Personal exposures to particulate matter in various modes of transport in Lagos city, Nigeria
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Date
2016-11-17
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Cogent Enviromental Science
Abstract
Urban air pollution continues to be a major problem in Nigerian cities.
Most studies of air pollution in Nigeria have concentrated on the background air
quality and its eects on people outside vehicles. However, it has been suggested
that in-vehicle pollution is often worse than pollution outside the vehicle. This study
focuses on personal exposures to PM10 and PM2.5 in various modes of transportation
in Lagos city. Six roadways which are representative of commercial, industrial, and
residential areas of the city were selected. Measurements were made inside four
major modes of transportation in the city: cars, buses, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), and
walking for PM10 and PM2.5. Measurements were done for each mode twice a day
(morning and afternoon) for 12days. The highest average PM10 and PM2.5 concentra-
tions were measured for pedestrian (476.35 and 216.60μg/m3, respectively) dur-
ing rush hours. The result showed that pedestrians were found to be exposed to
the highest average PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations, while commuters in cars, BRT
and buses were exposed to respective decreasing concentrations of PM10. Similarly,
commuters in BRT were exposed to the lowest concentrations of PM2.5 regardless of
time of day. The results obtained were much higher than the results for London but
comparable to Mexico city and Taiwan’s results. This study has provided information
that can help commuters to choose appropriate travel behavior that can minimize
their exposure to particulate matter
Description
cogent enviromental science,pg. 1-10
Keywords
motor vehicle commuters, pedestrian, exposures, particulate matter, PM10, PM2, Evaporative emissions from gasoline