This is the first type of study that has been undertaken where mushrooming of brick kilns (more than 15 brick kilns just in 2 km diameter) is deteriorating the air quality. Although industrialization is very important for the development of a country, this is a bitter fact that it speeds up the process of environmental degradation as was observed at the Panzan village of district Budgam in Jammu and Kashmir state (India). The monitoring of brick kiln emissions was carried out on 8 hourly basis to estimate the pollution level of gaseous pollutants like oxides of sulphur (SO x ), oxides of nitrogen (NO x ), particulate pollutants (Respirable particulate matter-RSPM) and (Non-Respirable Suspended particulate matter-NRSPM) during the non-operational and operational phases of brick kilns in the months from April to September 2012. The results revealed that all the pollutants SO x , NO x , RSPM, NRSPM and SPM (sum of RSPM and NRSPM) were crossing the limits prescribed by National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) during the operational phase of brick kilns. Further, the air quality index (AQI) was calculated and the study sites were categorized from severe to high pollution including residential areas which is of most concern in respect to health conditions of the local people. Inter correlations of SO x , NO x , RSPM, NRSPM and SPM showing very strong correlations (p < 0.01) with each other indicated that their sources are the same i.e. brick kilns. To minimize the emission level of air pollutants from brick kilns, possible air pollution mitigation measures are suggested.

Brick manufacturing is the fastest-growing industrial sector in many countries (like china, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan) and among the top three sectors, along with vehicle exhaust and resuspended road dust, contributing to the air pollution and health problems in Dhaka (Bangladesh). The total emissions from the brick manufacturing in the Greater Dhaka region, to produce 3.5 billion bricks per year has been estimated about 23,300 tons of particulate matter having aerodynamic diameter < 2.5 μm (PM 2.5 ), 15,500 tons of sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ), 302,000 tons of carbon monoxide (CO), 6,000 tons of black carbon (BC) and 1.8 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) . Emission of individual air pollutant from brick kilns varied significantly during a firing batch (seven days) and between kilns. Average emission factors per 1,000 bricks were 6.35 to 12.3 kg of CO, 0.52 to 5.9 kg of SO 2 and 0.64 to 1.4 kg of particulate matter (PM). Presently sulphur dioxide (SO 2 ), oxides of nitrogen (NO x ) and suspended particulate matter (SPM) are the main issue pertaining to air pollution problems in developing countries, where it contributes both to urban pollution and to regional acid depositions. Among man-made sources, coal combustion in stationary sources accounts for 74%, industries 22% and transportation 2% of the total oxides of sulphur (SO x ) . and it is considered that SO 2 is the chief emission in brick production. On an international basis, 75 to 85% of SO 2 emissions are the result of fossil fuel burning. It is predictable that just about 93% of the global SO 2 emissions are emitted in the northern hemisphere. It has been revealed that biomass is responsible for the emission of both trace and non trace gases such as carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), methane (CH 4 ) and oxides of nitrogen (NO x ) from traditional brick industries and lots of toxic fumes containing suspended particulate matters rich in carbon particles and high concentration of CO and SO x get produced. Studies have shown the average value of particulate matter of size less than ten microns and total suspend particles for the preoperation time of brick kilns was 0.029 and 0.033 mg/m³, respectively whereas, it reached 0.050 and 0.056 mg/m³, respectively during the brick kiln operation time. Similarly, recent studies on brick kilns in District Budgam of Kashmir valley (India) have shown some major negative impacts on the environment in respect of air quality, human health and vegetation in particular.

To study the impact of brick kiln emissions on plant growth and productivity, a study was conducted on various biochemical parameters of three main vegetables Brassica oleracea L., Phaseolus vulgaris L., and Solanum melongena L. cultivated in the vicinity of the brick kiln area of the Panzan village of district Budgam (J&K). Plants in the vicinity of brick kilns are direct recipients of emissions and therefore important materials for assessing potential effects of kiln pollutants. The biochemical values of all the three vegetables of the brick kiln site when compared to the control site are significantly (P ≤ 0.05) different. The findings of the present work depict that the brick kilns are the prime reason for the deterioration of important consumable vegetables, which could lead to chaos in the food security of the area in concern besides a threat to local people in terms of health if proper pollution control devices or the replacement of brick kilns are not put in place with new technology.

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