Evaluations of Air Quality in Port Harcourt City, Nigeria: How Safe is the City for Human Habitation?

Sowaboma Nicholas Asimiea^1, , Godswill K. Fekarurhobo², Akuro E. Gobo¹, Gloria I. Ndukwe¹ and Anthony Ike Wegbom³

¹Institute of Geosciences and Environmental Management, Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

²Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

³Department of Public Health Sciences, College of Medical Sciences, Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Cite this paper:
Sowaboma Nicholas Asimiea, Godswill K. Fekarurhobo, Akuro E. Gobo, Gloria I. Ndukwe and Anthony Ike Wegbom. Evaluations of Air Quality in Port Harcourt City, Nigeria: How Safe is the City for Human Habitation?. Journal of Environment Pollution and Human Health. 2022; 10(2):54-57. doi: 10.12691/jephh-10-2-3

Abstract

Globally, urban cities are mostly faced with poor air quality. About 4.2 million people die annually due to the exposure to air pollution. This study, therefore, aim to ascertain the environmental safety of an urban city of Port Harcourt by evaluating the air quality index (AQI) of some air parameters. The study involved a descriptive and evaluative analysis of air quality data of eleven stations within Port Harcourt metropolis from May to December 2020. The AQI calculation was performed using EXCEL Microsoft, and the result was classified using USEPA guidelines. The results showed that the highest average monthly concentration of CO₂ and NO₂ was reported in May. SO₂ and PM_2.5 was reported highest in August and October 2020 respectively. Furthermore, CO₂ AQI values in Port Harcourt were observed good throughout the study period (AQI<50), except in November that was observed moderate quality (AQI=58.56). NO₂ AQI values were good (AQI<50) in August, October, and November, while in May, September, and December moderate air quality was observed (AQI is between 71.56 and 85.53). AQI values for SO₂ were above 100, depicting unhealth and hazardous for human habitation. PM_2.5 only in May and October had good air quality (AQI <50), while in the other months were classified moderate (AQI = 74.60-90.50). We conclude that the AQI values indicates that the air quality was good or moderate with respect to CO₂ and NO₂, unhealthy with respect to SO_2, and moderate for PM_2.5 especially at stations with high human activities during the study period. To make the city safer, we recommended that human activities such as open-air combustion of refuse and artisanal refining of crude petroleum should be monitored regularly to check its impact on the air quality.

Keywords:
particulate matter air pollution air quality index Port Harcourt

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

References:

[1]	World Health Organisation. (WHO). Air Pollution. https://www.who.int/health-topics/air-pollution#tab=tab_1 (Accessed 26 March 2022).
[2]	United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. World Urbanization Prospects: The 2014 Revision; Report No: ST/ESA/SER.A/366; United Nations: New York, NY, USA, 2015.
[3]	Büke T and Köne AC (2016). Assessing Air Quality in Turkey: A Proposed, Air Quality Index Sustainability, 8, 73.
[4]	World Health Organization. Air Quality Guidelines Global Update 2005 Particulate matter, Ozone, Nitrogen Dioxide and Sulfur Dioxide; Report No: WHO/SDE/PHE/OEH/06.02; World Health Organization: Geneva, Switzerland, 2006.
[5]	Jafari N, Ebrahimi AA, Mohammadi A, Hajizadeh Y, Abdolahnejadet A. (2017). Evaluation of Seasonal and Spatial Variations of Air Quality Index and Ambient Air Pollutants in Isfahan using Geographic Information System. J Environ Health Sustain Dev.; 2(2): 263-72.
[6]	Katanoda K, Sobue T, Satoh H, (2011). An association between long-term exposure to ambient air pollution and mortality from lung cancer and respiratory diseases in Japan. J Epidemiol. 21(2): 132-43.
[7]	Moustris KP, Ziomas IC, Paliatsos AG (2010). 3- Day-ahead forecasting of regional pollution index for the pollutants NO2, CO, SO2, and O3 using artificial neural networks in Athens, Greece. Water Air Soil Pollut.; 209(1-4): 29-43.
[8]	Zallaghi E, Geravandi S, Haddad MN, (2015). estimation of health effects attributed to nitrogen dioxide exposure using the air q model in Tabriz city, Iran. Health Scope.; 4(4): e30164.
[9]	Kumar A, Goyal P (2011) Forecasting of daily air quality index in Delhi. Sci Total Environ.; 409(24): 5517-23.
[10]	Njoku, K. L., Rumide, T. J., Akinola, M. O., Adesuyi, A. A. and Jolaoso, A. O. (2016). Ambient Air Quality Monitoring in Metropolitan City of Lagos, Nigeria. Journal of Applied Sciences and Environmental Management, 20 (1), 178-185.
[11]	Hvidtfeldt, U. A., Geels, C., Sorensen, M., Matthias Ketzel, M., Khan, J., Tjonneland, A, Christensen, J. H., Brandt, J., Raaschou-Nielsen, O. (2019). Long-term residential exposure to PM2.5 constituents and mortality in a Danish cohort. Environment International 133(20), 105-268.
[12]	Manisalidis, I., Stavropoulou, E., Stavropoulos, A. and Bezirtzoglou, E. (2020). Environmental and Health Impacts of Air Pollution: A Review. Front. Public Health, 8: 14.
[13]	Yousefi, S., Shahsavani, A., Hadei, M. (2019). Applying EPA’s instruction to calculate air quality index (AQI) in Tehran. japh. 4(2): 81-86.
[14]	Ideriah, T. J., & Stanley, H. O. (2008). Air quality around some cement industries in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Scientia Africana, 7(2), 27-34.
[15]	Gobo, A. E., Ideriah, T. J. K., Francis, T. E. & Stanley, H. O. (2012). Assessment of Air Quality and Noise around Okrika Communities, Rivers State, Nigeria. Journal of Applied Science and Environmental Management, 16 (1), 75-83.