Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Evaluation of Air Pollutant Levels in Dire-Dawa City, Ethiopia

2017; Volume: 7; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.19080/ijesnr.2017.07.555711

2572-1119

Knife Mesfin,

Air Quality Monitoring and Forecasting

Our planet earth is enclosed by a blanket of gaseous mixtures that can cause a harmful effect on life when present in excess of the natural abundance limit.These gaseous substances in the air we breathe, depending on their properties, magnitude and composition could benefit and/or risk the health of humans, animals and aquatic organisms.The existences of unwanted gases in the air we breathe are referred as air pollution, which implies the presence of harmful substances in the ambient air and have an outdoor and indoor sources.Air pollution has a wide array of negative health effects which are believed to be associated with air pollution exposure, among of which are respiratory diseases, cardiovascular diseases, adverse pregnancy outcomes, poor visibility, reproductive and neurological disorders.Air pollution is one of the most dangerous environmental problems, causing many adverse health effects and responsible for the death of many people each year worldwide.The objective of this study was to evaluate the levels of air [CO2, NO2, SO2, CO, VOC] pollutants around the sampling spots (commercial, residential, mixed and industrial) of the City and initiate the city administration to take mitigation measures on time.The methodology used to collect and measure the selected air pollutants was site selection on field visit and use of Aeroquip series 500 that is employed for quick and short-time measuring of air pollutant levels.The results of the study showed that the levels of nitrogen dioxide (0.0446 ppm), carbon dioxide (459 ppm) and volatile organic compounds (514 ppm) was high in commercial and mixed spots respectively.In residential and industrial spots the values of NO2 and CO2 were close to each other with some differences for volatile organic compounds.But carbon monoxide (CO) and sulphur dioxide (SO2) were below the measuring capacity of the sensor and no value was obtained.Thus improper land use, low awareness, and inadequate enforcement of laws are considered as the main contributors for ambient air pollution in the city.