AD05: Responsive Ecologies Architectural Lab 8 October 2022

ECOLOGICAL RESPONSE -
AIR POLLUTION
200BARCH068 | SIDDHANT KOTAK
200BARCH098 | UTKARSH SHARMA
200BARCH044 | SHIVYA KHANDELWAL
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AIR POLLUTION
AIR POLLUTION IS CONTAMINATION OF THE INDOOR
OR OUTDOOR ENVIRONMENT BY ANY CHEMICAL,
PHYSICAL OR BIOLOGICAL AGENT THAT MODIFIES
THE NATURAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE
ATMOSPHERE.

HOUSEHOLD COMBUSTION DEVICES, MOTOR

VEHICLES, INDUSTRIAL FACILITIES AND FOREST
FIRES ARE COMMON SOURCES OF AIR POLLUTION.
POLLUTANTS OF MAJOR PUBLIC HEALTH CONCERN
INCLUDE PARTICULATE MATTER, CARBON
MONOXIDE, OZONE, NITROGEN DIOXIDE AND
SULFUR DIOXIDE. OUTDOOR AND INDOOR AIR
POLLUTION CAUSE RESPIRATORY AND OTHER
DISEASES AND ARE IMPORTANT SOURCES OF
MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY.

WHO DATA SHOW THAT ALMOST ALL OF THE

GLOBAL POPULATION (99%) BREATHE AIR THAT
EXCEEDS WHO GUIDELINE LIMITS AND CONTAINS
HIGH LEVELS OF POLLUTANTS, WITH LOW- AND
MIDDLE-INCOME COUNTRIES SUFFERING FROM THE
HIGHEST EXPOSURES.
AD05: Responsive Ecologies Architectural Lab

AQI - AIR QUALITY INDEX

What is the U.S. Air Quality Index (AQI)?

The U.S. AQI is EPA’s index for reporting air quality.

How does the AQI work?

Think of the AQI as a yardstick that runs from 0 to 500. The higher the AQI value, the greater the level of air
pollution and the greater the health concern. For example, an AQI value of 50 or below represents good air
quality, while an AQI value over 300 represents hazardous air quality.

For each pollutant an AQI value of 100 generally corresponds to an ambient air concentration that equals
the level of the short-term national ambient air quality standard for protection of public health. AQI values
at or below 100 are generally thought of as satisfactory. When AQI values are above 100, air quality is
unhealthy: at first for certain sensitive groups of people, then for everyone as AQI values get higher.
AD05: Responsive Ecologies Architectural Lab

AQI BASICS FOR OZONE AND PARTICLE POLLUTION

Daily AQI Color Levels of Concern Values of Index Description of Air Quality

Air quality is satisfactory, and air pollution poses

Green Good 0 to 50
little or no risk.

Air quality is acceptable. However, there may be

Yellow Moderate 51 to 100 a risk for some people, particularly those who are
unusually sensitive to air pollution.

Members of sensitive groups may experience

Unhealthy for Sensitive
Orange 101 to 150 health effects. The general public is less likely to
Groups
be affected.

Some members of the general public may

experience health effects; members of sensitive
Red Unhealthy 151 to 200
groups may experience more serious health
effects.

Health alert: The risk of health effects is increased

Purple Very Unhealthy 201 to 300
for everyone.

Health warning of emergency conditions:

Maroon Hazardous 301 and higher
everyone is more likely to be affected.
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DATA TO CALCULATE AQI VALUES

Data readings are actual measurements—

NEPM air quality standards used to calculate the AQI
numbers with measurement units, from
scientific instruments for each air pollutant. Averaging
Pollutant Air NEPM Standard
Data is collected on five major pollutants. period

25 micrograms per cubic

PM2.5 24 hours
To calculate the index (AQI) values for each meter(µg/m3)
pollutant, the data reading is divided by the
national standard and multiplied by 100 to PM10 24 hours
50 micrograms per cubic
meter(µg/m3)
get the AQI for the pollutant.
The formula is: Carbon
8 hours 9.0 parts per million (ppm)
monoxide

Nitrogen
1 hour 0.08 parts per million (ppm)
dioxide

Ozone 8 hours 0.065 parts per million (ppm)

AD05: Responsive Ecologies Architectural Lab

ENVIRONMENT MONITORING DEVICE

An Air Quality Monitoring

Station (AQMS) is a system
that measures metrological
parameters such as wind
speed, wind direction, rainfall,
radiation, temperature,
barometric pressure and
ambient parameters. The
AQMS also integrates a series
of ambient analyzers to
monitor the concentration of
air pollutants (such as SO2,
NOx, CO, O3, THC, PM, etc.),
continuously.
AD05: Responsive Ecologies Architectural Lab

PARTICULATE MATTER SAMPLER

Two different types of particulate matter samplers exist that

measure particulate mass concentration: manual samplers and
automated samplers.

Manual
Manual samplers draw a known volume of air through a filter. The
filter is weighed on an analytical balance before and after
sampling, and the difference in weight divided by the volume of air
pulled through the filter gives the mass concentration of the
particulate.

Automated
Automated samplers do the weighing in the field. There are two
types of automated samplers in common usage: samplers that use
a beta gauge for mass measurement and samplers that use a
tapered element oscillating microbalance (TEOM) for mass
measurement.
AD05: Responsive Ecologies Architectural Lab

AMBIENT AIR SAMPLER

An Ambient air sampler generally consists of an inlet
to direct air into a collector, a filter to screen out
larger particles that might interfere with an analysis,
a collector where the sample is deposited, a
flowmeter and valve to calibrate the air flow and a
pump to pull air through the system.

SOLARIMETER
A solarimeter is a device designed to identify the radiation
level of solar exposure on the Earth's surface. Solarimeters
are placed atop a flat surface where they can gain
exposure to the full spectrum of electromagnetic radiation
coming from the Sun. As the solar radiation impacts the
Earth's surface, the sensors within the device measure a full
180 degree radius around the instrument, finding the
density and changes in this radiation.
AD05: Responsive Ecologies Architectural Lab

IMPACT
From smog hanging over cities to smoke inside the home, air pollution poses a major threat to
health and climate.

Ambient (outdoor) air pollution in both cities and rural areas is causing fine particulate matter
which result in strokes, heart diseases, lung cancer, acute and chronic respiratory diseases.

Additionally, around 2.4 billion people are exposed to dangerous levels of household air pollution,
while using polluting open fires or simple stoves for cooking fueled by kerosene, biomass (wood,
animal dung and crop waste) and coal.

The combined effects of ambient air pollution and household air pollution is associated with 7
million premature deaths annually.
AD05: Responsive Ecologies Architectural Lab
AD05: Responsive Ecologies Architectural Lab