Summary:
The annual prescribed standards for SO2 and NO2 are 50 µg/m3 and 40 µg/m3, respectively. But about 200 diesel-run industries are still operational in NCR. They will have to submit a report to CPCB-approved labs within 15 days,” said Ashok Tiwari, regional officer of the district pollution board.“As of now, coal-based industries have already been banned till the 15 of this month. They mostly emit SO2 and NO2, adding to the overall pollution level, though not to the extent as PM10 and PM2.5,” Tiwari added.He also said action would be initiated against factories found violating the curbs after 15 days.According to Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) 2009, the permissible level of SO2 and NO2 concentration should be under 80 µg/m3 in a day. But according to an interim IIT-Rourkee report, which is in the process of making an environmental management plan for the city in the last five years (2013-20017), the annual mean concentration of SO2 and NO2 were found to be 1.4 and 2 times higher, respectively, than the NAAQS 2009 standard..