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- Gaita, Samuel Mwaniki, 1976
(författare)
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Air quality assessment and pollution measurements in a typical Sub-Sahara African city: Nairobi, Kenya
- 2016
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Exposure to air pollution is detrimental to human health and is reported to cause about 7 million premature deaths in 2012 according to the World Health Organization. In sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) cities, air quality issue is complex due to challenges resulting from the rapid growth of urban population, poor infrastructure development and an exponential increase in number of vehicles. The problem is compounded by lack of continuous monitoring of air pollution in most SSA cities. In this work, sources of particulate matter (PM) were identified as traffic, mineral dust, industrial, combustion, biomass burning, secondary aerosol and aged sea salt using positive matrix factorization analysis. Traffic and mineral dust factors were found to contribute about 74% of PM2.5 mass (aerodynamic particle diameter less than 2.5 µm). Analysis of size-segregated PM showed the crustal elements (Si and Fe) dominated in all the measured PM size fractions. K, Cu, Zn and Pb displayed a bimodal mass-size distribution pattern emphasizing the multiplicity of their sources. Statistics from size-segregated data was utilized in calculating the deposition fractions of PM in human respiratory system. The head airways region had the highest percentage for both coarse (87%) and fine particles (84%) compared to the tracheobronchial and pulmonary regions. Given the high average PM2.5 concentration (98 µg m-3) measured in the main street of Nairobi city, the urban population is regularly exposed to elevated pollutants concentrations with potentially health risks implications. The information resulting from this study provides a foundation for policy formulation and mitigation strategies with regard to air pollution and quality in SSA cities.
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| 2. |
- Gaita, Samuel Mwaniki, 1976, et al.
(författare)
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Characterization of Size-Fractionated Particulate Matter and Deposition Fractions in Human Respiratory System in a Typical African City: Nairobi, Kenya
- 2016
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Ingår i: Aerosol and Air Quality Research. - : Taiwan Association for Aerosol Research. - 2071-1409 .- 1680-8584. ; 16:10, s. 2378-2385
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Information from elemental and mass composition of size-fractionated airborne particle matter (PM) provides insightfulknowledge about their impact on human health, meteorology and climate. To attain insight into the nature of sizefractionatedPM from a typical African city, samples were collected from an urban background site in Nairobi, Kenya,during the months of August and September in 2007. PM samples ranging in size from 0.06 to 16 µm aerodynamicdiameter were collected on pre-weighed polycarbonate filters with 0.4 µm pore size using a nine-stage cascade impactor.Particles less than 0.06 µm were collected on a backup filter. A total of 170 samples were collected and analysed for traceelements using the Proton Induced X-Ray Emission (PIXE) technique. The analysis showed that Si, Fe and S dominated inall size ranges and displayed unimodal mass-size distribution whereas K, Cu, Zn and Pb, depicted bimodal mass-sizedistribution highlighting the multiplicity of their sources. To estimate human exposure to PM, deposition fractions of boththe coarse and fine PM in the human respiratory system were calculated. The deposited concentration was found to behighest in the head airways region compared to the tracheobronchial and pulmonary regions.
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