Assessment of particulate matter

• Published in: Brazilian journal of biology Vol. 84
• Main Authors: Asghar, K, Ali, A, Tabassum, A, Nadeem, S.G, Hakim, S.T, Amin, M, Raza, G, Bashir, S, Afshan, N, Usman, N, Aurangzeb, N, Naz, A, Hussaini, M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Association of the Brazilian Journal of Biology 01-01-2024
• Subjects: Pakistán
• ISSN: 1519-6984; 1678-4375
• DOI: 10.1590/1519-6984.256190

Particulate matter (PM) is a major air pollutant causing serious health problems. The aim of the present study was to find out concentration of PM in ambient air and its associated health risk in Haripur city, Pakistan. Twenty- three samples were taken at various educational institutes, hospitals, recreational areas and industries in Haripur city. Concentration of [PM.sub.2.5] ([micro]g/[m.sup.3]) and [PM.sub.10] ([micro]g/[m.sup.3]) was measured with Youngteng YT-HPC 3000A portable PM counter. The results revealed that values of both [PM.sub.2.5] and [PM.sub.10] were above the permissible limits (35 [micro]g/[m.sup.3] for [PM.sub.2.5] and 150 [micro]g/[m.sup.3] for [PM.sub.10]) set by Environmental Protection Agency Pakistan (Pak-EPA) in all the educational institutes, hospitals, recreational areas and industries investigated. Furthermore, significant (p<0.05) variation was found in the concentration of both [PM.sub.2.5] and [PM.sub.10] in all the educational institutes, hospitals, recreational areas, and industries studied. The concentration of [PM.sub.2.5] was positively correlated with the concentration of [PM.sub.10] in all the sampling sites. Therefore, from 1-14 scale standard of health index, the values of [PM.sub.2.5] and [PM.sub.10] exhibited that the ambient air quality of Haripur city Pakistan is under high risk. If the regulatory authorities such as Environmental Protection Agency, Health Department and Local Government monitor PM pollution in different settings of Haripur city, then a decrease can be possible in the pollution level. The remedies that can be taken to overcome the problem of ambient air pollution such as PM are plantation of trees at the sites where there are higher levels of air pollutants and use of masks on personal protection basis along with implementation of pollution control system in industries of Hattar Industrial Estate Haripur city, Pakistan.