GIS-based exposure assessment and characterization of particulate matter in a mining region in India

The current study aims to characterize and estimate the particulate matter (PM) exposure level of the population near an opencast coal mine. PM concentrations of different sizes were monitored at 32 locations distributed uniformly in the study area for spatial profiling and at 1 location for analysing the temporal variations and characterization of dust. Health impacts of PM to nearby residents were estimated using the air quality index (AQI) values and were cross-validated using the health survey data. The monitoring results indicated that the 15 min average concentrations of PM10 and PM2.5 were 2.3–2.4 times of the corresponding 24 h National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) in all the monitoring stations. Low wind speed during monitoring campaign that resulted in little PM dispersion is suggested to be the reason for this. AQI levels at five villages surrounding the mine were “moderate to severe” during morning-hours that improved to “satisfactory to moderate” during day-time. Eye irritation and respiratory problems were the two most adverse effects experienced by the residents living nearby to the mine. The health survey data and the corresponding AQI values indicate that respiratory problem is well correlated with the AQI values. The dust contains mainly six major elements in the order of O > C > F > Si > Al > Fe > Ca, accounting for 95% of the weight percentages of the 20 elements for which the characterization was carried out.