TITLE:
Measuring Traffic Induced Air Pollution in Onne Port’s Environment
AUTHORS:
Donatus Eberechukwu Onwuegbuchunam, Famous Egelu, Moses Olatunde Aponjolosun, Kenneth Okechukwu Okeke
KEYWORDS:
Air Pollution in Ports, Greenhouse Gases, Health Hazards, Ozone Layer, Particulate Matter
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Air Pollution,
Vol.10 No.4,
October
1,
2021
ABSTRACT: Maritime shipping has been a major facilitator of
economic prosperity throughout the world
and it is likely to grow to meet continued and growing transport needs in both
developed and developing countries. However, global emissions from maritime
shipping have increased considerably, causing depletion of the
ozone layer and most importantly posing threat to lives and coastal environment
through air pollution. This study investigated the constituents of ambient air
in Onne port’s environment in Rivers State of Nigeria. Six air pollutants (O3 CO, NO2, PM2.5, PM10, and SO2) were
critically monitored with hand-held mobile Aeroqual gas monitors, series 500,
at strategic locations within the port’s environment and Eleme Junction (the control). We found that mean concentrations (μg·m3) of the following pollutants: O3 (71.776 ± 0.726), CO, (19.145 ± 0.275)
NO2 (28.145 ± 0.965) and SO2 (36.913 ± 0.378) were
significantly high. The particulates (PM10, PM2.5) also
showed higher mean concentrations of 48.400 ± 0.197 and 29.676 ± 0.352
respectively. The observed values were found to be significantly higher than those observed in the control group and also exceeded the safe
permissible limits for gaseous pollutants when compared to the World Health
Organization’s (WHO) standards. This exceedance raises questions on Nigeria’s
commitments to implementations of (Annex VI) International Maritime
Organization’s (IMO) Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pollution (MARPOL 73/78) from Ships. Again, the findings portend ecological
hazards to residents, flora and fauna as elevated levels of these gaseous
pollutants have been associated with chronic respiratory diseases. The policy
implications of the findings were discussed.