Impact of air pollution on the environment in Port Harcourt, Nigeria

The enforcement of air quality standards for populated urban areas has led to increasing attention to assessment of air quality management areas, where violation of air quality standards occurs, and development of control strategies to eliminate such violation of air quality standards. The Port Harcourt (Lat 4.78oN, Long 7.01oE and Elevation 468m) urban area is very densely built and has heavy motorized traffic. The increase of emissions mainly from traffic and industry are responsible for the increase in atmospheric pollution levels during the last years. The following air pollutants: carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, hydrogen sulphide and ozone, were measured with the WolfSense Multiple Gas Analyzer. The observed levels of CO, a criteria pollutant, exceeded the set limits of 10 and 11.4 μg/m3 by Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and Federal Ministry of environment (FMEnvr), respectively while SO2 exceeded the set limits of 0.1 μg/m3 by DPR. The highest levels of CO and SO2 emissions was observed at mile-1 market road.