Description of outdoor air quality in a typical residential area in Kuwait

Abstract

This paper presents a statistical analysis of the data collected by the air pollution mobile laboratory operated by Kuwait University. The experimental work was based on operating the mobile laboratory in the Mansouriya residential area for a period of 1 month (May 1994). The site was selected to represent a typical residential area which is impacted mainly by the heavy traffic into and out of Kuwait city. The levels of carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2) and ozone (O 3) were selected for analysis. These are the pollutants likely to result from traffic movement in any urban area. Sulphur dioxide (SO 2) was also monitored during the same period. The measured variables include some meteorological parameters such as temperature, relative humidity, atmospheric pressure, solar radiation, wind speed and wind direction, which were also recorded at the same time. The study investigates the atmospheric levels of pollutants in the Mansouriya area and the expected source contributing to these pollutants. The objective of this work was to measure the atmospheric levels of pollution in terms of NO, CO, NO 2, SO 2 and O 3 and to compare with the international standard limits for urban areas. Another objective of the study was to study the diurnal variations of these pollutants. The results of this study indicate that the levels of air pollutants are within the recommended range for residential areas according to US Environmental Protection Agency standards. The distribution of CO was correlated with heavy traffic movement during rush hours. However, SO 2 levels also followed a similar pattern. This was attributed to heavy diesel operational equipment and trucks at the highway construction site near the area of study. The hourly distributions of CO, NO and NO 2 were also compared over the days of the week. The results show that no morning peaks were detected for these gases during weekends. Correlation between O 3 levels and NO and NO 2 was also carried out. The O 3 levels show a peak at the early morning hours and a major peak during midday. This is attributed to the photochemical reactions during the month of May which is the real start of summer in this area.