Abstract
Urban air pollution from gaseous pollutants is a growing public health problem in many countries including South Africa. Examining the levels, trends and health risk of exposure to ambient gaseous pollutants will assist in understanding the effectiveness of existing control measures and plan for suitable management strategies. This study determined the concentration levels and non-cancer risk of CO, SO2, NO2, and O3 at an industrial area in Pretoria West, South Africa. We utilised a set of secondary data for CO, NO2, SO2, and O3 that was obtained from a monitoring station. Analysis of the hourly monitored data was done. Their non-cancer risk (HQ) was determined using the human health risk assessment model for different age categories. The annual levels of NO2 (39.442 µg/m3), SO2 (22.464 µg/m3), CO (722.003 µg/m3) and the 8-hour concentration of CO (649.902 µg/m3) and O3 (33.556 µg/m3) did not exceed the South African National Ambient Air Quality Standards for each pollutant. The HQ for each pollutant across exposed groups (except children) was less than 1. This indicates that the recorded levels could not pose non-cancer risk to susceptible individuals.
Highlights
Urban air pollution from gaseous pollutants is a growing environmental and public health problem in many cities of the world [1,2]
Carbon monoxide (CO), Nitrogen dioxide (NO2 ), Sulphur dioxide (SO2 ), and Ozone (O3 ) are gaseous pollutants that have been internationally recognised as environmental priority air pollutants since they can constitute a threat to human health and the environment [3]
Reduction in lung function in children with a history of persistent asthma resulting from exposure to modest ambient concentrations of NO2, NO, PM10, and SO2 has been reported in South Africa [4]
Summary
Urban air pollution from gaseous pollutants is a growing environmental and public health problem in many cities of the world [1,2]. Carbon monoxide (CO), Nitrogen dioxide (NO2 ), Sulphur dioxide (SO2 ), and Ozone (O3 ) are gaseous pollutants that have been internationally recognised as environmental priority air pollutants since they can constitute a threat to human health and the environment [3]. A possible association between short-term exposure to SO2 and adverse endpoints, including gastrointestinal disorders and inflammation of the blood vessels, has been reported [8]. Association between day-to-day variations in NO2 concentration and mortality, hospital admissions and respiratory symptoms was reported by the World Health Organization [9]
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