


































Energy and Earth Science 
Vol. 3, No. 2, 2020 

www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/ees 

ISSN 2578-1359 (Print)   ISSN 2578-1367 (Online) 

36 
 

Original Paper 

Air Quality Management for Electroplating Industry for 

Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Maharashtra 

Yogesh Gore
1,2

 & Awkash Kumar
3* 

1
 North Maharashtra University, Jalgaon, Maharashtra, India  

2
 Maharashtra Pollution Control Board, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India 

3
 Sustainable Approach for Green Environment, Powai, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India 

*
 Awkash Kumar, Sustainable Approach for Green Environment, Powai, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India 

 

Received: June 4, 2020        Accepted: June 16, 2020        Online Published: August 23, 2020 

doi:10.22158/ees.v3n2p36              URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.22158/ees.v3n2p36 

 

Abstract 

Electroplating is considered to be a major polluting industry because it discharges toxic materials and 

heavy metals through effluent like wastewater, air emissions and solid wastes. There are many 

registered electroplating units in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). The quantities of gaseous 

wastes generated from these industries were estimated and the existing control and treatment 

techniques for these gaseous wastes were evaluated. Further, Air Quality Modeling (AQM) study was 

also carried out to predict the concentration of acid mist with the help of emission, characteristics of 

stack and meteorology. A Gaussian plume model based SCREEN View software was used to predict 

concentrations for two industries which showed that the acid mist emissions from stack were under the 

consented limits. Further, health impact survey was performed at 1km radius of the industry to study 

the effects of air pollution on human health. It showed that 47%, 40% and 57% workers near the 

electroplating industries are suffering from chest pain, eye irritation and breathlessness respectively. 

Clustering of electroplating industries in the MMR will improve the waste management in the region. 

Installation of efficient air pollution control equipment like wet scrubbers can eliminate the hazards 

caused due to acid mist emissions from electroplating industries.  

Keywords 

Electroplating, acid mist, health impact monitoring, fugitive emissions 

  

 

 

 



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1. Introduction 

Air pollution has become a popular issue in the terms of social aspects (Muthukaruppan et al., 2010). 

Plantation is carried out to mitigate the air pollution issue in the region (Bora & Joshi, 2014; Thakar & 

Mishra, 2010). Electroplating is the process of deposition of a fine layer of one metal on another 

through electrolytic process to impart various properties and attributes, such as abrasion & wear 

resistance, corrosion protection, enhanced surface hardness, lustre, colour, aesthetics and value addition 

(Akolkar, Suresh, Varalaxmi, & Kumari, 2015). Electroplating uses electric current and 

electrochemical reaction for making metal coatings (Selhi & Nikhil, 2014). 

It is considered to be a major polluting industry because it discharges toxic materials and heavy metals 

through wastewater (effluent), solid wastes and air emissions into the environment. The effluent from 

electroplating industries have high concentration of heavy metals like Iron, Chromium, Copper and 

Nickel (Singh, 2014). There are many registered electroplating units, located in Mumbai Metropolitan 

Region (MMR). These plants are divided into region I, II, III, IV. Many of these industries are operated 

at a small scale and hence environmental compliance and waste management is not given due 

importance. Due to the high treatment costs, the wastewater, solid waste and gaseous emissions from 

these industries are released without any prior treatment leading to deterioration of nearby land, air and 

water. Small scale entrepreneurs owning these electroplating industries and the employees there are 

either ignorant of health impacts or environmental effects of effluent discharge or are worried that it 

would be a financial burden to them (Singh, 2014). Electroplating industry has been generating a huge 

amount of waste in the forms of wastewater, spent solvent, spent process solutions and sludge 

(Freeman, 1988). Solid waste includes residues such as cleaning powder, buffing compounds generated 

during the pre-treatment process and spent anodes during the plating process. Liquid wastes includes 

spent chemicals and solutions such as acids, alkali, cleaning agents, bath chemicals comprising plating 

chemicals as well as additives such as brighteners, levellers etc. and rinse waters. Gaseous wastes 

include solvents and vapours from hot pre-treatment and process baths. Acid alkali mist and Volatile 

Organic Compounds (VOCs) are the gaseous wastes from electroplating industries. In some cases, 

mists and VOCs may contain metals in addition to process chemicals. Mist is produced when gases 

generated at the electrodes during the process rise to the surface as bubbles, then burst, and spray fine 

particles of the plating solution into the atmosphere above the surface (Mason, Lorimer, Saleem, & 

Paniwnyk, 2001). Air emissions from electroplating industries may contain toxic organic materials 

such as trichloroethylene and trichloroethane (Singh, Ram, & Kumar, 2016). Around 30% of the used 

solvent and degreasing chemicals release VOC (Cushine, 1985) (United States Environment Protection 

Agency, 1980). The minimization of the air emissions to be adopted is related to the optimum bath 

temperature control and the preventive maintenance of the suction and filtration unit or scrubber 

(Ramesh Babu, Udaya Bhanu, & Seeni Meera, 2009).  

 

 



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The disposal of untreated effluent from electroplating industries into the environment can cause 

toxicity to aquatic flora and fauna, sewage toxicity, ground and surface water pollution and it can also 

cause problems in biological treatment process employed for treatment of sewage (Nair, Chandrakar, & 

Nandkumar, 2016). 

In this study, electroplating industries of MMR region were assessed for various gaseous pollutants 

with the help of stack monitoring. The health of people residing in 1km radius from the electroplating 

industry was monitored to check for the health hazards caused due to improper waste management. 

 

2. Study Area 

The study focuses on the electroplating industries confined in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). 

The study area shown in Figure 1 highlights the MMR, Maharashtra. The MMR spreads over 4,355 sq. 

km. consists of 8 Municipal Corporations along with more than 1,000 villages in Thane and Raigad 

Districts. Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) is responsible for the 

development of the MMR. Due to rapid urbanization, the region was illegally developed in a haphazard 

manner. It has many registered electroplating units. These units are divided in region I, II, III, IV.  

Project synopsis focuses on the industries located in region II of MMR. Two electroplating industries 

from region II of MMR were visited and the general information about these industries is given in 

Table 1. The main source of wastes from electroplating units are identified as drag out losses, 

concentrated liquid wastes, spent acid bath, spent alkali baths, spent passivation dip and rinse water. 

The effluents from electroplating industries have high concentration of heavy metals like Iron, 

Chromium, Copper and Nickel. As example, in India, river quality Yamuna river quality has 

deteriorated due to discharge of untreated or inadequately treated industrial effluents from nearby 

electroplating industries into the river (Singh, 2014). 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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Figure 1. Mumbai Metropolitan Region 

 

Table 1. General Information of the Industries Visited 

S.No. 
Name of the 

Industry 

Water 

consumption 

(lpd) 

Waste Water 

Generation 

(lpd) 

Solid and 

Hazardous Waste 

Generation (kg/m) 

Existing Pollution 

Control Methods 

1 Industry A 2000 400-500 10 
Hood system for 

pickling unit 

2 Industry B 3000 2000 30 
Hood system and 

Wet Scrubber 

Note. Industry names have been hidden for confidentiality.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

N 



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3. Methodology 

The data for the study was collected in two stages, i.e., air quality study and its health impact. The 

focus of the study was to check for the air pollution levels due to acid mist. Two industries were 

selected to carry out air pollution studies based on emissions and meteorology. Ground level 

concentrations were predicted. Air quality study was conducted to obtain the existing acid fume 

concentration in the work place. It also gives an idea about dispersion of pollutant from stack within a 

certain range. A Gaussian plume based modeling software SCREEN view was used to find out the 

dispersion of emission from stack which aided in prediction of concentration of pollutants around stack. 

SCREEN View software also gives an idea about the modifications required in the technology to 

reduce the emission concentration from stack. This software was used with the help of general 

meteorological condition for finding ground level concentration of effluent from a stack at a particular 

hour. 

A questionnaire was prepared to establish a relation between the waste management of electroplating 

industries and its impact on the health and well-being of the workers. The suitability of the work place 

for the workers was checked, along with the health complications the workers have due to the acid mist. 

Survey was done around the region of Industry A electroplaters and Industry B, located at Jogeshwari 

and Goregaon respectively. Health monitoring study was done on 47 people around the periphery of 

500 m of the industries.  Survey was conducted on people of 15-60 years of age residing in the 

vicinity of the industry. Maximum people surveyed were of the age 26-35 years which is the working 

population of the region. Workers who are routinely exposed to the emissions are susceptible to 

adverse health impact (Singh, 2014). Heavy metal exposure has been known to cause developmental 

retardation, different types of cancers, kidney damage, and even death in some instances of exposure to 

very high concentrations (Glover-Kerkvliet, 1995). A bio-monitoring study, conducted to assess the 

exposure in the electroplating industry showed that exposure to chromium and nickel compounds in the 

electroplating industry occurs via combination of inhalation, dermal and ingestion routes (Beattie et al., 

2017). 

 

4. Results and Discussion 

The results obtained from the air pollution modelling study and human health impact assessment are 

discussed in Section 4.1 and 4.2, respectively.  

4.1 Results of Air Pollution Study 

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is responsible for administering and 

enforcing the federal OSH Act of 1970. These regulations set out uniform national standards for 

workplace safety and health practices throughout the country. According to OSHA, the maximum 

allowed concentration of acid mist is 7 mg/m
3
. Acid mist is a mist containing a high concentration of 

acid or particles of any toxic chemical. The input data consisted of emission rates, stack height, stack 

diameter, exit velocity and temperature of gases, ambient air temperature and wind speed. 



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4.1.1 Industry A Electroplaters 

Industry A electroplaters had filter bags installed to control the air pollution caused due to fugitive 

emissions. This industry has a hood system connected to the pickling unit to control source 

emission/fugitive emission but the hood system was not provided at electrochemical bath. Air quality 

studies were conducted to analyse the emissions from the stack of Industry A Electroplaters. The input 

data is given in Table 2. 

 

Table 2. Input Data 

Source Type Point 

Emission rate (g/s) 0.049 

Stack height (m) 3.04 

Stack inside diameter (m) 1.0 

Stack exit velocity (m/s) 1.4 

Stack gas exit temp (k) 310 

Ambient air temp (k) 293 

Wind Speed (m/s) 1 

 

The modelled results, as shown in Table 3, and the graph, as shown in Figure 2, gave details of the 

automated distances and concentrations at 100 m intervals from the stack. As the stack was short and 

large, it was found that ground level concentrations at 1m distance from the stack were the highest. The 

concentrations were found to be inversely proportional to the distances. 

 

Table 3. Modelled Results 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Distance (m) Concentration (µg/m3) 

1 71.57 

100 57.7 

200 25.2 

300 17.21 

400 11.90 

500 8.69 



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As given in Table 3, the maximum concentration of acid mist at ground level was 71.57 µg/m
3
 which is 

less than the prescribed limits. Hence, it can be concluded that the bag filters installed by Industry A 

Electroplaters for controlling fugitive emissions were working efficiently. And the hood provided for 

controlling acid mist emissions was beneficial. To decrease the emissions further, the stack height 

needs to be increased and the stack diameter should be decreased.  

 

 

Figure 2. Automated Distances vs. Concentration 

 

4.1.2 Industry B 

Industry B is located in Goregaon East and specializes in jewelry coating. The pollution control unit 

here had hood systems connected to wet scrubber to control source emission/fugitive emission. The 

input data for Industry B is given in Table 4. The emission rates for Industry A and Industry B were 

found to be almost the same. However, the emission levels at the ground level differed for the two 

industries due to the difference in the stack heights.  

 

Table 4. Input Data 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source type Point 

Emission rate (g/s) 0.0427 

Stack height (m) 6.1 

Stack inside diameter (m) 0.80 

Stack exit velocity (m/s) 2.98 

Stack gas exit temp (k) 310.00 

Ambient air temp (k) 293.00 

Wind Speed (m/s) 1 



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The diameter of the stack in Industry B. was smaller and hence there was proper dispersion of the 

emissions and the concentration at the ground level near the stack was significantly lower compared to 

Industry A Electroplaters. The modeled results for Industry B are given in Table 5.  

 

Table 5. Modeled Results 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Table 5 and Figure 3, it can be concluded that the higher stack height and smaller diamater leads 

to better dispersion of gaseous pollutants and the pollutant concentration found at the ground level near 

the stack is almost negligible. Highest concentration was observed at a distance of 100m from the stack 

and was found to be 37.63 µg/m
3
 which is significantly lower than the standards prescribed by OSHA. 

This implies that the industry is taking sufficient air pollution control measures for treating the acid 

mist that is generated during the electroplating process. 

 

 

Figure 3. Automated Distances vs. Concentration 

 

 

 

 

Distance (m) Concentration (µg/m
3
) 

1 0.00 

100 37.63 

200 14.30 

300 11.97 

400 8.98 

500 6.84 



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4.2 Results from Questionnaire for Health Impact Studies 

The results obtained from the questionnaire survey for the health impact study has been summarized in 

this Section.  

 

 

Figure 4. Percentage Responses of People on Various Health Impacts 

 

Figure 4 gives the results of the survey and it can be seen that the chest problem (47%) is the most 

predominant health issue faced by the people living in the vicinity of the industry, followed by eye irritation 

at 40% and skin problems at 26%. 

 

 

Figure 5. Percentage Representation of Response of People Who Said Yes 



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As seen from Figure 5, among all the people who reported of having any health issue, the maximum 

number of people (37%) have chest related problems while the minimum number of people (10%) have 

mucous membrane irritation problem. Around 32 % of the people claimed of experiencing eye 

irritation. This can be due to the fumes that are generated in the electroplating operations like pickling, 

degreasing and electrochemical bath. It was observed that the people above 35 years of age were more 

susceptible to health problems than the younger people. 

Response for Chest Related Problems  

The most common health problems in electroplating industry are related to chest. This could be due to 

the constant exposure to toxic chemicals and fumes which were emitted into the atmosphere without 

any prior treatment. Figure 6 shows results from the survey which was specifically focused on chest 

related problems like breathlessness, chest tightening, watering eyes and blocked/runny nose. During 

this survey, it was observed that many of the people were claiming to have these problems.   

 

Figure 6. Percentage Responses for Chest Health Issues 

 

 



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Figure 7. Percentage Representations of People Who Said Yes and Had Chest Issues 

 

It can be observed from Figure 7 that more than half of the people approached claimed to have some 

form of chest problems like bouts of coughing and breathlessness. Among the people with chest 

problems, 9% people reported chest tightness, 23% reported bouts of coughing, 9% of them have 

running/ blocking nose, 16% were suffering from watering eyes, 18% were having the problem of 

wheezing. The maximum number of people (25%) claimed to have breathlessness while watering eyes 

and bouts of coughing can also be seen as major problems. 

These health issues could be due to the long term exposure to acid mist which is present in high 

concentration in the ambient air in the region. People living near the industries which do not use 

scrubbers and fume hoods are at a great risk of heavy exposure to these acid fumes. It was also 

observed in the survey that the people were mostly suffering from chest problems and respiratory 

disorders as these fumes were affecting their lungs. 

 

5. Conclusions and Recommendations 

Electroplating industry generates gaseous emissions, wastewater and solid waste. Acid mist is 

predominant in the air emissions because of extensive use of highly concentrated acid. Very few 

industries have proper control technology for treating liquid effluent and gaseous emissions. Since most 

of these industries are operated at small scale, they cannot afford to have proper control and treatment 

equipment. Installing such treatment equipment will increase the cost of their products compared to the 

rest of the market. SCREEN View modeling software was conducted to find the acid mist dispersion 

concentration from the stack. It was observed that emissions from industries undertaken for study were 

below the consented limit of acid mist from stack given by Maharashtra Pollution Control Board 

(MPCB). The modeling study showed that the concentrations of acid mist at ground level were 71.57 

µg/m
3
 and 37.63 µg/m

3
 for Industry A Electroplaters and Industry B, respectively. It can be concluded 

from the study that in order to have lower acid mist concentrations at ground level, higher stack height 

and smaller stack diameter should be provided.  



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From the results of the health monitoring survey, it can be concluded that majority of the people who 

are staying around the electroplating industries are suffering from chest problems, eye irritation and 

ulcers. Immediate steps need to be taken in order to protect the health of the people living in nearby 

areas. 

Installation of scrubbers will control acid mist emissions. Also, minimizing the use of raw material, 

reducing the drag out losses, modification of rinsing technique, and replacement of hexavalent chrome 

by trivalent chrome can further reduce the negative impacts in the environment caused due to 

electroplating industries. Installation of air pollution control equipment like electrostatic precipitator, 

fabric filters, cyclone separators and settling chambers should be done for removal of particulate matter. 

Acid fumes hood should be used for coverage of fugitive emissions through ventilation process. 

However, coverage of fugitive emissions should be done by providing hood to collect acid fumes 

through ventilation process. 

Clustering is recommended for the electroplating industries in the MMR region. Shifting all the 

electroplating industries to a common place will directly affect the growth and development of the 

industry. It will also help in stabilizing the electroplating market.  

 

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