Determination of Particulate Matter (PM) as an Air Pollutant In Khartoum North

Abstract

Air pollution is the introduction of harmful substances called pollutants such as chemicals, particulate matter and biological materials. The objective of this research is to study air pollution in Khartoum north industrial area with special emphasis on suspended particulate matter, normally not considered by researchers in Sudan. Air velocity, wind direction, temperature and humidity were determined firstly to study their influence on air pollution measurements. The concentration of air pollutants specially particulate matter (PM) at various time intervals were then measured and correlated with different factors like wind velocity, temperature, pressure etc . The obtained results, revealed that, according to Sudanese standards and metrology organization (SSMO), the levels of air pollutants are still within the permissible range for residential areas. At the same time the results indicate that the concentration of particulate matter (PM) in the air, during rush hours, reaches critical levels, this could be attributed to the heavy traffic movement results in more tailpipe emissions. A natural extension to this work is to carry out further studies on different methods for measuring the concentration of pollutants in the air with special emphasis on particulate matter (PM) using different methods established by the American Environmental protection agency (EPA) which will help to determine the details of particulate matter (PM) in the air and their sources