Toxicological assessment of chlorine concentration in atmospheric particulate matter in Benin City, Nigeria

Abstract

Chlorine gas is widely known as obnoxious gas in the environment. It is well documented that little amount of chlorine gas in the atmosphere can cause pulmonary edema, pneumonitis, emphysema, bronchitis, and irritation of eyes, throat, and nose, just to mention a few. The thrust of this work is to investigate the breathing disease and health hazard emanating from the inhalation of chlorine concentration in particulate matter during job activities. This work was conducted among 120 employers from nine (9) industries. Information of the various ailments were gathered by using questionnaires and spirometry. The spirometry has an opening in which one blows in air to determine the lung volume. The commonest symptoms in the work were cough 47.5%, phlegm expectoration 50.0%, wheeze 5.8%, chest tightness 10.0%, chest pain 5.7%, breathlessness 8.3%, and cough with phlegm 8.3%. The concentration of chlorine in the total suspended particle ranged from 0.005 to 0.189 ppm, while the mean concentration of chlorine in the inhalable particle ranged from 0.112 to 0.270 ppm, and the concentration of chlorine gas in respirable particle ranged from 0.070 to 0.266 ppm. Further study should be conducted to enable establishment of reference level for the state.