Magnetic susceptibility as a proxy for pollution in Triveni-Bandel area, Hooghly district, West Bengal, India

This study aims at tracing the distribution and concentration of contaminants in fly ash along roads and highways with appreciable traffic by using magnetic proxies. Magnetic susceptibility is used for pollution mapping in the field. The distribution of susceptibility values represents polluted areas strongly influenced by traffic frequency, roadside topography, meteorological conditions (e.g. wind direction) and other factors. A magnetic phase was found to be responsible for the enhancement of magnetic signal in roadside ash. Magnetic methods provide effective tools for delineation of industrial pollution such as fly ash. In the area studied, magnetic susceptibility proved to be an excellent proxy for analysis of intensity of pollution yielding interesting results.