Importance of source apportionment modeling in air pollution abatement policy

Excerpt

Air pollution problems, particularly in the emerging economies, are endangering the health and welfare of people. Both ambient and indoor air pollution levels have reached an alarming stage in the developing countries. Major sources of ambient air pollution are industries, power plants, and motor vehicles emitting the high levels of Oxides of Sulfur (SO_x), Oxides of Nitrogen (NO_x), Carbon Monoxide (CO), Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM), Hydro Carbons (HC), and numerous other pollutants. On the other hand, high level of indoor air pollution is the result of low quality fuels such as wood, coal, and kerosene, etc., that are being used in rural and urban poor households. Several studies have shown that the levels of SPM, NOx, and HC are resulting in higher incidences of respiratory diseases like tuberculosis, cardiovascular diseases, and asthma. In addition to the health hazards, air pollution also has several other detrimental effects such as reduction in visibility, spoiling of buildings, damage to material and machines, and ill effects on vegetation and animals (Hopke 1988; Okamoto et al. 1990; Sharma and Patil 1992, 1994; Sharma 2007). …