Study of air pollutants and its impact at selected signal junctions on GST Road along Kattankulathur to Guduvanchery stretch in Chengalpattu District

Air pollution is the action of mixing of particles and substances into the atmosphere which could cause breathing problems and harmful health issues to living beings. The air pollution in cities is higher than other places. The pollutants causing air pollution are Carbon monoxide (CO), Oxides of nitrogen (NOx), Ozone (O3), lead (Pb), Hydrocarbon (CH), benzene, Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, Sulphur dioxide (SO2) and particulate matter. The major contribution to air pollution is vehicle exhaust in cities. In order to find out the pollution caused by vehicles a traffic survey was conducted at three locations, namely Kattankulathur bus stop, Potheri bus stop and Guduvanchery traffic signal. The type and number of vehicles were analyzed after the survey and the amount of pollutants emitted by them were found. A proper analysis of Sulphur dioxide (SO2), Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) was done. The Exceeding factor for each pollutant was calculated according to their respective location. The exceeding factor for Sulphur dioxide is medium, Nitrogen oxide is high and SPM is critical in all three locations. In order to confront the emission of pollutants into the atmosphere we suggest some methods in this study.