Temporal Variations of Urban Air Pollutants in Damietta Port, North Egypt

Abstract

Air pollution is considered one of the most important factors that affect the surrounding environment and the human health. This study investigated seasonal variation in air pollutants parameters (CO, NO2, O3, SO2 and PM10) in Damietta Port (DP), Egypt using the archive data, from the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) branch in DP, for the period from 2015 to 2017. Statistical results showed that the mean concentration of CO was 2.7, 6.2 and 3.2 mg/m3 in 2015, 2016 and 2017 respectively. Mean concentration of NO2 was 27.9, 28.5, and 16.5 µg/m3 in 2015, 2016 and 2017. Ozone mean concentration was 27.7, 25.1, and 16.5 µg/m3 in 2015, 2016 and 2017. PM10 mean concentration was 83.5, 111, and 74.4 µg/m3 in 2015, 2016 and 2017. Mean concentration of SO2 was 17.5, 22.3, and 11.9 µg/m3 in 2015, 2016 and 2017. The CO concentration increased from 2015 to 2017, due to increasing port activities from vessels, cargo handling equipment, and heavy-duty vehicles. On the other hand, ozone decreased from 2015 to 2017, and this may be related to the improvement and application of safety and environmental rules, and systems in the port. From the collected results, it was observed that some pollutant concentrations were exceeded, beyond the threshold limit for CO and PM10, according to Environmental Law no. 4/1994. Finally, we recommend to monitor and measure the concentration of different air pollutants in the port regularly, to assess, analyze, and control the environmental risks to achieve health in the surrounding environment for the port man-power.