Atmospheric Content of Particulate Matter PM2.5 in Gazipur and Mymensingh City Corporation Area of Bangladesh

Abstract

Air pollution has become a public health concern in Bangladesh and regarded as one of the major environmental hazards in Bangladesh as well as worldwide. Particulate matter pollution is a major concern in the large cities of Bangladesh. The main contributors of air pollution are motor vehicles, brick kilns, diesel generators and industries. In recent years much research interest has been shown on atmospheric particles as they influence on climate change and cause adverse health effects (Islam et al., 2017; Hoque et al., 2014). Atmospheric PM is of great concern to the public and to government agencies because of its significant impact on human health, visibility reduction, agriculture and atmospheric chemistry (Sarker et al., 2018; Begum et al., 2012). Particle pollution is the term for a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets found in the air. These include "inhalable coarse particles," with diameters between 2.5 micrometers and 10 micrometers, and "fine particles," 2.5 micrometers and smaller (EPA, 2016). Developing (like Bangladesh) or rapidly industrializing countries are most vulnerable to air pollution because a great amount of air pollutants from various sources mix continuously in the environment. In developing countries like Bangladesh, population explosion along with widespread urbanization has resulted in dense urban centers with poor air quality. Biomass burning and dust deposition profound deterioration of air quality which reported by a Abstract: The particulate matter PM2.5 concentrations in the air of Gazipur and Mymensingh citycorporation during February to April, 2019 have been studied. The PM2.5 status and the sources of air pollution in these cities have been investigated. Sampling was done by “SNDWAY SW-825 Laser PM2.5 Detector tester gas monitor Digital Air Quality Monitor. The sampling sites were Joydebpur road, Vogra Bypass Bus Stop, Gazipur Chowrasta Bus stop, Telipara and Salna in Gazipur city-corporation In Mymensingh city-corporation the sampling sites were BAU Campus, Bridge Moor, Chorpara, Town-hall, Bypass Moor Bus stop, respectively. The concentrations of PM2.5 significantly changed with respect to that of previous years. Though Gazipur is a very busy traffic point and Mymensingh is a semi residential area, the concentrations of PM2.5 Gazipur city-corporation has been found higher than that of Mymensingh citycorporation. PM2.5 concentration in the air of Gazipur city-corporation ranged (137.25 341.44 μg m ), the highest PM2.5 concentration 282.50 μg m -3 was found in Telipara and the lowest concentration 147.08 μg m was found in Salna, with mean value of 203.68 μg m, while standard deviation was 55.39 μg m. PM2.5 concentration in the air of Mymensingh city-corporation ranged from (120.67-268.67 μg m), the highest PM2.5 concentration 233.83 μg m -3 was found in Bridge moor and the lowest concentration 128.58 μg m was found at BAU Campus, with mean value of 172.73 μg m, while standard deviation was 40.10 μg m. During sampling period the highest concentration 230.30 μg m was found in the month of February, 2019 and the lowest concentration 183. 05 μg m was found in the month of April, 2019 in Gazipur citycorporation. During sampling period in Mymensingh city-corporation, the highest concentration 242.40 μg m was found in the month of February, 2019 and the lowest concentration 101.15 μg m was found in the month of April, 2019. Considering the daily fluctuation between the study areas the PM2.5 concentration was found higher during noon to evening period and lower at night. From the result it might be concluded that the concentration of PM2.5 in the air of Gazipur and Mymensingh city were comparatively higher than the values observed in most of the European cities and also exceeded the Bangladesh National Air Quality Standard.