BackgroundAirborne particulate pollution is more critical in the developing world than in the developed countries in which industrialization and urbanization are rapidly increased. Yangon, a second capital of Myanmar, is a highly congested and densely populated city. Yet, there is limited study which assesses particulate matter (PM2.5) in Yangon currently. Few previous local studies were performed to assess particulate air pollution but most results were concerned PM10 alone using fixed monitoring. Therefore, the present study aimed to assess distribution of PM2.5 in different townships of Yangon, Myanmar. This is the first study to quantify the regional distribution of PM2.5 in Yangon City.MethodsThe concentration of PM2.5 was measured using Pocket PM2.5 Sensor (Yaguchi Electric Co., Ltd., Miyagi, Japan) three times (7:00 h, 13:00 h, 19:00 h) for 15 min per day for 5 days from January 25th to 29th in seven townships. Detailed information of eight tracks for PM2.5 pollution status in different areas with different conditions within Kamayut Township were also collected.ResultsThe results showed that in all townships, the highest PM2.5 concentrations in the morning followed by the evening and the lowest concentrations in the afternoon were observed. Among the seven townships, Hlaingtharyar Township had the highest concentrations (164 ± 52 μg/m3) in the morning and (100 ± 35 μg/m3) in the evening. Data from eight tracks in Kamayut Township also indicated that PM2.5 concentrations varied between different areas and conditions of the same township at the same time.ConclusionMyanmar is one of the few countries that still have to establish national air quality standards. The results obtained from this study are useful for the better understanding of the nature of air pollution linked to PM2.5. Moreover, the sensor which was used in this study can provide real-time exposure, and this could give more accurate exposure data of the population especially those subpopulations that are highly exposed than fixed station monitoring.

Assessment of personal exposure to particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than or 2.5 µm (PM2.5) is necessary to study the association between PM exposure and health risk. Development of a personal PM2.5 sensor or device is required for the evaluation of individual exposure level. In this study, we aimed to develop a small-sized, lightweight sensor with a global positioning system (GPS) attached that can measure PM2.5 and PM10 every second to assess continuous personal exposure levels. The participants in this study were apparently healthy housewives (n = 15) and university female teaching staff (n = 15) who live in a high PM2.5 area, Yangon, Myanmar. The average PM2.5 exposure levels during 24 h were 16.1 ± 10.0 µg/m 3 in the housewives and 15.8 ± 4.0 µg/m 3 in the university female teaching staff. The university female teaching staff showed high exposure concentrations during commuting hours, and had stable, relatively low concentrations at work, whereas the housewives showed short-term high exposure peaks due to differences in their lifestyles. This is the first study to show that a GPS-attached standalone PM2.5 and PM10 Sensor [PRO] can be successfully used for mobile sensing, easy use, continuous measurement, and rapid data analysis.

Roadside environment is a key location responsible for increased exposure of traffic-related air pollutants to people who reside, work and commute on or near the roadside. Although increase in traffic volume and duration of traffic congestion has been significantly recognized in Yangon, research conducted on traffic-related air pollutants is very limited. In this study, we mainly focused on nitrogen dioxide and aromatic hydrocarbons of VOCs; benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes collectively known as BTEX. Dffusive air samplers; DSD-CX for BTEX and DSD-TEA for NO2 were placed at seven sampling sites, S1-S4 located on heavy congested traffic roads of commercial areas and S5-S7 on fast moving traffic roads of residential ones. The BTEX concentrations were measured by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and NO2 by ion chromatography. According to the findings, we concluded that roadside NO2 concentrations reflect the severity of traffic congestion currently encountered in the city. Sources other than vehicle emission could also have contribution to roadside traffic-related pollutants. Appropriate traffic managements and vehicle emission controls are urgently needed for reducing traffic-related air pollution.

Particulate matter (PM) plays a crucial role in air quality deterioration in urban areas. Myanmar is a developing country in Southeast Asia and still in an early phase of urbanization. Yangon is the most populated and urbanized region in Myanmar, hosting 15% of the total population. Reports on particulate pollution in Yangon are limited as well as not up to date. Therefore, the present study aimed to assess distribution of PM10 in Seven Townships of Yangon. The result indicates a significant difference (p<0.001) in PM10 concentrations among the morning (185±85 μg/m3), the afternoon (64±35 μg/m3) and the evening (129±50 μg/m3) respectively. PM10 concentrations at different times of the day except the morning period were within USEPA guideline value for PM10 (150 μg/m3, 24h mean).

Particulate matter (PM) pollution is well-known to be associated with hazardous health outcomes. Data on the PM concentrations in Myanmar are, however, limited. Since, it is very important to determine the air pollution status for further prevention of PM-related health risks in exposed populations, we conducted this preliminary study to assess the PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations in Yangon and Taunggyi Cities during the dry and wet seasons. The PM measurements were made by mobile sensing using Pocket PM2.5 Sensors (Yaguchi Electric Co., Ltd., Miyagi, Japan) in six randomly selected townships of Yangon from January 25th-29th 2018 (dry season) and September 15th-19th 2018 (wet season) and seven quarters (townships are termed as quarters in Taunggyi) of Taunggyi from July 19th-22nd 2018 (wet season). The findings revealed that the PM concentrations in Yangon were significantly higher in the dry season than in the wet season. In the wet season, the PM levels in Yangon dropped to the WHO guideline. However, while the PM10 levels were higher in Taunggyi than in Yangon, the PM2.5 concentrations were significantly higher in Yangon than in Taunggyi. The highest PM levels were found in the Hlaing Tharyar township of Yangon and Myo-ma quarter of Taunggyi among the measured locations. In conclusion, our findings indicated significant seasonal variations in the PM concentrations in Yangon and significant regional variations between the two cities within the same season.