Thoothukudi's air quality bad, admits government

The policy document of state environment department for 2018-19 fiscal, which was tabled and debated upon in the House on Thursday, said the CPCB (Central Pollution Control Board) has declared Thoothukudi a non-attainment city with reference to exceeding PM10 (particulate matter) level in ambient air.

“Action plan for improvement of air quality of Thoothukudi has been prepared,” it added. Going by the document tabled by state environment minister KC Karuppanan, PM10 exceeded in a few places, while level of Sulphur dioxide, Nitrogen dioxide and Ammonia was found to be well within the prescribed standards in the 28 ambient air quality monitoring stations in Chennai (8), Coimbatore (3), Madurai (3), Salem (1), Tiruchirapalli (5), Thoothukudi (3), Mettur (2) and Cuddalore (3).

While the government attributed excess PM10 level to vehicular movement, Karuppanan conceded that ambient air quality was affected also due to pollution arising from industrialisation, transportation sector, burning of solid waster and firing of crackers. The minister added that the ambient air quality of Chennai was way better than other states.