A list of interventions to control and manage air pollution in Ulaanbaatar are described in the table below. For full report visit the Urban Air Pollution Analysis for Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The author's comments and suggestions are based on data collected and interviews conducted with experts in Ulaanbaatar in 2007-08.
| Intervention | Status | Impact on air quality | Comments |
| Particulate pollution monitoring | Current capacity to monitor PM pollution in the city is low. Programs in place to setup seven new stations and to conduct source apportionment study for further analysis by National University of Mongolia. | Enhances the Institutional capacity of air quality division in identifying the pollution hot spots. | Air quality monitoring is essential to evaluate the impact of air pollution reduction measures. |
| Public awareness | Media, public, and political demands. There is increased awareness in the local media for air pollution | Enhances institutional capacity for regulation and enforcement. | An essential part of the campaign to promote energy efficiency at the household and industrial level. |
| Improved cookstoves | Pilot program to promote improved stoves is under implementation. A total of 20,000 improved stoves were distributed with 50 percent subsidy (GEF, 2000). Programs are in place for scaling up and introducing new and improved stoves. | This intervention is expected to have an immediate impact on ground level concentrations. Full conversion is estimated to reduce ~11,000 tons of total PM10 emissions or ~9 percent from business as usual in 2010. | Cooking stoves are a low lying source and contribute significantly to indoor and outdoor air pollution, especially in the winter months. Also impact of black carbon or soot due to inefficient coal combustion in stoves and efforts are underway to received financial support under clean development mechanism. |
| Fuel substitution - briquettes | Private and small scale projects are in place producing charcoal briquettes using sawdust. Among the scale-up programs, three programs are in place for production of 300,000 tons a year coal fired briquettes. | Upon full implementation, clean coal technology briquettes for cooking stoves and industrial HoBs is expected to have high impact on ambient PM. Full conversion is estimated to reduce ~12,500 tons of total PM10 emissions or ~10 percent from business as usual in 2010. | This intervention has the largest impact among the cookstoves and HoBs, for not only emissions are reduced from scattered low-lying sources, but also a single point source offering better control options. |
| Pollution control at power plants | Only CHP-4 is using ESP at 95 percent PM capture efficiency. One of the clean coal briquette manufacturing plant is planned at the power plants for efficient production and pollution control. | Although this is an elevated source and doesn’t contribute as much as low-lying sources to ambient levels, it is still the largest emitter in the vicinity. Implementation of ESP for other and new power plants will result in 10-20 percent of ambient PM concentrations. Estimated reductions are ~21,500 tons or ~20% of the 2010 BAU. | Technology for ESPs and FGDs is mature and available internationally at efficiencies higher than 95 percent. |
| Garbage collection | Limited program in place with substantial amount being burnt in-situ | Impact of this intervention on air quality is immediate, but small in proportion. | This requires institutional set-up for garbage collection and landfill management. |
| Liquefied petroleum gas | Half of official taxis are converted to LPG. | Conversion of a larger fleet in the next decade will have significant impact on air quality. | This intervention needs pricing and supply reforms, to make it more widely available. Can be costly to low-income households and high-volume commercial users. Most readily option to replace coal in cooking in the housing sector. |
| Controlling fugitive dust on paved and unpaved roads | Manual sweeping on the main corridors in the center of the city are in place. | A larger intervention for capture of fugitive dust via wet sweeping and conversion of a large section of unpaved roads to paved roads will have the largest impact in the Ger areas. | This intervention is expected to reduce spring and summer time on-road fugitive source. Heavy-duty vehicles for this purpose are available internationally. |
| Going to unleaded gasoline | There is no testing facility for lead in gasoline. | Reduction in lead content in ambient air. | Gasoline is imported and city lacks testing facilities to check lead content in gasoline. This intervention requires a strong resolution to import unleaded gasoline only. |
| Energy efficiency at heat only boilers | A large of old technology boilers are in use operating at 40-50 percent efficiency. | Improving efficiency of existing boilers, replacement of old heating boilers or connecting to new centralized district heating facilities, will have an immediate 30-40 percent reduction in HoBs contribution to ambient air pollution. | Nearly 800 small boilers are operated in the city for heating purposes. This intervention can reduce dispersed pollution by abolishing small scale boilers and upgrading them to district heating system. Increased demand for district heating is expected increase the coal consumption at power plants. |
| Solar water heating systems for new housing complexes | No known activity in place. | Impact on air quality will be immediate due to reduction in demand of district heating when possible. Since Ulaanbaatar experiences on average 250 days of sunlight, this is a likely intervention for new housing complexes. | This is an expensive and a possible short term intervention. With the new 40,000 housing system in plan, the solar water heating can reduce the load on district heating system and power plants. Technology is available internationally. |
| Gasification of urban solid waste | Small scale projects in place using livestock waste. | Impact on air quality is small compared to other sources in place, but a good in-situ source of energy, improving household and industrial efficiency. | In combination with garbage and solid waste management, can supply for small scale energy needs and heating. Technology is well documented and available internationally. |
| Ash ponds at power plants | No known activity in place. | This intervention is expected to reduce spring and summer time fugitive source out of power plants ash ponds. This is a very uncertain source dependant on meteorological conditions. | Technology for using fly ash to make bricks and construction material is well studied and available internationally (TIFAC, 2005). |
| Bus rapid transport | A feasibility study of allowing bus rapid transport is underway. | Fleet is small and their effect may be counteracted by growth in the passenger vehicles and barriers. | This intervention needs further institutional setup and lacks policy frameworks for inspection and maintenance for buses. |
