Yawovi Mignanou Amouzouvi, Milohum Mikesokpo Dzagli, Koffi Sagna, Zoltán Török, Carmen Andreea Roba, Alexandru Mereuţă, Alexandru Ozunu, Kodjovi Sidéra Edjame
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引用次数: 8
Abstract
Background: Air pollution has become a major problem around the world and is increasingly an issue in Togo due to increased vehicular traffic. Gaseous pollutants are released by engines and are very harmful to human health and the environment. The fuels used on the major road in Togo, the N2, are adulterated with unknown contents and are of poor quality. Many of the vehicles come from neighboring countries, such as Benin, Ghana and Nigeria.
Objectives: The present study aims to evaluate the pollution rate in Togo through the estimation of the concentrations of sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and particular matter (PM) on the international road, the National Road N2, in Lomé, compared to the World Health Organization's (WHO) standard limit.
Methods: The simulations of pollutant concentration were performed using the Industrial Source Complex Short Term Version 3 model, which is included in the United States Environmental Protection Agency Regulatory Model (USEPA) AERMOD View software. The meteorological averages data were obtained from the local station near the National Road N2 in Togo in 2018. Hourly averages were calculated according to the European Monitoring Evaluation Programme/European Environmental Agency air pollutant emission inventory guidebook 2016 and were processed using AERMET View and a terrain pre-processor, AERMAP. For the model, the sources of pollution were the vehicles traveling on the road segment. The source was a line volume with 20 m of width and 2 m of height. The estimation methodology covered exhaust emissions of NOx, SO2 and PM contained in the fuel.
Results: The simulations provided average hourly, daily and annual concentrations of the different pollutants: 71.91 μg/m3, 42.41 μg/m3,11.23 μg/m3 for SO2; 16.78 μg/m3, 9.89 μg/m3, 2.46 μg/m3 for NOx and below the detection limit, 0.62 μg/m3, 0.15 μg/m3 for PM, respectively. These results indicate that on the National Road N2 in Togo, the concentrations of SO2 were high compared to those of NOx and PM. The daily average concentration of SO2 was twice the permissible limits set by the WHO.
Conclusions: Emissions obtained from the AERMOD for NOx and PM were less than the permissible limits set by the WHO, while the rate of SO2 was twice the permissible limit. The fuels used on this road were very rich in sulfur. The sulfur level in fuels must be monitored by stakeholders in Togo.
Competing interests: The authors declare no competing financial interests.
期刊介绍：
The Journal of Health and Pollution (JH&P) was initiated with funding from the European Union and World Bank and continues to be a Platinum Open Access Journal. There are no publication or viewing charges. That is, there are no charges to readers or authors. Upon peer-review and acceptance, all articles are made available online. The high-ranking editorial board is comprised of active members who participate in JH&P submissions and editorial policies. The Journal of Health and Pollution welcomes manuscripts based on original research as well as findings from re-interpretation and examination of existing data. JH&P focuses on point source pollution, related health impacts, environmental control and remediation technology. JH&P also has an interest in ambient and indoor pollution. Pollutants of particular interest include heavy metals, pesticides, radionuclides, dioxins, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), air particulates (PM10 and PM2.5), and other severe and persistent toxins. JH&P emphasizes work relating directly to low and middle-income countries, however relevant work relating to high-income countries will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
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