prescribed by CPCB and EPA. Therefore, the indoor environment of laboratories with respect to PM2.5, PM10 and TSP is not fit for human health. Hence, urgent need to improve the indoor air environment of these laboratories.