cleanairisconsideredtobeabasicrequirementforhuman（cleanairisconsideredtobeabasicrequirementforhuman）.docVIP

Draft of Ambient Air Quality Criteria/Standards Central Pollution Control Board has finalized the draft revised Ambient Air Quality Criteria/Standards which are provided below for comments, if any. Preamble Clean air is a basic necessity for sustenance of life. In spite of introduction of cleaner technologies in industry, energy production and transport sectors, air pollution remains a major health risk. Recent epidemiological studies have provided evidence that even low pollution levels increase mortality and morbidity. Air quality standards provide a legal framework for air pollution control. An air quality standard is a description of a level of air quality that is adopted by a regulatory authority as enforceable. The basis of development of standard should be to provide a rational for protecting public health from adverse effects of air pollutants, to eliminate or reduce exposure to hazardous air pollutants, and to guide national and local authorities in their air quality management decisions. To provide the legislative support for air quality protection, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) recognized the need to review the air quality criteria/standards. For this purpose, CPCB sponsored a project to the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur to review air quality criteria and propose revised air quality standards with recent scientific knowledge of air pollution, their exposure and health effects. A steering committee comprising members from renowned academicians and research institutes, Ministry of Environment and Forests and CPCB was constituted to deliberate, discuss and devise consensus on the proposed standards. The committee oversaw the progress of the project on a continual basis and had six meetings in last three years. Selection of Pollutants and Methodology for Developing Standards The first step included compilation of air quality standards adopted by various countries including guidelines suggested by the WHO. One of the important