Exposure to Short- and Long-Term Particulate Concentrations at Divergent Land Use Sites in an Industrial City in India

Abstract

Surat is one of the industrial cities of Gujarat state of India, dominated by textile, chemical, dying, printing, and diamond industries. In 2018, the city was declared as a critically polluted industrial area with a Comprehensive Environmental Pollution Index (CEPI) of 76.13 (on a scale of 0 to 100, with more than 70 being considered as critically polluted). The current research gives an insight into individual exposure to particulate matter (PM) and quantification of lung deposition of particulates during long- and short-term exposure scenarios in varying land uses. A personal environmental monitor (PEM) and sampler were used for exposure monitoring of PM2.5 and PM5, respectively, from December 2022 to April 2023. To understand the short-term exposure during everyday commutes, PM2.5 and PM5 exposure monitoring was carried out in different transport microenvironments (TMEs), namely, auto-rickshaws (autos), buses, motorbikes (bikes), and cars, commonly used in Surat city, in commercial and industrial land use sites. A total of 144 samples were collected for four TMEs (36 in each TME with 18 samples for PM2.5 and PM5 each) from December 1 to December 30, 2022, in each land use site. Sampling was done during morning and evening peak hours and afternoon nonpeak hours, keeping identical vehicular speeds in all travel mediums. Further, to understand the variation of occupational exposure to particulate matter for a continuous long period of exposure, PM2.5 and PM5 exposure were monitored for open shop street vendors in residential, industrial, and commercial areas. Street vendors spend a significant amount of time (approximately 8 h) on a daily basis in urban hotspots, which results in continuous high particulate exposure. Next, 120 samples for PM2.5 and PM5 (20 for each sampling location) were collected during the monitoring period. The impacts of land use on personal exposure were investigated, and total lung deposition of particulate matter was quantified.