The relevancy-analysis of air quality index to Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI) in A landfill site of Medan

Abstract

The existence of open dumping in Medan City’s final waste processing since 1993 has certainly had a negative impact in the form of a decrease in air quality which has a further impact on public health problems. This study aims to analyse and maps the distribution of PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations in the Terjun Landfill and to examine the relationship between the air quality index and the prevalence of acute respiratory infection (ARI) in the nearby landfill site. The sampling method for this research uses the manual active and is mapped using the GIS application. The results of ambient air concentrations were converted into an air quality index which subsequently was tested in a statistical correlative method to investigate the prevalence of ARI. The results demonstrated the PM2.5 concentrations ranged from 38.94 – 163.1 µ/m3, the PM10 was between 46.84 – 184.2 µ/m3; indicating an excessive level of national ambient threshold. The distribution of the highest PM2.5 and PM10 is in the active zone of the landfill. The prevalence of ARI in the nearby landfill site showed a strong relationship; 0.86 for PM2.5 and 0.62 for PM10. These findings illustrate a poor-quality air would increase the number of inhabitants with ARI.