Ambient air. Standard method for the measurement of the concentration of sulphur dioxide by ultraviolet fluorescence

Complaints on poor air quality in an enclosed car park have been raised up among the public, which might cause serious health effects to the drivers, passengers, and labours who are working at the premises. Improper design of mechanical ventilation systems in a car park would result in a poor indoor environment. The exhaust emission of motor vehicle contains a variety of potentially harmful substances encompassing carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide, hydrocarbons, and fine particulates. In Kuala Lumpur, there is a great demand but a short supply of lands and building spaces. Thus, a large multi-storey underground car parks is a common solution for both, the government and developers. Although the health effects of the motor vehicle emissions and ambient air pollution are already known, but due to the nature of enclosed multi-storey car parks, these health risks are predicted to be intensified. Thus, it is crucial to investigate and evaluate the status of the air pollution in the enclosed car parks with emphasis on sulphur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen dioxides (NO2). Samples were collected in one of the famous shopping malls in Kuala Lumpur using a GrayWolf Advanced Sense Direct Sense; Toxic Gas Test Meters from 8 am until 5 pm on weekdays and weekends. The results demonstrate that the concentrations of SO2 and NO2 on weekends is higher than weekdays. Besides, the concentrations for both weekdays and weekends have exceeded the standard limit set by the Malaysian Ambient Air Quality Guideline (MAAQG).

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Ambient air quality and the frequency of physician visits by preschool children

Medicinski pregled ◽

10.2298/mpns0708387d ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 60 (7-8) ◽

pp. 387-390

Author(s):

Smajil Durmisevic ◽

Jasminka Durmisevic-Serdarevic

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Nitrogen Oxides ◽

Sulphur Dioxide ◽

Ambient Air ◽

Suspended Particles ◽

Linear Increase ◽

Ambient Air Pollution ◽

Physician Visits ◽

Health Care Institutions ◽

The Town

Introduction. Ambient air pollution in the town of Kakanj, mostly of industrial origin, has become a major reason for increased use of health care services by children under the age of six years. The aim of this study was to examine the correlation between ambient concentrations of sulphur dioxide (SO2), suspended particles and nitrogenoxides (NOx), and the frequency/number of visits to health care institutions by children under the age of six years. Material and methods. The investigation was carried out in the period from January to December 2003, in the area of Kakanj and Brnjic. We examined the average number of monthly visits to health care institutions and concentrations of sulphur dioxide, suspended particles and nitrogen oxides in the town of Kakanj. Results. The investigation shows that there is a linear increase of visits to health care institutions in relation to linear increase of concetrations of sulphur dioxide, suspended particles and nitrogen oxides (O<R<+1). An increase in visits to health care institutions significantly correlates (0.05) with the average concetrations of sulphur dioxide (0.713) and suspended particles (0.433), and with the average concentrations of nitrogen oxides (0.901). Discussion. High correlation between the increase in visits to health care institutions and increased concentrations of nitrogen oxides and sulphur dioxide was also found by Berktas, Jazbec, Transande. Conclusion. Children under the age of six in the town of Kakanj visit health care institutions considerably more frequently than children of the same age in the village of Brnjic, which significantly correlates with the average monthly concentrations of sulphur dioxide, suspended particles and nitrogen oxides in the air. .

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Low cost Passive Monitoring of Nitrogen dioxide and Sulphur dioxide in ambient air

Journal of Nepal Chemical Society ◽

10.3126/jncs.v27i1.6439 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 27 ◽

pp. 34-45 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

R. M. Byanju ◽

M. B. Gewali ◽

K. Manandhar

Keyword(s):

Nitrogen Dioxide ◽

Sulphur Dioxide ◽

Coefficient Of Variation ◽

Large Scale ◽

Low Cost ◽

Ambient Air ◽

Distilled Water ◽

Passive Monitoring ◽

Standard Methods ◽

Resource Limited

Standard nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and sulphur dioxide (SO2) monitoring techniques require expensive instrumentation which is not easily adapted for large scale monitoring by resource limited countries. This paper presents the use of locally available relatively cheaper polyethylene tubes to be developed as passive diffusive sampler and use for monitoring of ambient nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide using Triethanolamine (TEA) as absorbent. After extraction with double distilled water, modified Griese-Saltzmann method and West-Gaeke method were used for analysis of nitrite and sulphate adduct formed due to reaction of NO2 and SO2 respectively with TEA using spectrophotometer. The results are successfully compared with other standard methods. The detection limits and precision of the method as expressed as Coefficient of variation are good enough for monitoring of NO2 and SO2 in ambient air.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jncs.v27i1.6439 J. Nepal Chem. Soc., Vol. 27, 2011 34-45Uploaded date: 16 July, 2012

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