An Overview of the Air Pollution Trend in Klang Valley, Malaysia

Abdullah, Ahmad Makmom; Samah, Mohd Armi Abu; Jun, Tham Yee

doi:10.2174/1876325101206010013

Cited by 48 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…This is somewhat surprising because unhealthy air appears to be globally pervasive [ 46 ], and in Malaysia, there is particularly strong evidence of harmful levels of pollution in KV (e.g. [ 10 ]; [ 47 ]; [ 48 ]). As such, many Malaysian citizens may not be perceiving a real threat to their health from air pollution.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Public awareness and support for environmental protection—A focus on air pollution in peninsular Malaysia

et al. 2019

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As in many nations, air pollution linked to rapid industrialization is a public health and environmental concern in Malaysia, especially in cities. Understanding awareness of air pollution and support for environmental protection from the general public is essential for informing governmental approaches to dealing with this problem. This study presents a cross-sectional survey conducted in the Klang Valley and Iskandar conurbations to examine urban Malaysians’ perception, awareness and opinions of air pollution. The survey was conducted in two languages, English and Malay, and administered through the online survey research software, Qualtrics. The survey consisted of three sections, where we collected sociodemographic information, information on the public perception of air quality and the causes of air pollution, information on public awareness of air pollution and its related impacts, and information on attitudes towards environmental protection. Of 214 respondents, over 60% were positive towards the air quality at both study sites despite the presence of harmful levels of air pollution. The air in the Klang Valley was perceived to be slightly more polluted and causing greater health issues. Overall, the majority of respondents were aware that motor vehicles represent the primary pollution source, yet private transport was still the preferred choice of transportation mode. A generally positive approach towards environmental protection emerged from the data. However, participants showed stronger agreement with protection actions that do not involve individual effort. Nonetheless, we found that certain segments of the sample (people owning more than three vehicles per household and those with relatives who suffered from respiratory diseases) were significantly more willing to personally pay for environmental protection compared to others. Implications point to the need for actions for spreading awareness of air pollution to the overall population, especially with regards to its health risks, as well as strategies for increasing the perception of behavioural control, especially with regards to motor vehicles’ usage.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Public awareness and support for environmental protection—A focus on air pollution in peninsular Malaysia

et al. 2019

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“…During the peak hour of 08:00 to 09:00, 24 016 vehicles were recorded on this road. Previous studies have shown that road traffic can make substantial contributions to particulate mass concentrations in the Klang Valley area (Awang et al, 2000;Afroz et al, 2003;Rahman et al, 2011;Abdullah et al, 2012;Wahid et al, 2013;Ee-Ling et al, 2015;Khan et al, 2015b). NO − 3 and NO − 2 could also possibly come from the secondary aerosol of ammonium nitrate from anthropogenic activities in the surrounding area such as motor vehicle exhaust, industries (petrochemical industry, iron/steel plant, etc.)…”

Section: Factor 4: Mixed Traffic and Industrial (No −mentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal variability of PM<sub>2.5</sub> composition and sources in the Klang Valley urban-industrial environment

et al. 2016

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Abstract. This study investigates the fine particulate matter (PM2.5) variability in the Klang Valley urban-industrial environment. In total, 94 daily PM2.5 samples were collected during a 1-year campaign from August 2011 to July 2012. This is the first paper on PM2.5 mass, chemical composition and sources in the tropical environment of Southeast Asia, covering all four seasons (distinguished by the wind flow patterns) including haze events. The samples were analysed for various inorganic components and black carbon (BC). The chemical compositions were statistically analysed and the temporal aerosol pattern (seasonal) was characterised using descriptive analysis, correlation matrices, enrichment factor (EF), stoichiometric analysis and chemical mass closure (CMC). For source apportionment purposes, a combination of positive matrix factorisation (PMF) and multi-linear regression (MLR) was employed. Further, meteorological–gaseous parameters were incorporated into each analysis for improved assessment. In addition, secondary data of total suspended particulate (TSP) and coarse particulate matter (PM10) sampled at the same location and time with this study (collected by Malaysian Meteorological Department) were used for PM ratio assessment. The results showed that PM2.5 mass averaged at 28 ± 18 µg m−3, 2.8-fold higher than the World Health Organisation (WHO) annual guideline. On a daily basis, the PM2.5 mass ranged between 6 and 118 µg m−3 with the daily WHO guideline exceeded 43 % of the time. The north-east (NE) monsoon was the only season with less than 50 % sample exceedance of the daily WHO guideline. On an annual scale, PM2.5 mass correlated positively with temperature (T) and wind speed (WS) but negatively with relative humidity (RH). With the exception of NOx, the gases analysed (CO, NO2, NO and SO2) were found to significantly influence the PM2.5 mass. Seasonal variability unexpectedly showed that rainfall, WS and wind direction (WD) did not significantly correlate with PM2.5 mass. Further analysis on the PM2.5 ∕ PM10, PM2.5 ∕ TSP and PM10 ∕ TSP ratios reveal that meteorological parameters only greatly influenced the coarse particles (particles with an aerodynamic diameter of greater than 2.5 µm) and less so the fine particles at the site. Chemical composition showed that both primary and secondary pollutants of PM2.5 are equally important, albeit with seasonal variability. The CMC components identified were in the decreasing order of (mass contribution) BC > secondary inorganic aerosols (SIA) > dust > trace elements > sea salt > K+. The EF analysis distinguished two groups of trace elements: those with anthropogenic sources (Pb, Se, Zn, Cd, As, Bi, Ba, Cu, Rb, V and Ni) and those with a crustal source (Sr, Mn, Co and Li). The five identified factors resulting from PMF 5.0 were (1) combustion of engine oil, (2) mineral dust, (3) mixed SIA and biomass burning, (4) mixed traffic and industrial and (5) sea salt. Each of these sources had an annual mean contribution of 17, 14, 42, 10 and 17 % respectively. The dominance of each identified source largely varied with changing season and a few factors were in agreement with the CMC, EF and stoichiometric analysis, accordingly. In relation to meteorological–gaseous parameters, PM2.5 sources were influenced by different parameters during different seasons. In addition, two air pollution episodes (HAZE) revealed the influence of local and/or regional sources. Overall, our study clearly suggests that the chemical constituents and sources of PM2.5 were greatly influenced and characterised by meteorological and gaseous parameters which vary greatly with season.

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“…This finding is in agreement with a similar finding reported by other researchers. Previous studies (Abdullah et al, 2012;Salahudin et al, 2013) showed that high levels of air pollutants are probably associated with motor vehicle emissions. Table 3 shows the correlation between all the air pollutants, where a significant positive correlation can be found in all the parameters with each other.…”

Section: Total Number Of Vehicles On the Roadmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…Another study in Malaysia (Tajudin et al, 2019) also reported a positive correlation between the number of vehicles and air pollutants. As the air pollutants are mostly emitted from motor vehicles (Abdullah et al, 2012), this proves that the number of vehicles on the road affects the concentration of pollutants. From the present study, the air pollutants namely, CO, O 3 and NO 2 , increases with the total number of vehicles on the road.…”

Section: Correlation Between the Number Of Vehicles And All The Pollumentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Certain factors can explain the non-correlation findings between SO 2 and PM 10 with the number of vehicles. This fact might due to initiation of EURO-2M fuel usage that reduces the amount of SO 2 released into the environment since 2009 (Abdullah et al, 2012;Mohamed Binyehmed et al, 2016). Meanwhile, PM 10 level of concentration in Malaysia is conformed to the burning of biomass in neighbouring countries (Sentian et al, 2018) and is easily manipulated by other factors, along with weather and monsoon directions (Verma and Desa, 2008;Barmpadimos et al, 2011;Mohamad et al, 2015;Rahman et al, 2015).…”

Section: Total Number Of Vehicles On the Roadmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Malaysian Traffic Police in Highly Populated Areas: Is it Safe Working Outdoors on a Daily Basis?

Jamil

Yusof

Karuppiah

et al. 2020

Aerosol Air Qual. Res.

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Previous studies have reported on the increment in the concentration levels of outdoor air pollution affecting the lung functions among traffic police as they work outdoors, on an average, for 12 hours daily. This paper provides an analysis of the outdoor air pollutant trends. It is novel in considering how it can be used to understand the impact on the 1,149 Malaysian Traffic Police in the states of Kuala Lumpur (KL) and Johor Bahru (JB). The study used 165, 604 data from a nine-year database (2009-2017) of selected Malaysian air monitoring stations in KL and JB. The statistical analysis showed that the yearly trends of PM 10 were above the Malaysian Ambient Air Quality Guideline (MAAQG) standard while the SO 2 , O 3 , NO 2 , and CO readings were below the standard. An increasing trend was noticed in the total number of vehicles in both states from 2009 to 2017. All the pollutants were positively correlated with each other, indicating that most of the pollutants are from similar sources. There is a strong positive correlation between the total number of vehicles and CO, NO 2 , and O 3. This study proves the trends and consequences of outdoor air pollutants coupled with the rise in the number of vehicles that can affect respiratory health and well-being of the traffic police personnel. As a resolution to this, an efficient risk control such as air monitoring system for traffic police is necessary. The findings of this study will facilitate its usefulness to the authorities, management, policymakers, and researchers in the years ahead.

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An Overview of the Air Pollution Trend in Klang Valley, Malaysia

Cited by 48 publications

References 5 publications

Public awareness and support for environmental protection—A focus on air pollution in peninsular Malaysia

Public awareness and support for environmental protection—A focus on air pollution in peninsular Malaysia

Seasonal variability of PM<sub>2.5</sub> composition and sources in the Klang Valley urban-industrial environment

Malaysian Traffic Police in Highly Populated Areas: Is it Safe Working Outdoors on a Daily Basis?

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An Overview of the Air Pollution Trend in Klang Valley, Malaysia

Cited by 48 publications

References 5 publications

Public awareness and support for environmental protection—A focus on air pollution in peninsular Malaysia

Public awareness and support for environmental protection—A focus on air pollution in peninsular Malaysia

Seasonal variability of PM&lt;sub&gt;2.5&lt;/sub&gt; composition and sources in the Klang Valley urban-industrial environment

Malaysian Traffic Police in Highly Populated Areas: Is it Safe Working Outdoors on a Daily Basis?

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Seasonal variability of PM<sub>2.5</sub> composition and sources in the Klang Valley urban-industrial environment