Concentration of Particulate Matter below 10 and 2.5 Micron in air of Shiraz, Iran

Abstract

According to the United Nations Environment Programme, particulate matter is the most important air pollutant in large cities around the world, released from many sources into the air. Since one of the main causes of air pollution in Shiraz is also particulate matter, monitoring the particles is necessary to develop control programs; therefore the aim of this study was to measure the concentration of particulate matter less than 10 and 2.5micron in air of Shiraz and compare same with EPA and National Standards. In this study, 45 stations were selected and sampling was performed in mornings and afternoons using Dust trak device. So during three sampling months (June, July and August), 90 samples for PM_2.5 (45 in morningd and 45 in afternoons) and 90 samples for PM₁₀ (45 in mornings and 45 in afternoons) and a total of 180 samples were taken. During the sampling for PM₁₀, July with an average of 17.1μg/m³ was the spottiest month and August with an average of 13μg/m³ was the cleanest month. Also for PM_2.5, July with an average of 11μg/m³ was the spottiest month and August with an average of 8.67μg/m³ was the cleanest month. Results showed that the concentration of PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ was less than standards in most cases.

Keywords: Air pollution, Standards, Particulate matter