Greener Journal of Physical Sciences

Greener Journal of  Physical Sciences  Vol. 3 (7), pp. 247-254, November 2013.  

ISSN: 2276-7851 © 2011 Greener Journals

Research Paper

Manuscript Number: 130913840

 

Baseline, Spatial and Temporal Variation of Respirable [PM_2.5] Particulate Matter in Isoko Land

 

*Oke Michael Aziakpono, E.E. Ukpebor and J.E. Ukpebor

 

Department of Chemistry, University of Benin, Benin-city, Nigeria.

 

*Corresponding Author’s Email: mykeazi @ yahoo.com

Abstract:

Airborne particles are the most obvious form of air pollutants in Nigeria; a link is now being established between the low life expectancy in Nigeria and the ubiquitous suspended particulate matter.
 This article quantified the baseline, spatial and temporal distributions of PM2.5 airborne particles in Isoko land with numerous oil wells and flow stations. It has been established that the health effects of atmospheric particulate matter are related to its ability to permeate the respiratory system. It has been generally recognized that, respiratory defense mechanisms have the ability to retain up to 99 percent of particles larger than 10µm from the inhaled air stream but the smaller particles (2.5µm and less) which are called respirable particles, are highly toxic because of their ability to penetrate deep into the respiratory tract and blood stream where they cause various forms of respiratory and pulmonary diseases.
 Airborne particulate matter quantification in this study was accomplished by using a Microdust Pro real time dust monitor (Casella CEL 176000A). Sampling was done for a year in the seventeen (17) sampling sites created in the study area. A baseline PM2.5 range of 4 – 310 µg/m3 was measured.
 There was uniformity in the distribution of respirable particles (PM2.5) at the sampling sites (ANOVA, P=0.6669, F=0.8156, df 16). The dry season PM2.5 values were statistically significantly higher (ANOVA, P= 2.377E-35, F=29.18, df 11) than the wet season levels.
 Quite worrisome, is the breach of the National Ambient Air Quality standard (NAAQS) 24 hours PM2.5 threshold of 65µg/m3 limit in all the sampling sites and this means that the quality of air breathe in by the people is poor and it is a pointer to quality of life in Isoko land. Violation of this limit is also suggestive of health and environmental concerns. The sources identified to contribute the highest values are vehicular traffic and re-suspended dust due to the condition of the roads and direct farming activities (anthropogenic particles).
 
Keywords: Respirable particulate matter, baseline, spatial, temporal, cluster.
 

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