Measurement of Air Pollution in Kuwait City Using Passive Samplers

Abstract

Measurements of gaseous SO 2 , NO, NO 2 , H 2 S, O 3 , NH 3 and VOCs, in Kuwait city using IVL passive sampler technology, were obtained on monthly basis during the period from March 2011 to February 2012 at 10 locations. The results of this study reveal that those compounds had low concentrations compared to Kuwait Environment Public Authority standards for residential areas. It is found that nitrogen oxides, benzene and xylene were mostly emitted from motor vehicles; in contrast, industrial sources including oil industries were a major contributor to sulfur dioxide and toluene pollution. Higher concentrations of NOx and SO 2 were recorded during winter season where the inversion layer is quite pronounced thus trapping more pollutants in ambient air, while higher O 3 values were recorded in summer period; the hot season in Kuwait. The spatial distributions of the measured gaseous air pollutants were extremely consistent with the influence of the prevailing wind direction NW. In general and except for PM 10 , the yearly average air quality indices (AQI) of SO 2 , NO 2 , CO and O 3 concentrations are coming under the category of "good" and "moderate".

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“…Background concentration checks using zero air were conducted to correct instrument drift. Highpurity air was sent into the instruments to obtain a daily true zero [Al-Awadhi, 2014].…”

An assessment of ambient air quality in two major cities in the state of Kuwait

“…They, therefore, concluded that these monitoring stations should be relocated to increase the efficiency of the KU-EPA monitoring network. Al-Awadhi, [21] used passive sampler technology to measure many air pollutants gases in Kuwait city on the monthly basis. He reported that gas pollutants had low concentrations compared to KU-EPA standards for residential areas.…”

Autonomous Online Predictive Monitoring System for Hazardous Air Pollution Prediction: A Case Study

“…Kuwait is by no means an exception in the above situation (Al-Awadhi, 2014). There are substantial challenges of environmental concerns in the country due to human life activities.…”

“…Actually consequences of this act are still unfolding. Added to this is the pollution contributed by urban and industrial activities such as vehicle trafficking and industrial plants among many (Al-Awadhi, 2014), which are expanding as Kuwait population and its demands increases. As mentioned before the impacts inflicted on the ecosystem by human's activities are hard to track let alone identify their consequences short and long.…”