Browsing by Author "Saroj Kumar Sahu"

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Health Risk Appraisal Associated with Air Quality over Coal-Fired Thermal Power Plants and Coalmine Complex Belts of Urban–Rural Agglomeration in the Eastern Coastal State of Odisha, India
(MDPI, 2022) Arti Choudhary; Pradeep Kumar; Saroj Kumar Sahu; Chinmay Pradhan; Pawan Kumar Joshi; Sudhir Kumar Singh; Pankaj Kumar; Cyrille A. Mezoue; Abhay Kumar Singh; Bhishma Tyagi
Manufacturing and mining sectors are serious pollution sources and risk factors that threaten air quality and human health. We analyzed pollutants at two study sites (Talcher and Brajrajnagar) in Odisha, an area exposed to industrial emissions, in the pre-COVID-19 year (2019) and consecutive pandemic years, including lockdowns (2020 and 2021). We observed that the annual data for pollutant concentration increased at Talcher: PM2.5 (7–10%), CO (29–35%), NO2 and NOx (8–57% at Talcher and 14–19% at Brajrajnagar); while there was slight to substantial increase in PM10 (up to 11%) and a significant increase in O3 (41–88%) at both sites. At Brajrajnagar, there was a decrease in PM2.5 (up to 15%) and CO (around half of pre-lockdown), and a decrease in SO2 concentration was observed (30–86%) at both sites. Substantial premature mortality was recorded, which can be attributed to PM2.5 (16–26%), PM10 (31–43%), NO2 (15–21%), SO2 (4–7%), and O3 (3–6%). This premature mortality caused an economic loss between 86–36 million USD to society. We found that although lockdown periods mitigated the losses, the balance of rest of the year was worse than in 2019. These findings are benchmarks to manage air quality over Asia’s largest coalmine fields and similar landscapes. © 2022 by the authors.
Quantification and spatial assessment of industrial Cd and Pb emission across India
(Taylor and Francis Ltd., 2025) Madhusmita Mishra; Ashirbad Mishra; Poonam Mangaraj; Atul Kumar Kumar; Gufran Beig; Pallavi Sahoo; Sridhara Nayak; B. Anjan Kumar Prusty; Arti K. Choudhary; Saroj Kumar Sahu
Heavy metals, particularly cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb), pose a significant environmental challenge worldwide owing to their detrimental effects on ecosystem sustainability. India, the most populous country in the world, presently faces severe contamination by heavy metals. This study identifies and quantifies the Cd and Pb emissions from the principal industrial sources at the district level across India, using the IPCC bottom-up approach for 2019. The developed emission inventory includes various industries, notably coal-based power plants, captive power plants, cement production, iron and steel manufacturing, non-ferrous metal production, municipal and biomedical waste incineration, the glass industry, and fly ash generated. Annual emissions were reported to be approximately 2,016 tonnes/year (t/yr) for Cd and 19,258 t/yr for Pb, where coal combustion across different industries emitted approximately 93 t of Cd and 927 t of Pb, with the energy sector contributing about 66% and fly ash accounting for over 80% of total emissions. Among non-ferrous metals, copper production is solely responsible for 44 t and 77 t of Cd and Pb, respectively. The research also identifies regional hotspots for Cd and Pb emissions across India, highlighting areas where targeted remediation strategies can support sustainable environmental management. © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.