EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF OUTDOOR AIR QUALITY AT A TERTIARY INSTITUTION GATE

Abstract

Air pollution is the reduction in the outdoor or indoor environment quality by any physical, biological or chemical agents above the ambient level that can modify the natural characteristics of the atmosphere. Air pollution can cause long-term and short-term health effects. In this paper air quality of an institutional environment was evaluated and presented based on selected air pollutants, air quality indices (AQI), hazard ratio and lifetime cancer risk. Air quality measurements were conducted at Obafemi Awolowo University Road 1gate for three months. The Air quality indices were computed using standard methods and procedures. The study revealed that mean, skewness and kurtosis of temperature, relative humidity, total organic compounds (TVOC), Carbon dioxide (CO ) and HCHO were temperature (34.2, 34.3oC; 0.6 and 0.6; -0.4 and -0.4); relative humidity (35.46 and 39.23 %; 1.52 and 1.54; and 1.67 and 1.73),TVOC (0.753 ppm and 0.660 ppm; 1.501 and 1.541; and 1.331 and 1.116), CO2 (926.77ppm and 803.77 ppm; -0.70 and -0.63; -1.27, and -1.22) and HCHO (0.051 ppm and 0.048 ppm; 1.123 and 1.51; and 0.504 and 1.69), respectively. AQI for CO2, TVOC and HCHO were between 135 and 336, 16.72 and 173.02, 12.37, and 2191.42, respectively. Life cancer risk for CO , TVOC and HCHO were between 2.42 x 10-3 and -3                                 -6                                            -5                                 -8                                             -6              2 6.02 x 10 , 2.36 x 10 and 9.06 x 10 , 2.63 x 10 and 2.36 x 10 respectively. It was concluded that AQI in-term of CO2 was high (poor and polluted) but fair for TVOC and HCHO. There is a need to reduce CO2 concentration as an increase in CO concentration has been associated with cardiovascular diseases, high blood pressure and chronic kidney disease.