Spatiotemporal Assessment of Air Quality in Selected Lga in Rivers State

Abstract

The pollution of ambient air has long been revealed as the most fatal form of environmental pollution. The levels of air pollution vary from one location to another and from time to time. This study investigated the spatiotemporal distribution of air pollutants in Port Harcourt metropolis. Nine points in the study area were purposefully sampled within two pick-periods (8 am and 4 pm), based on high industrial clusters, high vehicular traffic, and rising human population density. The concentrations of PM2.5, PM10, CO, SO2, and NO2 were measured using a hand-held Gas analyser; Aerocet-531 Met One Instrument, Drager X-am 5000. A handheld Germin-300 GPS device analyzer to record the GPS coordinates of the sampling points which aided the data processing, to develop spatial interpolation maps in ArcMap. The results of air quality parameters were above the WHO and FMEnv air quality standards. PM 2.5 and PM10 have a maximum value of 159.23 and 378.39 respectively which is higher than the WHO and FMEnv Standard limits for 24 hours exposure. The recorded exceedance is 68.5ppb, 28.7ppb and 113.7ppb for SO2, NO2, and CO respectively, in the wet season. Also, 71.1ppb, 15.31ppb and 58.9 ppb for SO2, NO2, and CO respectively in the dry season, are higher than WHO and FMEnv limited. Based on these, it is recommended that the populace of Port Harcourt city should limit their exposure, especially in the dry season.