Abstract
Particulate matter (PM) accounts for millions of premature deaths in the human population every year. Due to social and economic inequality, growing human dissatisfaction manifests in waves of strikes and protests all over the world, causing paralysis of institutions, services and circulation of transport. In this study, we aim to investigate air quality in Ecuador during the national protest of 2019, by studying the evolution of PM2.5 (PM ≤ 2.5 µm) concentrations in Ecuador and its capital city Quito using ground based and satellite data. Apart from analyzing the PM2.5 evolution over time to trace the pollution changes, we employ machine learning techniques to estimate these changes relative to the business-as-usual pollution scenario. In addition, we present a chemical analysis of plant samples from an urban park housing the strike. Positive impact on regional air quality was detected for Ecuador, and an overall − 10.75 ± 17.74% reduction of particulate pollution in the capital during the protest. However, barricade burning PM peaks may contribute to a release of harmful heavy metals (tire manufacture components such as Co, Cr, Zn, Al, Fe, Pb, Mg, Ba and Cu), which might be of short- and long-term health concerns.
Highlights
Particulate matter (PM) accounts for millions of premature deaths in the human population every year
It was observed that Ecuadorian regional air quality during those dates was highly affected by the volcanic activity (Fig. 1a–c)
Satellite data indicates that the main changes were observed in capital Quito, where PM2.5 levels reduced during the 12-day (October 2–13, 2019) political protest
Summary
Particulate matter (PM) accounts for millions of premature deaths in the human population every year. Particulate matter (PM) has become one of the leading causes of human health problems around the world, often due to the toxicity of its chemical composition. These micro-sized air pollutants are responsible for millions of premature deaths each year, attributable to the damage imposed on the respiratory and cardiovascular systems[1,2,3]. Vehicle tire smoke—a common protest tool in Latin America due to its black smoke—can contain a large amount of highly toxic metals used in its manufacture[27,28]. This raises a concern for a rapid deterioration in air quality during those events
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