Using GIS for pollution control

E N v I R O N M E N T D E P A R T M E N T t DISSEMINATION NOTES TOWARD ENVIRONMENTALLY AND SOCIALLY SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ,^ rv -Number 59 July 1997 Using G-IS for Pollution Control How can geographic information systems (GIS) assist in pollution control and prevention? What role can GIS play in environmental monitoring and impact assessment? Can GIS offer informatiop management solutions to pollution control agencies enabling more efficient and effective administration and use of resources for meeting agency mandates? This paper provides some answers' to these questions by describing the use of GIS in the hazardous waste tracking system adopted by the Gujarat Pollution Control BQard in India. Geographic information systems (GIS) are Figure 1 being utilized-around the world to assist industrial Gandhinagar, Gujarat pollution prevention and control. Agencies carrying out environmeiftal assessment commonly employ GIS to assess the potential impact of industrial discharges on the surrounding natural and social landscape, including assigning costs to ' dhiagar - alternative sites and design. GIS also may be employed to maintain, monitor, and disseminate information on pollutant release. For example, the North-East Estonian Department of the Institute of Ecology in J6hvi, Estonia, has set up a regional GIS on the state of the atmosphere in Eastern Virumaa. Questions about pollution _ _ _ _._ _ sources and polluting substances, existing air quality, and trends are being handled by this Pollution Prevention project. This system will system. In the U.S., the Federal Environmental network the agency's 10 regional and sub-regional. Protection Agency's toxic release inventory (TRI) offices with its head office in Gandhinagar, the program publishes GIS-based toxic release data on. Gujarat State capital, and allow the Board to the nation's industries as part of the Emergency maintain a common and integrated database to Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act. monitor compliance of industries by tracking their GIS may be used post facto for assessing the sources and levels of pollutants. Software tools are extent of damage caused by a polluting incident, employed to carry out modeling by integrating -such as an oil spill or gas leak, and for determining pollution information with environmental, the best course of action for cleanup. A number of- physical, and social information. In addition, the countries also employ GIS and three dimensional network serves as a basis for integrating modeling tools to determine the most cost-effective information on agency staff, thus enabing efficient mobilization of available resources. method of cleaning up abandoned industrial sites. - In India, the Gujarat Pollution Control Board Agency Mandates (GPCB), the state-level pollution control agency in the western industrial State of Gujarat (see figure As one of the most industrialized Indien states, 1), is building a GIS-based hazardous waste Gujarat has almost 34,000 industries producing tracking system as part of a Bank-funded Industrial waste categorized as hazardous according to This note was prepared by Puneet Kishor, GIS Team, Land. Water, and Natural Habitats Division. Copies of the paper are available from the Land, Water, and Natural Habitats Division, Environument Department, World Bank, Washington, D.C. 20433, Fax (202) 477-0568. Disemmation Notes epesent the iecws of their authors and arm not official publications of the World Bank  government criteria. A 1994 survey of the seven Figure 21 largest of the more than 100 industrial Work-Groups and Information Linkages development estates estimated annual hazardous waste production to be 220,381 tons per year and projected growth-to be more than 3.5 million tons Hazardous Waste ('om Relase per year over the.next 15 years. The total Tracking(HWT) Inventory (TRI) generated in the State has recently been estimated at 0.35 million tons. The GPCB is the agency responsible for enforcement of environmental regulations at the Budgetand ollutionControl Modellingand state level and as such is involved in monitoring Payroll Board Planning ) industrial pollutants by point sources as well as monitoring environmental quality in industrial areas. The Board reviews applications from m F e X Computene / Forms, Letters industries on the amount and type of pollutants , Manifest and likely to be discharged and, after vetting the data System -Communiques against specified quality criteria and standards, may grant a no objection certificate (NOQ to the industries. The NOC is valid for a given time period, at the end of which it must be -renewed via another application. is setting up a GIS-based hazardous waste After the NOC has been granted, the Board's tracking system. Of the more than 400 hazardous field offices conduct random checks of industries and toxic chemicals listed by the Central Pollution and, through the judiciary, initiate actions against - Control Board, the 17 considered "most polluting" those in noncompliance. The Board also has a will be the focus of a GIS-bas'ed hazardous vvaste monitoring role in implementing programs for tracking system. collecting continuous data on air and water The first step in establishing the systenm has quality. The data are collected by monitoring involved a statewide survey of industries and stations and transmitted to Board headquarters. documentation of the type and amount of The Board in turn reports on the overall situation hazardous waste discharged. Once the survey to the Ministry of Environment and Forests and data have been collected, they will be entered into -the Central Pollution Control Board in New Delhi. a computerized geo-referenced database li:nked to- a map of Gujarat showing locations of all Information for Management industries. GPCB has developed a coding scheme The GPCB, organized as a collection of for assigning unique identifiers to each industrial interacting work-groups, requires timely unit in the state. The identifiers will use 14-digit lnteractng workgroups,requlre tlmely placeholders, where the first six digits will iden'tify information on every aspect of its work (see figure p w .. Problems obtaining informao or ithe industrial development estate, the next two ,., Problems obtaining information or inaccura the industry category code, and the last six the or unreliable information can delay decisions survey and plot number of the unit. Additional affecting industries, and hence, affect sound layers in this database will include physical decisionmaking. information such as land use, land cover, soil type, Computerized information technology based hydrology, and socio-economic information on relational database management software and obtained from demographic and other data (see geographic information systems can enhance the figure 3) delivery of quality information for managers at Using the programming and macro language the pollution control boards. As much of the tools available in the GIS and relational database information handled by the Board is confidential, software, applications will be developed to enable computerized technology can assure security and GPCB staff to query and extract information from _protect the privacy of the industries. the database. The applicatizon- interface will be Hazardous Waste Tracking System similar to the paper forms used by the Board in its normal day-to-day operations. As part of the Bank-funded Industrial An industry seeking a no objection certifiicate Ppllution Control and Prevention Project, GPCB must submit.the appropriate form with all the  Figure 3 as information on source reduction, waste - Information Layers recycling and any other pollution prevention a 14-digit identifier for industries activities. TRI data can be made available to local e.g., VATVAx-06-123456 governments, NGOs, and the public enabling them to identify potential environrental concerns. A manifest is used for tracking hazardous waste shipments from the site of waste generation to the site of waste treatment and disposal. It can provide waste-related information during transportation emergencies, and also serve as a record-keeping and reporting tool. Both TRI and manifest-tracking may benefit greatly from computerization. A combination of relational database management tools, GIS, and networked computers make it easy and efficient to update such information and to make it wetlands SS / roads available to all concerned parties. Reliable and and rivers _ / timely data brings increased accountability and gives GPCB,-as well as communities, the power forest . to enforce environmental standards and regulations. ,requisite data entered.into the system. GPCB Automation of Office Information officials will then examine the data in conjunction with other information in the GIS and cafi quickly Besides modernizing the functional infor- and efficiently come to a decision about granting mation capabilities of GPCB, computerization of the certificate. As the applications are developed, administrative data-data on staff, leave, benefits, the system will be expanded to include the field and payroll-enable the Board to improve agency offices of the Board. Conversely, community administration and utilize available resources representatives and the general public will be able efficiently and effectively. For example, merging to request information from the Board. Also,when -query capabilities across the administrative and the toxic release inventory is implemented the functional databases allow GPCB managers to system will operate as a clearinghouse for assignstaffinthemosteffectivemanner. Suchan information on the discharge of pollutants. integrated pollution management information Eventually all, the Board offices will be system provides complete pollution management networked over the telephone system. and administrative capabilities to the Board (see Consequently, it will be possible for an figure 4 on next page). The system draws upon industrialist to go to a field office, provide all the office or management data, and geographic data, data for examination by the officers at aswellascultural,anddemographicdatatomeet headquarters, and have the certificate granted routine GPCB information needs. without having to travel to Gandhinagar. - Typical office functions such as writing letters and communiques, making presentations, news- Further Automation letters, and brochures, communicating via electronic mail, and office calculations related to As the hazardous waste tracking system is s l a implemented around the state, other functions as automation. depicted in figure 2 can be modernized and Xo n automated. Possible areas of focus would be the Training toxic release inventory (TRI) and a computerized- manifest system. Staff familiarization and 'training with A TRI typically combines hazard and exposure computers is essential. to realize the advantages information on release of pollutants on a chemical- of automation and modernization. With this in by-chemical and facility-by-facility basis. mind, GPCB has decided to standardize its Industries make available pollutant data as well hazardous waste tracking system on Microsoft  Figure 4 and activities; and, the ability to evaluate Pollution Management Information System alternative scenarios for planning purposes and emergencies. Eventually GPCB will be able to utilize com2m mon data iinformation technology in all aspects of its work. . Office data ' . GIS data . Using the GIS-based hazardous waste tracking ceat. system as a base, the system could be expanded to include other functions such as TRI, X p0m00 .Officer 7cso0-e1 computerized manifest tracking, modeling, Stton~~inY Tables resource allocation,, and project planning. The same system could be employed to modernize Leave 10 ct-5 Nov office information management including staff, Unique Industry Identifier Industrv VATVAx-06-123546 Small Dye payroll, and benefits, and leave and attendance ,PANOLx-07-234563 Fertilizer tracking. Thus; a fully integrat6d, agency-wide VAPlxx-03-124356 Cement pollution management information system would I help GPCB with its information needs for . n; ) pollution prevention and control. l |1i| -J Altlrough implementation of the GIS-based j ~~~~~~hazardous waste tracking system began in mid- ./ 1 05-123456J 1996, the following lessons have been learned- .=Ps .w .from the experience thus far: System design should be preceded by W.Mindows-based computers. Access -to a hazar- adequate needs identification and capability assessment. Thisstpicrcaastidrife dous waste tracking system as well as common the step is crucial as it identifies office functions and information will be available problem context and lays down to all officers through their desktop computers. appropriate design parameters. Standardization on Windows facilitates * Initial solution design should focus on the training by providing a common platform for tasks required to solve the problem rather than performing most information-related functions. on the tools themselves. This ensures GPCB, is planning- to provide training to all its flexibility in choosing the necessary tools in managers, scientists, and engineers on the basics the rapidly changing information technology of the Windows operating system, word environment. processing, spreadsheet, simple database . Itisconnontofindalowlevelofinformation operations, and graphics and presentations. technology awareness and competency in Benefits most public sector agencies of developing countries. It is crucial therefore that emph-iasis The following benefits are envisioned by be placed on solving most information needs improving information management at GPCB: with simple to use, robust, and scalable improved efficiency as the information flow technology rather than try and deliver very through the workplace becomes streamlined; powerful but difficult to use tools. integrated activities producing timely, comprehensive, and quality information; Keeping these few caveats in mind, it is improved service delivery to the industrialists in possible to develop a sophisticated, powerful, the state, including shorter response- and easy-to-use, modular, and scalable GIS-b,sed application turnaround times; ability to plan system that meets present and future information ahead and assign adequate resources to problems needs in pollution prevention and control. Phnined on I 00% post-consumer reqydied ppoe