Singh Bhupendra Pratap, Sohrab Sayed Sartaj, Athar Mohammad, Alandijany Thamir A, Kumari Saumya, Nair Arathi, Kumari Sweety, Mehra Kriti, Chowdhary Khyati, Rahman Shakilur, Azhar Esam Ibraheem
Department of Environmental Studies, Deshbadhu College, University of Delhi, New Delhi 110019, India.
Delhi School of Climate Change and Sustainability (Institute of Eminence), University of Delhi, New Delhi 110007, India.
Toxics. 2023 Feb 9;11(2):165. doi: 10.3390/toxics11020165.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, governments in many countries worldwide, including India, imposed several restriction measures, including lockdowns, to prevent the spread of the infection. COVID-19 lockdowns led to a reduction in gaseous and particulate pollutants in ambient air. In the present study, we investigated the substantial changes in selected volatile organic compounds (VOCs) after the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic and associations with health risk assessments in industrial areas. VOC data from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2021 were collected from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) website, to identify percentage changes in VOC levels before, during, and after COVID-19. The mean TVOC levels at all monitoring stations were 47.22 ± 30.15, 37.19 ± 37.19, and 32.81 ± 32.81 µg/m for 2019, 2020, and 2021, respectively. As a result, the TVOC levels gradually declined in consecutive years due to the pandemic in India. The mean TVOC levels at all monitoring stations declined from 9 to 61% during the pandemic period as compared with the pre-pandemic period. In the current study, the T/B ratio values ranged from 2.16 (PG) to 26.38 (NL), which indicated that the major pollutant contributors were traffic and non-traffic sources during the pre-pandemic period. The present findings indicated that TVOC levels had positive but low correlations with SR, BP, RF, and WD, with correlation coefficients (r) of 0.034, 0.118, 0.012, and 0.007, respectively, whereas negative correlations were observed with AT and WS, with correlation coefficients (r) of -0.168 and -0.150, respectively. The lifetime cancer risk (LCR) value for benzene was reported to be higher in children, followed by females and males, for the pre-pandemic, pandemic, and post-pandemic periods. A nationwide scale-up of this study's findings might be useful in formulating future air pollution reduction policies associated with a reduction in health risk factors. Furthermore, the present study provides baseline data for future studies on the impacts of anthropogenic activities on the air quality of a region.
在新冠疫情期间，包括印度在内的世界许多国家的政府实施了多项限制措施，包括封锁，以防止感染传播。新冠疫情封锁导致环境空气中气态和颗粒物污染物减少。在本研究中，我们调查了新冠疫情爆发后选定挥发性有机化合物（VOCs）的显著变化以及与工业区健康风险评估的关联。从中央污染控制委员会（CPCB）网站收集了2019年1月1日至2021年12月31日的VOC数据，以确定新冠疫情之前、期间和之后VOC水平的百分比变化。2019年、2020年和2021年所有监测站的总挥发性有机化合物（TVOC）平均水平分别为47.22±30.15、37.19±37.19和32.81±32.81µg/m。结果，由于印度的疫情，TVOC水平连续几年逐渐下降。与疫情前相比，疫情期间所有监测站的TVOC平均水平下降了9%至61%。在本研究中，T/B比值范围为2.16（PG）至26.38（NL），这表明在疫情前时期，主要污染物贡献来自交通和非交通源。目前的研究结果表明，TVOC水平与SR、BP、RF和WD呈正相关但相关性较低，相关系数（r）分别为0.034、0.118、0.012和0.007，而与AT和WS呈负相关，相关系数（r）分别为-0.168和-0.150。据报道，在疫情前、疫情期间和疫情后时期，儿童的苯终身癌症风险（LCR）值较高，其次是女性和男性。在全国范围内推广本研究结果可能有助于制定与降低健康风险因素相关的未来空气污染减排政策。此外，本研究为未来关于人为活动对一个地区空气质量影响的研究提供了基线数据。
