Abstract
PM10 concentration in the ambient air has been reported to be the main pollutant affecting human health, particularly in the urban areas. This research is conducted to study the variation of PM10 concentration at the three urban-industrial areas in Malaysia, namely Shah Alam, Kuala Terengganu and Melaka. In addition, the association and correlation between PM10 concentration and other air pollutants will be distinguished. Five years interval dataset (2008-2012) consisting of PM10, SOX, NOX and O3 concentrations and other weather parameters such as wind speed, humidity and temperature were obtained from Department of Environment, Malaysia. Shah Alam shows the highest average of PM10 concentration with the value of 62.76 μg/m3 in June, whereas for Kuala Terengganu was 59.29 μg/m3 in February and 46.61 μg/m3 in August for Melaka. Two peaks were observed from the time series plot using the averaged monthly PM10 concentration. First peak occurs when PM10 concentration rises from January to February and the second peak is reached in June and remain high for the next two consecutive months for Shah Alam and Kuala Terengganu. Meanwhile the second peak for Melaka is only achieved in August as a result of the transboundary of smoke from forest fires in the Sumatra region during dry season from May to September. Both of the pollutants can be sourced from rapid industrial activities at Shah Alam. PM10 concentration is strongly correlated with carbon monoxide concentration in Kuala Terengganu and Melaka with value of r2 = 0.1725 and 0.2744 respectively. High carbon monoxide and PM10 concentration are associated with burning of fossil fuel from increased number of vehicles at these areas.
Highlights
In Malaysia, PM10 is one of the major air pollutants and is decisive in the determination of Malaysian Air Pollution Index (API) [1]
The results show that there were two peaks observed in all the three study areas, which occurred in February and June (Shah Alam and Kuala Terengganu) while for Melaka, the second peak is in August
The variations of PM10 concentration in the three urban-industrial areas i.e. Shah Alam, Kuala Terengganu and Melaka were analysed in this study
Summary
In Malaysia, PM10 is one of the major air pollutants and is decisive in the determination of Malaysian Air Pollution Index (API) [1]. Air pollution can only be controlled through the emission sources pathways. Alteration of both indoor and outdoor air quality may happens when chemical, biological or physical agents are present in the original air composition. Particulate matter in air pollution has been reported to be the imperceptible health deteriorating issue in Malaysia among these environmental pollution problems as indication in the Air Pollution Index (API) [1]. About 6.5 million people were reported death due to deteriorate indoor and urban air quality in 2012 [2]. The areas of interest are within an urban-industrial environment that are Shah Alam, Kuala Terengganu and Melaka with the claim that urbanisation with industrial development can speeds up the rate of vehicle exhaust emission
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