AAAR 35th Annual Conference October 17 - October 21, 2016 Oregon Convention Center Portland, Oregon, USA
Abstract View
Municipal Solid Waste Burning: Discoloring the Taj Mahal and Human Health Impacts in Agra
RAJ LAL, Ajay Nagpure, Lina Luo, Sachchida Tripathi, Anu Ramaswami, Michael Bergin, Armistead G. Russell, Georgia Institute of Technology
Abstract Number: 315 Working Group: Urban Aerosols
Abstract The Taj Mahal – an iconic World Heritage monument built of white marble – has become discolored with time, due, in part, to high levels of particulate matter (PM) soiling its surface. Such discoloration has required extensive and costly treatment and despite previous interventions to reduce pollution in its vicinity, the haze and darkening persists. PM responsible for the soiling has been attributed to a variety of sources including industrial emissions, vehicular exhaust and biomass burning, but the contribution of the emissions from the burning of open municipal solid waste (MSW) may also play an important role. A recent source apportionment study at the Taj Mahal showed biomass burning emissions, which would include MSW emissions, accounted for nearly 40% of organic matter (OM) – a component of PM – deposition to its surface; dung cake burning, used extensively for cooking in the region, was the suggested culprit and banned within the city limits, although the burning of MSW, a ubiquitous practice in the area, may play a more important role in local air quality. Using spatially detailed emission estimates and air quality modeling (AERMOD), we find that open MSW burning leads to about 150 (+- 130) mg m-2 yr-1 of PM being deposited to the surface of the Taj Mahal compared to about 12 (+- 3) mg m-2 yr-1 from dung cake burning. Those two sources, combined, also lead to an estimated 710 (380-1050) premature mortalities in Agra each year, dominated by waste burning in socioeconomically lower status neighborhoods. An effective waste management strategy would reduce soiling of the Taj Mahal, improve human health, and have additional aesthetic benefits.