Ahead of the Delhi government’s second phase of the odd-even traffic plan, which will come into effect from April 15, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has placed two fine particulate samplers to monitor air quality in Noida on Tuesday.
The samplers will be functional until one week after the odd-even plan ends on April 30. This will in effect ascertain the quality of air for a whole month, including the two weeks that the plan is active.
Deepa Arora, assistant scientific officer of UP Pollution Control Board, said, “CPCB has the permission to instal samplers in the city. It has put two fine particulate samplers, called AMP-550, on the roof of the UP Pollution Control Board’s regional offices in sectors 1 and 6 of Noida. These samplers will collect data on particulate matter, or PM 2.5, an air pollutant that can penetrate deep into the lungs and cause a host of respiratory diseases.”
According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, particle pollution (also called particulate matter, or PM) is a term used for a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets found in air. Some particles, such as dust, dirt, soot and smoke, are large or dark enough to be seen with the naked eye. Others are so small they can only be detected using an electron microscope. Particle pollution includes "inhalable coarse particles", which have diameters larger than 2.5 micrometres but smaller than 10 micrometres, and "fine particles", which have diameters 2.5 micrometres or smaller.
Deepa Arora (above), assistant scientific officer of UP Pollution Control Board, inspects an air quality sampler APM-550 placed on the roof of UP Pollution Control Board's office in Sector 1, Noida, on Wednesday.
