Air pollution assessment at University of Al-Qadisiyah associated with traffic from neighbouring roads

Abstract

Air pollution is one of the most complex environmental problems, and transportation is one of the most important factors that contribute to air pollution in urban areas. This study aims to examine the relationship between traffic volumes and air pollution, the effect of emissions according to the type of vehicle and the effect of the presence of bumps, and the change in vehicle driving speed. The University of Al-Qadisiyah street has been selected as a study area that faces frequent traffic congestion on neighboring roads and does not have an air quality monitoring system Therefore, mathematical models are useful for assessing the environmental impact of air pollution. Sidra Trip software is used to calculate the vehicle’s source emission rate while Arc GIS software is used to represent pollutant maps based on geographical statistical models using a digital city model. The traffic volumes have been also calculated in the peak times. The receivers are identified from weather, topography, and emission data sources. The air pollutants resulting from traffic movement were measured in the study area (PM2.5, PM10, NOX, SOX, CO, CO2, and other gases). It is found that the air quality index (AQI) within the range of 150-249 is completely unhealthy. The simulations results showed the weather and topographical conditions of the campus district in favour of dispersal of the air pollutants, as the vehicles greatly affect the air quality in the area. The simulation results showed a good agreement between the modelling results and the developed mathematical models.