A study to characterize the suspended particulate matter in an indoor environment in Delhi, India

To investigate potential particulate matter (PM) exposure, and the possible effective measures for interventions and assessment of sources in indoor environments, a pilot study was conducted at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi. The indoor particles were collected from 5th April to 26th June 2000, using a tapered element oscillating microbalance (TEOM). The particles were analyzed by gravimetry, atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) in order to investigate the mass concentration, physico-chemical properties and morphology of the particles. The gravimetric and AAS results confirmed that the suspended particulate matter (SPM) and metal concentrations were higher than the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for Delhi. The maximum contributions of SPM were observed to be due to wind-blown crustal dust and vehicular pollution. The SEM analysis of particles showed the presence of a variety of particles, but confirmed the dominance of silicon and soot particles.