Bulletin : 2002 / #02

Tuticorin District : A Study of its Pollution Geography

Introduction
Tuticorin is one of the numerous districts of Tamil Nadu in India. The district sprawls over an area of 4621 square kilometres. The density of population of 315 persons per square kilometre is lower than the average density of 428 persons per square kilometre for Tamil Nadu.

The district has 1051 females for every 1000 males. Sixty three percent of the population is literate. Fifty nine percent of the population live in rural areas while seventy percent depend on agriculture. The district has a coastline of 135 kilometres and produces 30 percent of the total salt produced in India.

The port of Tuticorin - a ISO 9002 certified port - facilitates Indian exports to about 20 countries. The port city and its hinterland constitute the hub of numerous large metallurgical, fertilizer, chemical and power plants of the district. Many believe these industries, together with establishments, which constitute backward and forward linkages to them, are polluting the environment of the district.

The study
The air quality data collected from 108 stations together with associated information on them constituted the major inputs. Some stations were located in the vicinity of major market places, bus stands and industries. Most of the stations were located within the premises of residential buildings, school buildings, and the buildings of government departments. The sampling points were located 3 to 5 metres above the ground.

GIS routines I performed for the study, included creating spatial databases, creating attribute databases, attaching attribute databases with one another and the spatial data, creating digital elevation models for the pollutants, creating pseudo color tables for elevation models, SO2, NOx, and SPM, creating profile views of pollution along the road from Kovilpatti to Thiruchendur, and numerous vector layers of selected settlements with pinmap overlays of their pollution statistics. . The routines I performed also included creating a vector merge layer indicating the spread of pollution in the district. I have used TNTmips software for all GIS routines for the study. Other GIS outputs include vector layers of major sources of pollution and factors of pollution, namely, average temperature, average relative humidity, average wind speed, and predominant wind direction.

Comments
I have used the pollution statistics of georeferenced data collection points to create digital elevation models (for pollutants, Nox, SO2, and SPM) which in turn facilitated the identification of contours which constituted thresholds of sustainable pollution (as measured against the available air quality standards) for each of the pollutants. When combined these contour vectors yielded the areas - common in all three threshold vectors - which are polluted beyond the sustainable limit. In fact, an evaluation of the resultant indicates that 70 percent of the district is reasonably polluted.

A study of the impact of pollution on human health will be undertaken after the relevant data - for 3 revenue divisions, 8 talukas, 12 community development blocks, 2 municipalities, 20 town panchayats, and 468 revenue villages - is available for analysis and interpretation in the near future.

Most of the inputs for the study came from Mr. T. Jayasekar who is pursuing a doctoral programme at VOCC, under the guidance of Professor N.C. Chandrasekar. The study was undertaken at the instance of Professor N.C. Chandrasekar of VOCC, Tuticorin and Professor Victor Rajamanickam, of Tamil University, Thanjavur. The study is not exhaustive.

I did the study for Physical Planning Consultants (India) Limited, following its academic collaboration with VOCC, Tuticorin. Physical Planning Consultants (India) Limited, established in 1983, evolved from a group of professionals committed to the development of cost effective decision support systems for urban, rural, and renewable energy development. Physical Planning Consultants (India) Limited is a leading innovator in applications of GIS as a decision support system in India.

Consultative approach of Physical Planning Consultants (India) Limited goes far beyond the convention. At Physical Planning Consultants (India) Limited, the approach depends heavily on service. We present ourselves as service persons serving as researchers for our clients, making sure our clients have everything they need that we can supply.

For information on academic collaboration on urban / rural / renewable energy / GIS development projects, contact us at ppcil@stormloader.com

Dilip Kumar Paul.
August 30, 2002.

Case Study / GIS / 2002 / 02

Note
This feature is based on an invited lecture presented, on August 24, 2002, at the International Conference on Globalization and Sustainable Development held from August 23 to 25, 2002, at Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India.