Pollution has become a great problem nowadays on earth. It is necessary to know the quality of environment in which we live to take step to reduce pollution. That’s when Environmental Monitoring and Assessment comes into picture. It’s a process to measurement of pollutants available in Air, Water, Soil, and steps to be taken to reduce pollution after analysis of data received from Environmental Quality Monitoring. This is the primary process before preparing Environmental Impact Assessment for particular project.

In this Process Sample is collected from suitable or representative area. It is stored in Controlled temperature conditions. Once it is reached in analytical laboratory various tests are performed to Know Presence of particular Parameters. After that analysis is done to identify source of pollutants and alternate ways can be suggested to reduce quantity of pollutant. Environmental Monitoring generates complex and critical information to take decisions and predict the future of environment.

Types of Environmental Monitoring:

Noise level Monitoring is carried out with noise level meter. Noise Level can be observed for 24 hours to find out trends in noise level fluctuations. Also, Noise Impact Assessment is Part of Environmental Impact Assessment.

Initially soil samples are collected by grab sampling method or composite sampling method. It is further tested in analytical laboratory. It is tested for pH, Chlorine, Sulphate, Phosphate, LOD, LOI etc. Soil analysis can be helpful to find out Soil fertility and corrective action can be taken to improve yield.

There are two types of air quality monitoring i.e. Ambient and Indoor air quality. Ambient air Quality monitoring is carried out in industry or site premises. And Indoor air quality monitoring can be carried out in Home, office etc. In Air quality monitoring Direction, Velocity and Pollutants are measured. Parameters measured in Air Quality monitoring are SO2 (Sulphur Dioxide), NOx (Oxides of Nitrogen), Particulate Matter (PM 10 and PM2.5), Ozone, Lead, CO (Carbon Monoxide) etc.

In Water quality monitoring samples are taken from water source (Eg. River, lake or tap water etc.) by grab sampling or by regular intervals, Passive Sampling, or remote sampling. then in laboratory Chemical, Biological, radiological, microbiological, and E-coli test to determine quality of water.

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is the process of assessing the likely environmental impacts of a proposal and identifying options to minimize environmental damage. The main purpose of EIA is to inform decision makers of the likely impacts of a proposal before a decision is made. EIA provides an opportunity to identify key issues and stakeholders early in the life of a proposal so that potentially adverse impacts can be addressed before final approval decisions are made.