Comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessment through Optimized Design of Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Network: A Case Study

This research investigates the design and evaluation of ambient air qualitymonitoring networks for coal-basedthermal power plants, using Sanjay Gandhi Thermal Power Station (SGTPS), Birsingpur (M.P.), as a case study.Conventional siting approaches, oftenbased on simplified windrose diagrams, fail to capture the complexity of terrain and dynamic meteorological variations.In this study, an emission inventory was prepared for SO and SPM, and one year of meteorological data was integrated with the CALPUFF dispersion model.The simulations validated the suitability of existing monitoring stations andhighlighted the importance of meteorological integration.The findings establish that model-based network design provides more reliable outcomes for Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), compliance monitoring, and regulatory decision-making.