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Clean Techn Environ Policy (2005) 7: 133–141

DOI 10.1007/s10098-004-0266-7

O R I GI N A L P A P E R

A. K. Gupta Æ S. K. Gupta Æ Rashmi S. Patil

Environmental management plan for port and harbour projects

Received: 15 June 2004 / Accepted: 18 October 2004 / Published online: 6 April 2005
Ó Springer-Verlag 2005

Abstract Port activities can cause deterioration of air requirements of the industries, new ports are being
and marine water quality in the surrounding areas due constructed or existing ports are being expanded
to multifarious activities. Hence, for the determination throughout the world. This would definitely facilitate
of levels of pollution, identification of pollution sources, commercial and economic growth but the port activities
control and disposal of waste from various point and are also likely to cause deterioration of air and marine
non-point sources and for prediction of pollution levels water quality in the surrounding areas. A port can lead
for future, regular monitoring and assessment are re- to severe pollution problem, over a large area due to the
quired during the entire construction and operation multifarious activities. The increase in emissions of air
phase of a major port. It is extremely essential that port pollutants can affect local as well as regional air quality
and harbour projects should have an environmental (Galloway 1989; Gupta et al. 2002; Rodhe 1989; Streets
management plan (EMP), which also incorporates et al. 2000). With the increase in volume of shipping
monitoring of air and marine water quality along with traffic into and within the region, sea-based pollution is
the collection of online meteorological data throughout also a source of concern, especially along heavily con-
the life of the project. This paper presents the environ- gested shipping routes (Chua 1995a, b). Oil and chemical
mental impacts due to various port activities and their spills from ships, either from operational activities or
sources and also discusses the EMP for different pollu- catastrophic accidents (i.e. grounding or collision), also
tion prevention, protection and control measures. cause health hazards.
Maritime development usually generates local envi-
ronmental problems; however, development associated
with sensitive estuaries or inland or freshwater rivers
may yield regional scale problems. The impacts on
environment will differ from place to place depending
Introduction upon the variations of geography, hydrology, geology,
ecology, types of shipping, industrialization and urban-
More than 50% of the world population lives close to ization. Hence, for the determination of levels of pollu-
the coast, of which more than 300 million inhabit the tion, identification of pollution sources, control and
coastal urban cities (Chau 1999; Chua and Ross 1998). disposal of waste from various point and non-point
There are significant increases in maritime trade among sources and for prediction of pollution levels for future,
various countries as we enter the twenty first century. To regular monitoring and assessment are required during
meet the increasing demands of population and the entire construction and operation phase for a major
port. It is mandatory that port and harbour projects
A. K. Gupta (&) should have an environmental management plan (EMP),
Department of Civil Engineering, which includes monitoring of air and marine water
Indian Institute of Technology, quality along with the collection of online meteorologi-
Kharagpur, 721302, India cal data throughout the life of the project throughout
E-mail: agupta@civil.iitkgp.ernet.in
Tel.: +91-3222-283428
the world.
Fax: +91-3222-255303 This paper tries to identify not only the environ-
mental impact caused or induced by various port
S. K. Gupta Æ R. S. Patil
Centre for Environmental Science and Engineering,
activities and their sources but also discusses different
Indian Institute of Technology, prevention, protection and control measures for air and
Bombay, 400076, India water pollution, which will be helpful in evolving an
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appropriate EMP for a specific port and harbour pro- mulation in fish and shellfish, increased turbidity causing
jects. decrease in light penetration and associated photosyn-
thetic activity, short-term depletions of dissolved oxygen
levels; modified bathymetry causing changes in circula-
Identification of impacts tion; possible saltwater intrusion to ground-water;
inland surface water; altered species diversity and
Ports and harbours are located either in marine/estua- structure of benthic communities; fluctuations in water
rine zones or on rivers at inland sites far from the sea, chemistry, changes in shoreline structure; loss of habitat
but general guidelines are applicable to both. Various and fisheries resources.
port and harbour activities including dredging opera- Harbour operation can produce sewage, bilge
tions, materials disposal, shorezone development, wastes, solid waste, oil discharges and leakages of
increased maritime traffic and vehicular traffic in the harmful materials both from shore and ships. Tens of
port can results in the release of natural and anthropo- thousands of chemicals are used to meet society’s
genic contaminants to the environment. The pollution technological and economic needs. Many of these
problems usually caused by port and harbour activities chemicals find their way into the marine environment;
can be categorized as follows: therefore, it is important to ascertain whether the
complex mixtures of chemicals found in coastal waters
1. Coastal habitats may be destroyed and navigational
are causing adverse biological effects on marine
channels silted due to causeway construction and
organisms. There are two basic ways by which chemical
land reclamation.
contaminants can affect living marine resources: (1) by
2. Unregulated mariculture activities in the port and
directly affecting the exposed organism’s own health
harbour areas may threaten navigation safety.
and survival, and (2) by contaminating those fisheries
3. Deterioration of surface water quality may occur
resources that other species, including humans, may
during both the construction and operation phases.
consume.
4. Harbour operations may produce sewage, bilge
wastes, solid waste and leakage of harmful materials
both from shore and ships.
5. Human and fish health may be affected by contami-
Impact on air quality
nation of coastal water due to urban effluent dis-
charge.
Air quality in a port area can be affected by dust and
6. Oil pollution is one of the major environmental
particulates from traffic (resuspension of road dust), site
hazards resulting from port/harbour and shipping
clearing, rock excavation and construction activity, and
operations. This includes bilge oil released from
emissions from vehicles bringing materials to the site
commercial ships handling non-oil cargo as well as
and from ships and construction equipments. The pho-
the more common threat from oil tankers.
tochemical reactions (complex chain reactions between
7. Air pollutant emissions due to ship emissions, load-
sunlight and gaseous pollutants), emissions from burn-
ing and unloading activities, construction emission
ing waste materials and escaping dust (due to handling
and emissions due to vehicular movement.
of fine-particulate materials such as fertilizers and min-
erals) are also major sources of air pollution in port
areas. Air quality can also be affected by secondary
Impact on surface water quality developments such as urbanization and increased
vehicular traffic.
The construction of man-made structures and alteration Ship emissions are the main source of SO2 in port
of natural waters can lead to direct and indirect impacts and harbour areas. Total emissions from major shipping
on the water body and ecosystem. Deterioration in activities are estimated to be 236,000 tonne SO2 per
surface water quality can occur during both the con- year. Emissions from port activities account for about
struction and operation phases. During the construction 4.5% of total shipping emissions, or 10,620 tonne SO2
phase, pollution may result from soil run off and sani- per year (Streets et al. 1997). Generally, the cheapest
tary waste from labour force. grades of residual oil, containing as much as 5% sul-
Dredging and reclamation result in the formation of phur, are being used to fuel the commercial fleets. The
plumes of suspended sediments around dredgers, recla- average sulphur content of marine fuel oils is about
mation outfalls and dumping grounds. Dredging and 2.8%. In 1997, the International Convention for the
dredge spoil disposal activities for port development and Prevention of Pollution from Ships (commonly known
maintenance can induce short- and long-term impacts as the MARPOL convention) approved a global cap of
on aquatic systems, namely degradation of marine re- 4.5% on the sulphur content of marine fuel oils
sources such as beaches, estuaries, coral reefs and fish- (Streets et al. 2000). A significant fraction of more than
eries; resuspension and settlement of sediments, 10% of the global NOx production is emitted from
portioning of toxic contaminants and reintroduction to ocean going ships burning fossil fuels (Lawrence and
the water column; contaminant uptake by and accu- Crutzen 1999).
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Impacts on human health the European Community. Ports and harbours are
seeking certification under ISO 14000 or its equivalent.
Impacts on human health can be broadly categorized as:
1. Hazards/accidents both onshore and offshore from
EMP for a port and harbour
handling of hazardous materials such as flammables,
explosives and toxics from vessel collisions
The EMP should generally include information on the
2. Communicable diseases
generation and treatment of solid waste, liquid and
3. Noise from construction equipment/activity, vehicles,
gaseous effluents, details of safety measures around the
cargo handling equipment and ship and port public
project, and details of the safety organization including
address systems/sirens
key personnel. The various strategies for EMP are
4. Respiratory illness from escaping dust and particu-
summarized in Fig. 1.
lates.
An EMP is formulated to mitigate the adverse impacts
Most health impacts (except communicable diseases) arising out of any developmental programme. An EMP
will generally be confined to the immediate port vicinity/ should ensure that resources are used with maximum
work environment. Occupational health programmes efficiency, waste generation is minimized, residuals are
should be established and provisions should be made for treated adequately and products are recovered and
adequate medical emergency services. recycled to the maximum extent possible. Stress should
be laid on low waste or cleaner technologies.
An EMP is a required part of environmental impact
assessment of a new port project but could also be
Best available techniques evolved for existing ports. It is useful both during the
construction and operational phases of the new port but
Major port expansion and the development of new ports only for operation of existing ports to ensure the effec-
offer the opportunity to introduce the use of the most tiveness of the mitigation measures and to give guidance
up-to-date techniques and equipment for port con- as to the most appropriate way of dealing with any
struction, maintenance, operation, cargo handling and unforeseen effects. A regular monitoring programme
storage. Significant advances in techniques and tech- needs to be specified in order to check that environ-
nologies have been made in recent years in these fields to mental measures are working and to alert port and
reduce the environmental impacts if correctly handled. pollution control boards to any pollution or other
The International Organization of Standardization environmental problems that might occur during either
(ISO) has formulated the Environmental Management the construction or operational phase of the project. A
System (EMS) under ISO 14000. Similarly, most of number of important issues needs to be included in the
Europe adopts a system known as BATNEEC. BAT- EMP, namely:
NEEC is a concept relating to environmental protection
that helps define good practice and is becoming – The review, and where necessary, updating of disaster
increasingly popular internationally, particularly within management plans for all ports, particularly proce-

Fig. 1 Components and


strategies for environmental
management plan (EMP)
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dures and management responsibilities. The adequacy surficial sediments are composed of recently deposited
of equipments for handling oil and related liquid bulk materials that are usually contaminated. These younger
spills and other emergencies should be assessed in the sediments usually contain natural and anthropogenic
light of increased traffic since the facility was opened. contaminants and can arrive from atmospheric fallout;
– The review of dredging practices, the toxicity of the erosion of local, surface and channel banks; fallout from
dredged material and the disposal location. biological activity in the water column; sediment trans-
– Improving the handling facilities for dry bulk cargoes, port from inland waters; point source discharges and
especially for coal and iron ore. This is potentially a surface runoff from the surrounding area. To mitigate
costly exercise and will inevitably be constrained by potential contaminant passing from the port area, it
financial considerations. should be addressed through proper design of storm
– Providing facilities for collection and disposal of water handling and treatment facilities; placement of
waste oil and solid waste (garbage) in accordance with sewage and wastewater outfalls; compatibility of local
the marine pollution convention. Collection facilities land use (e.g. proximity of agriculture fields or mining
need to be conveniently located for ships, open at operations), procedures for handling hazardous materi-
hours to suit ship movements. als and types of industries permitted to operate in the
port area.
– Hazardous waste materials should be separately
Disposal must be in accordance with applicable reg-
collected and disposed off at the designated site.
ulations. Also, long-term monitoring of the dredging
– Health related monitoring should be performed on
process and disposal may be required. Mitigation mea-
the workers who are working in bulk storage area
sures recommended for reducing the release of sediments
and handling chemicals.
and fines into the main water body could include:
– Facilities need to be brought to the attention of
shippers to encourage their use. The location of the – Containment of the work area with a silt curtain to
treatment or disposal facilities needs to be carefully prevent excessive release of fine sediments
planned so as not to give rise to negative environ- – Use of suction dredger instead of bucket dredger
mental impacts elsewhere, particularly in the case of – Dewatering of fines through sediment traps
garbage disposal. – No dredging works during storms
– Adopting mitigation techniques for reducing the – Halting dredging during the breeding seasons of eco-
pollutant concentration like green belt/plantation, nomically important fish stocks or protected or rare
conservation of water and energy etc. Various other species
considerations to control air and water quality in – Plan for minimizing impacts on local flora and fauna,
the port and harbour region are discussed below. and screen for the presence of rare, threatened or
endangered species that are indigenous to the project
location
– Monitor local air quality and reduce operations if
Management plan during dredging operation
unacceptable quality arises.
in the port area

A comprehensive dredging and dredged materials man-


Management plan to improve marine water quality
agement plan should be considered for the port and
in the port area
harbour facilities to ensure that project can be carried
out with minimum environmental effects. Both capital
1. The drains and outfall should be cleaned regularly to
and maintenance dredging affect water quality; partic-
avoid anaerobic decomposition and also for proper
ularly turbidity and this in turn can marginally affect
flow of water/wastewater. This will also enable the
marine ecology and fisheries. Capital dredging has high
characterization of wastewater and calculation of
potential to disperse the fine-grained sediment in the
waste load
water column, thereby increasing the particular load.
2. Domestic and canteen wastewater should be dis-
The initial screening for evaluating disposal options is
charged only after proper treatment
based on physical and chemical analysis for geotechnical
3. The solid waste generated from the canteen and other
character and the presence of contaminants in the sedi-
diffused sources should be collected and disposed off
ments. Depending on the physical and chemical char-
properly
acter of the dredged material, disposal may be confined,
4. The discharge of oil waste into the sea from the fol-
unconfined or treated prior to release in open water,
lowing main sources should be controlled
along the shoreline, or on land.
Maintenance dredging is performed in approach (a) Discharge of oil waste from liquid chemical cor-
channels and harbour basins to maintain depth and ridor area. This liquid waste is generated during
width and ensure safe access for large vessels. The tanker cleaning and oils spills during filling
dredged materials from maintenance dredging typically operations
present a greater disposal problem than deeper sedi- (b) Oil spills at berth during unloading operations
ments removed during construction dredging, since (c) Tanker ballast discharge from ships
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5. The discharge of solid waste and sewage from ships tion of the source itself. Enclosure also helps to
should be controlled. It should be disposed/dis- contain those emissions that are generated. They
charged only after proper treatment can consist of either some type of permanent
6. Bulk material should not be disposed into the sea. All structure or temporary arrangement
drains and roads should be cleaned before the rainy – It is also observed that during loading and
season to avoid runoff from land to sea carrying a unloading operations considerable dust is generated
myriad of pollutants including chemicals which may be chemical in nature. This could be
7. Temporary bunds should be constructed to contain harmful to the health of working staff, hence, masks
surface runoff from land sites. Collected runoff should be provided to all staff working at the site
should be passed through retention ponds to collect and also periodic check of their health should be
suspended solids before discharge carried out
8. A treatment system should be provided at the con- – Bulk material should be transported in closed
struction camp. This could either be a package plant trucks to avoid wind entrainment
or a septic tank – Proper bag filters in conveyor belts must be used for
9. A conventional activated sludge sewage treatment collection of dust and use of conveyor belts should
plant is not considered to be appropriate for port be minimized
operations owing to fluctuations in the volume and – Resuspension of dust is due to wind and vehicular
characteristics. The following alternatives for treat- movement over the road surface. Controlling
ment are more appropriate resuspension of road dust may be the most effective
way of reducing particulate pollutant. There are
(a) Either an anaerobic pond followed by facultative
various methods for reducing entrainment like
and polishing off ponds discharging to a near
shore outfall (a) Regular cleaning of paved and unpaved roads
(b) An anaerobic pond discharging to an offshore (b) Removal of the accumulated dirt from roadside
outfall (c) Regular maintenance of unpaved shoulder on
paved road
10. Sanitary effluents should not be discharged into the
(d) paving of access roads should be undertaken;
harbour itself
unpaved roads may lead to dust problems in
11. Oily wastewaters (from fuel storage tanks, mainte-
communities
nance shops, ships’ bilge water, tank washings) and
runoff from dirty areas of the port (vehicle mar- 2. Vehicles are major sources of air pollution, so better
shalling, parking and fuel storage areas) should all maintenance of vehicles and control of vehicular
be collected and passed through an oil water sepa- emissions, as for as possible, should be achieved
rator before discharge. Wastewater may be returned 3. No vehicle should be allowed without proper pollu-
to storm water system after treatment tion under control certificate in the port area and
12. Reception facilities for oily wastes from ships should highly polluting vehicles (especially heavy trucks)
be provided and their use should be enforced by should be avoided
monitoring. Penalties may be imposed for oily dis- 4. The plantations and green belts all around the port
charges in and around the port area and also in the open area should be increased.
13. Regular monitoring of water quality should be This reduces air and noise pollution
carried out within the port and in adjacent waters 5. Construction and demolition activities, though tem-
during operation to identify adverse environmental porary in nature are important open dust sources.
changes. These activities involve a number of separate dust-
generating operations that must be quantified to
determine the total emissions from the site and thus
Management plan to improve air quality in the port their impact on ambient air quality
and harbour region 6. Burning of waste materials should be avoided
7. Emissions from construction operations can be re-
1. To control the fugitive emissions during loading and duced by wet suppression
unloading and storing operations, the following ac- 8. Ambient air quality monitoring should be further
tions have to be taken strengthened by adopting the following recommen-
dations
– Spraying of water or suitable chemical over the
bulk material so that wind blown dust is reduced (a) Meteorological monitoring stations should be
– A common preventive technique for the control of installed at different heights so that the vertical
fugitive particulate emission is to enclose the sour- profile can be assessed and also automatic facil-
ces either fully or partially. Enclosures prevent or ities provided for recording meteorological data.
inhibit particulate matter from becoming air borne This is helpful in estimating the dilution capacity
as a result of disturbance created by wind or by of atmosphere and in air pollution dispersion
mechanical entrainment resulting from the opera- modelling
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(b) Monitoring of additional parameters, HC and Pb into the sewage collection systems. Without these
in the locations, where vehicular pollution is high provisions, ships and onshore installations are likely
(c) Monitoring of PM10 (particulate matter less than to discharge their wastewater directly into the harbour
10 lm) and CO should be carried out regularly waters. Also, provision should be made for removal of
because these pollutants directly affect the respi- all floatable materials including oils.
ratory system – Provision of a comprehensive solid waste manage-
(d) Exposure or health related monitoring of sensitive ment system for the entire complex including ships.
population subgroups like workers, residents and – Provision for control of oil spills at ports and har-
children etc. should be conducted as a safety bours used for importing/exporting petroleum oil or
measure. products from oil refineries.
It is advantageous to plan and design a comprehen-
sive onshore/offshore sanitary waste operation under a
Management plan to minimize public health impacts single management system. For port/harbour complexes
that are located near unconfined coastal waters with
The following control measures can be used to reduce high diluting/absorbing capacities, it is often feasible to
the health impact on persons working in the port and discharge effluents into these waters via a submarine
harbour projects. outfall. This, however, is not acceptable in confined
1. Temporary and permanent workers should receive coastal or inland waters. Whichever waste disposal sys-
medical examination and necessary treatment before tem is selected, periodic monitoring of its effects on the
starting work. environment is essential. This should include monitoring
2. Facilities for first aid should be provided at the port both inside and outside the port/harbour.
as well as at the construction site. Other pollution control measure should also include:
3. Proper sanitation should be provided during con- 1. Maintenance of water supply and wastewater treat-
struction and operation to minimize spread of dis- ment system
eases. 2. Collection and disposal of waste from ships and
4. Arrangements for quarantine of vessels should be onshore facilities
made in accordance with international practice. 3. Monitoring and enforcing pollution prevention reg-
5. In general, it is beneficial to install electrical systems ulations affecting vessels
as opposed to pneumatic ones. It is a good noise 4. Carrying out regular monitoring to identify adverse
reduction strategy. environmental changes caused by pollution
6. Another possible mitigation measure is proper 5. Developing a green belt around the industry, which is
installation of machines e.g. providing rubber pad- an effective method of attenuation of waste residuals
dings etc. Mufflers should be provided wherever subsequent to pollution control measures . Green
feasible to muffle the sounds from engines, motors belts absorb air and water pollutants, arrest noise and
etc. Head phones and earplugs can be provided to soil erosion as well as create favourable climatic and
workers working in noisy environments. aesthetic conditions.

A case study
Other pollution control measures
A study has been conducted in the port and harbour
Operation of port and harbour complexes tend to result
region under the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT),
in acceptable sanitation conditions if special provisions
New Mumbai, India. This port is situated along the
for waste management are included in the planning and
eastern side of the Mumbai harbour opposite the Ele-
design stage, such as:
phanta Island, covering a water area of about 52 km2.
– Provision of an adequate water distribution system The port shares a common channel with Mumbai port
including pier installations for hose connections to up to the point of entry to the South Elephanta channel.
supply fresh water to ships. It is about 6 nautical miles by water route from the
– Construction of temporary bunds to contain surface Gateway of India (Gupta et al. 2003a). Figure 2 shows
runoff from land sites. Collected runoff should be the map of Mumbai city and the location of JNPT.
passed through retention ponds to collect suspended Water quality was monitored at six monitoring sta-
solids before discharge. tions. The stations W1, W2, W3, W4 and W5 were fixed,
– Provision of adequate sewage collection, treatment while station W6 was mobile as shown in Fig. 2. The
and disposal systems to serve the entire port/harbour water quality survey was carried out once every month.
complex including a shoreline interceptor for receiving The survey was arranged in such a way so as to cover the
liquid wastes from all shoreline installations. Special six stations in two phases covering three stations each
hose connections must be provided to allow ships to day. To achieve this, three motorized launches were
discharge sewage, bilge wastes and other liquid wastes used, which were anchored at each of the selected sta-
139

Fig. 2 Location of study area, water and air quality monitoring could subsequently be reduced by proper mitigation
stations measures.
2. Monthly mean concentrations of NOx were in the
range of 19.5–59.0 lg/m3. The NOx concentrations
tions at the time of sample collection. Nensen type water
were observed to be the highest during the winter
samplers of 2.5-l capacity were used to take the water
season.
samples at each station at a depth of 1 m below the
3. The concentrations of SO2 increased gradually from
surface, at mid-depth and at 1 m above the sea bottom.
the year 1997–2000. This may be due to increase in
The depth at the station was measured before the col-
port activities and ship traffic, which have an annual
lection of water sample using a lead line. A number of
growth of about 15%.
samples were collected at each station for both the flood
4. The maximum concentration of NH3 was observed at
and the ebb tides (Gupta et al. 2003a).
the port operation centre site, which is in close
Air quality was monitored at five monitoring stations
proximity to the location, where loading and
and are shown in Fig. 2 (Gupta et al. 2003b). Out of
unloading of fertilizer is carried out. It was found
these five stations, four were fixed and one was adapt-
that gaseous and particulate pollutants have their
able, with its location being changed in every monitoring
maximum values during winter season, while NH3
cycle. The fixed stations were the administration build-
has a maximum value during post-monsoon season,
ing (AB), port operation centre (POC), residential col-
confirming the relation of NH3 to ambient tempera-
ony (RC) and Jaskhar police station (JPS). The
ture.
adaptable station was one of the following viz., bulk
5. The TSP concentrations were quite high, particularly
gate complex (BGC), guest house No.2 (GH2), E2 (near
for the sites situated in the areas, where port activity
E2 building), E7 (near E7 building), port users’ building
is high like loading and unloading of the material,
(PUB) and opposite conveyer belt (OCB).
vehicular movement etc. The average TSP values in
In this study, the data collected and analysed from
general showed a higher concentration in winter and
detailed monitoring of ambient air quality, marine water
summer months than in the rainy season.
quality and meteorological data for a period of 4 years
6. PM10 data appears to be a constant fraction of the
are presented. Specific conclusions drawn from the study
TSP data throughout the year, indicating common
are as follows:
influences of meteorology and sources. Particle size
1. Air quality of the region is generally good. Overall analysis showed PM10 to be 47% of the total TSP
the annual average NOx, SO2 and TSP levels were concentration, which is lower than reported for
within their standards. However, on many occasions industrial area and traffic junctions in Mumbai.
and at some sites the 24-h limit was exceeded, but Anthropogenic sources contribute significantly to the
140

PM10 fraction in an industrial region, while contri- 1. The improvement of existing port operations and
butions from the natural sources are more in a port facilities, the movement of bulk cargoes out of ports
and harbour area. where the surrounding environment is particularly
7. Marine water quality results do not show any regular sensitive to pollution and where modern handling
trend. Correlation, regression and factor analyses and storage facilities cannot be provided.
have been carried out for the water quality parame- 2. The concentration of new capacity in those ports that
ters. The results show that BOD and DO were are most able to handle larger ships and large vol-
inversely correlated. Factor analysis results show that umes of cargo and that can therefore justify invest-
out of the eight variables four factors have been ment in modern handling equipments which are less
drawn, which represent 74% of the variance of the likely to give rise to pollution.
original data. Over 84% of the variance in suspended 3. The development of new ports away from environ-
solid, while 76% of the variance in temperature, BOD mentally sensitive locations, where sufficient land
and turbidity are accounted for, respectively. Ob- exists for the future expansion of port-related indus-
served and predicted concentrations at different sites tries. Where ports have to be developed near areas of
were quite close to each other. environmental importance, or with limited backup
land, careful design and the incorporation of miti-
A comprehensive database with quality assurance and
gation measures will be used to reduce any adverse
quality control for ambient air and marine water quality
impacts to an absolute minimum.
for a port area has been generated. The monitoring data
has been collected as per the norms prescribed by the In view of the likely increase in port development
regulatory authorities of the country and hence can be over the next decade, it is suggested that government in
very useful for environmental management of the port. every country should consider the eventual establish-
This study, which deals with a comprehensive and ment of a specialist port environmental planning unit,
integrated monitoring and modelling of ambient air and which could be responsible for gathering improved data
marine water quality in a port area, can be effectively on coastal environment in the vicinity of key ports,
used for the development of rational control and man- advising on environmental issues and identifying new
agement strategies to reduce pollution levels due to practices, techniques and technologies.
various port activities. The results of the study on
identification of sources, hot spots and adverse time Acknowledgements The authors are very thankful to the manage-
periods for air pollution have led to the recommendation ment and staff of Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, New Mumbai,
India, for providing cooperation and financial support for carrying
of the pollution control measures discussed in the pre- out the project entitled ‘‘Environmental Management Plan for
vious section for improvement in air and water quality Jawaharlal Nehru Port Area’’.
of the port and harbour region. Some examples of spe-
cific pollution control measures are given below:
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