Measurement and Impact Assessment of PM<sub>10</sub> in Ambient Air of BSCIC Bagerhat

Abstract

The study measured the concentration of coarse particulate matter (PM 10 ) in the ambient air of Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) Bagerhat in order to evaluate its impact on workers' health. 14 knownvolume air samples were obtained through Envirotech APM 541 PM10 Particulate Sampler. The short-term (6 hours) samples were taken from 9 industrial units in the winter season of October, 2015 to January, 2016. Simple gravimetric analysis showed large variations in concentrations in distinct industrial units. The minimum concentration was found 33.61 µ/m 3 in the outdoor premises of a coconut oil mill and the maximum was found 471.38 µ/m 3 in the house of a rice mill. The pollutant sources were detected as cabinless husking machines and soot from boilers and fryers. A questionnaire survey was conducted to evaluate the mostly occurring symptoms of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases (COPD) and bronchoconstriction among workers. The highest prevalence of symptoms of bronchoconstriction (OR = 7.1; 95% CI = 2.3 -21.9) was found among workers in rice mills and eye disturbances (OR = 2.7; 95% CI = 0.9 -8.6) had the highest prevalence in coconut mills. Monitoring of air quality, providing personal respiratory prevention and improvement in machineries were required in the study area for a healthy environment.