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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
environmental science
Characterizing air pollution in two low-income neighborhoods in Accra, Ghana
Science of the Total Environment, Volume 402, No. 2-3, Year 2008
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Description
Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest rate of urban population growth in the world, with a large number of urban residents living in low-income "slum" neighborhoods. We conducted a study for an initial assessment of the levels and spatial and/or temporal patterns of multiple pollutants in the ambient air in two low-income neighborhoods in Accra, Ghana. Over a 3-week period we measured (i) 24-hour integrated PM10 and PM2.5 mass at four roof-top fixed sites, also used for particle speciation; (ii) continuous PM10 and PM2.5 at one fixed site; and (iii) 96-hour integrated concentration of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) at 30 fixed sites. We also conducted seven consecutive days of mobile monitoring of PM10 and PM2.5 mass and submicron particle count. PM10 ranged from 57.9 to 93.6 μg/m3 at the four sites, with a weighted average of 71.8 μg/m3 and PM2.5 from 22.3 to 40.2 μg/m3, with an average of 27.4 μg/m3. PM2.5/PM10 ratio at the four fixed sites ranged from 0.33 to 0.43. Elemental carbon (EC) was 10-11% of PM2.5 mass at all four measurement sites; organic matter (OM) formed slightly less than 50% of PM2.5 mass. Cl, K, and S had the largest elemental contributions to PM2.5 mass, and Cl, Si, Ca, Fe, and Al to coarse particles. SO2 and NO2 concentrations were almost universally lower than the US-EPA National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), with virtually no variation across sites. There is evidence for the contributions from biomass and traffic sources, and from geological and marine non-combustion sources to particle pollution. The implications of the results for future urban air pollution monitoring and measurement in developing countries are discussed. © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Authors & Co-Authors
Arku, Raphael E.
Ghana, Accra
University of Ghana
Vallarino, Jose A.
United States, Boston
Harvard T.h. Chan School of Public Health
Dionisio, Kathie L.
United States, Boston
Harvard T.h. Chan School of Public Health
United States, Cambridge
Harvard University
Willis, Robert
United States, Washington, D.c.
United States Environmental Protection Agency
Choi, Hyunok
United States, Boston
Harvard T.h. Chan School of Public Health
United States, Cambridge
Harvard University
Wilson, J. Gaines
United States, Cambridge
Harvard University
Hemphill, Christina
United States, Boston
Harvard T.h. Chan School of Public Health
Agyei-Mensah, Samuel
Ghana, Accra
University of Ghana
Spengler, John D.
United States, Boston
Harvard T.h. Chan School of Public Health
Ezzati, Majid Hassanpour
United States, Boston
Harvard T.h. Chan School of Public Health
United States, Cambridge
Harvard University
Statistics
Citations: 84
Authors: 10
Affiliations: 4
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1016/j.scitotenv.2008.04.042
ISSN:
00489697
Research Areas
Environmental
Study Design
Cross Sectional Study
Study Locations
Ghana