Urban Land uses as Catalysts to Ambient Air Quality Degradation in the Metropolitan City of Calabar, Nigeria

Abstract

This study examined urban landuses as catalysts to ambient air quality problems in Calabar metropolis, Nigeria. Data on emission level of CO, NO2, SO2, H2S, and SPM2.5 were acquired using Gasman, while point coordinates were collected using Garmin GPSMap 60CSx device. Student’s ttest statistics and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were employed to test the hypothesis. From findings, the null hypothesis was rejected for all the test parameters (CO, NO2, SO2, H2S, and SPM2.5) because it could not be concluded that the concentration of parameters measured were higher than the FEPA permissible limits for all the parameters. In order to help identify which ones were significantly higher or lower, the column of mean difference and t-value, where the mean difference is on the negative was consulted. This means that the concentration of the parameters in the air was within the FEPA permissible limits. Where that is the case, the calculated t-value is also negative. It should be noted that automated calculation of student’s t-statistics with the SPSS does not make use of the modulus sign. The use of modulus ignores the sign in statistical analysis. For this present student, the result for CO and H2S are within the acceptable limits while those for NO2, SO2 and SPM2.5 are higher than the acceptable limits. It was therefore recommended that there should be protection of the residential land uses to avoid encroachment by incompatible uses which cause pollution. Finally, green areas should be protected due to their potentials as urban green lungs.