Jaipur fire impact to be assessed

Presence of high level of suspended particulate matter triggers health panic

The EIA , to be conducted by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), will be accompanied by air, water and soil analysis by the Rajasthan Pollution Control Board, sources said.

Expert committee
In addition, the state government has constituted a five-member expert committee to assess the fire’s environmental impact on the historical city and its forts. The panel will also suggest corrective measures, in case there is critical damage to the environment. It will submit the report by November 15.
In some of Jaipur’s pollution monitoring sites, the total concentration of suspended particulate matter (SPM) almost doubled in the last three days. SPMs are tiny solid particles invisible to naked eye but a major polluting agent. For instance, throughout the day on October 31, Pratap Nagar police station in Jaipur —2.5 km on upwind from the IOC depot — recorded SPM concentration of 406 microgram per cubic meter of space. The normal level is 200 micrograms.

On the night of October 30, the monitoring station in Chokhi Dhani recorded an SPM level of 376 microgram. Chokhi Dhani is 5 km from the Sitapura site on downwind direction.
The average SPM level in Jaipur in the last five days stands at 342 microgram.
Presence of extremely high level of SPM has triggered a health panic in the state administration. However, there is no significant rise in the levels of sulphur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen in the ambient fire.
The pollution data collected in Delhi did not show any impact of the fire on national capital’s air quality. Because of the wind direction on October 31 and November 1, the SPMs were not carried to Delhi.

The CPCB has instructed the adjoining state Haryana to immediately start monitoring the ambient air quality.