Assessment of Plant Health in the Green Belt Around Coal Handling Area for Sustained and Effective Control of Fugitive Emissions

Abstract

Material handling and storage of various solids results in fugitive emission of dust. To control the same the cheapest and most common mitigation measure is to have a Green Belt around the handling and storage area. Coal used in many industries including Thermal Power Plants is one of the most common material causing fugitive emission due to its properties. Thus, coal storages are one of the biggest sources of fugitive emissions. This emission unless controlled is likely to affect the surrounding areas by way of dust deposition in the area and health issues in the exposed population. There are many ways to control fugitive emissions like having green belt, erecting physical barriers, covering the coal and closed conveying. Among various options available, green belt is the most preferred as it is easy and faster to implement option which is recommended or mandated by environmental regulatory authorities. In order to maintain its effectiveness as a fugitive dust control measure, the green belt must be maintained and rejuvenated from time to time as the fugitive emissions affect its health. While lot of research is done about the detrimental impact of particulate matter on plants, the perspective of plants being used as pollution control equipment is missing. This paper tries to create a simplified and user-friendly assessment for establishing system for monitoring of the Green Belt and Action Planning for long term perpetuation of the efficient and effective fugitive dust control using Green Belt as pollution Control Equipment.