Tackling Air Pollution: Positive Indian Case Studies

Prana Air, a leading Indian company specializing in air quality monitoring solutions, is a case study of how technology can be harnessed to work with different industries in addressing the issue of air pollution. The company has worked and aided the likes of TATA Steel, Microsoft, and Ola in finding the causes of air pollution, the extent of the pollution, and ways to tackle the same. 

 

In Jamshedpur in the eastern part of India, where one-fourth of the entire city is occupied by the TATA Steel plant, Prana, after making a preliminary study, installed 80 air quality monitors. These aimed to monitor the hyoerlocal air quality index and pinpoint the specific processes within the TATA Steel plant that caused maximum localized pollution. 70 monitors were fitted with PM sensors and attached to a weather station. Tata’s fuel and environment management system was connected with the ambient pro air quality monitor that could take readings for PM, SO2, NO2, O3, CO, humidity, and particulate count. 

 

This resulted in accurate time air quality monitoring, cloud storage of the readings and data, easy connectivity, and reliable and precise data collection. This was especially needed since the TATA Steel plant, a mini city in itself, housed more than 30,000 people, of which 15% were children, necessitating all concerned to take strict air control measures. 

This resulted in TATA taking mitigation measures as indicated from the readings gathered by Prana monitors, which the Prana personnel interpreted and deciphered for them. Prana also suggested the type of interventions that TATA should take, and this partnership between a tech-enabled environmental company and the world’s sixth-largest steel manufacturer bore positive health outcomes for the residents of TATA Steel colony. 

 

So successful were the results that both companies took the initiative to install such monitors throughout Jamshedpur. TATA was generous to provide funding through its CSR unit, and the entire city of Jamshedpur was fitted within a year with air quality monitoring systems. The outline of the methodology adopted and its success can be read here.  

Prana has begun working with Microsoft and Ola on a community project analyzing street-level air pollution. Ola Mobility Institute launched a pilot study to gauge vehicular emissions and entrapment of particles both within and outside moving vehicles. While Microsoft provided the software and backend tracking for the same, Prana made available monitors and vehicular-fitted devices for analyzing PM2.5 levels with traffic load and speed of the traffic. Prana delivered custom-made devices fitted with GPS tracking that helped also map out color trails. The results of his study being conducted in Delhi-NCR are projected to be rolled out to other parts of India once the pilot is concluded. The details of the project can be seen at this link. 

Thus, research organizations, industries and tech platforms, and software solution providers can come together to benefit the communities by enabling air pollution to be monitored and controlled. This is an excellent contribution to society since pollution affects everyone irrespective of age, gender, and financial capability. Air being omnipresent and a necessity for life to sustain, it becomes all the more important that such projects are taken up by more socially conscious companies.