Abstract
Industrial activities contribute immensely to high emission rates of particulate matter (PM) and other pollutants into the ambient air. The siting of industrial plants close to a populated area can have adverse implications on human health and the environment at large. The industrialization and urbanization of Lagos megacity, has led to increased pressure on the city especially on air quality. The chemical complexity of airborne particles makes it imperative to consider their composition and sources of emission. This paper deals with the assessment of particulate matter pollution in an industrial and a non industrial area of Lagos State. Samples of PM 2.5 were collected with an air sampler (Airmetric model 5.0) between November 2018 and April 2019. Elemental analysis was carried out using Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS). Particulate mass loading obtained was in the range of 51.28 to 190.48 μg/m 3 and 41.67 to 88.89 μg/m 3 in the industrial and control area respectively. Enrichment factor (EF) and principal component Analysis (PCA) were used for source identification. The EF analysis revealed that; Pb, Cd, Cu, Ni and Na were severely enriched while K and Ca were moderately enriched in virtually all the sites. The result of the PCA showed that the major sources of these elements were industrial/vehicular emission, marine, road dust, crustal dust and incineration. Keywords: Fine particulate matter, elemental characterization and source identification. DOI : 10.7176/JNSR/9-24-03 Publication date: December 31 st 2019
Highlights
Particulate matter (PM) pollution is very severe in emerging mega-cities in Nigeria such as Lagos, Port-Harcourt, Aba, Kano and Abuja
3.1 Mass Concentration of Particulate Matter μg/m3 The PM2.5 mass loadings obtained in the receptor sites ranged from 51.28 to 190.48 μg/m3 and 41.67 to 88.89 μg/m3 in the industrial area and control area respectively as against the regulatory limit of 25 μg/m3 (WHO 2015)
The observed difference in the PM2.5 mass loadings in the various receptor sites may be attributed to the variation in anthropogenic activities in the different receptor sites
Summary
Particulate matter (PM) pollution is very severe in emerging mega-cities in Nigeria such as Lagos, Port-Harcourt, Aba, Kano and Abuja This is due to the increasing industrialization and urbanization in these areas (Offor et al 2016). Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) with aerodynamic diameter, dae ≤ 2.5 μm) which is the respirable fraction of particulates is of most health concern This is because, once inhaled it can penetrate into the deepest part of the lungs such as the bronchioles or alveoli, accumulate there and cause detrimental health conditions (USEPA 2008). Specific to Nigeria, the severities of particulates health implications in highly industrialized and urbanized cities have been reported (Ifeanyichukwu 2002) It becomes necessary for periodic adequate and up-to-date studies on the level of concentration and sources of ambient airborne PM; especially PM2.5 in the city considering its serious health implications. Sites in each industrial were carefully chosen to represent an industrial type in a manner that predominant pollutants emitted by the industries and other commercial activities around the sampling site would be captured
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