Assessment of the impact on the air environment due to opencast coal mining — an Indian case study

The Indian reserve of coking coal is mainly located in the Jharia Coalfield (JCF) of Bharat Coking Coal Ltd. (BCCL). The reserves which are 19 339 Mt, have been exploited intensely over the last 80 yr. Resulting air pollution is increasing in the area due to large-scale opencast (O/C) mining. But no well-defined method of estimating the generation of air pollutants is used due to different mining activities. An investigation has been conducted to evaluate the air pollution due to a large O/C coal project. The mining project under study is one of the largest opencast projects (OCP) of BCCL and the details have been described. Ambient air monitoring stations were chosen considering the dominant wind directions (upwind and downwind) and covering industrial, residential and sensitive zones. The air quality survey was carried out for four seasons and the methodology adopted has been described. The data revealed a high air pollution potential and are in respect of suspended particulate matter (SPM) and respirable particulate matter (RPM) in the project area as well as in the surrounding locations. Impacts on the air quality have been assessed on the basis of upwind and downwind concentration of air pollutants.