Preliminary monitoring of concentration of particulate matter (PM2.5) in seven townships of Yangon City, Myanmar

Abstract

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.

Source Apportionment of Coarse Particulate Matter (PM10) in Yangon, Myanmar

“…CPI values close to 1 indicate fossil fuel burning mostly from anthropogenic activities, while values higher than 2 indicate biogenic detritus. July and August 2017 were the only 2 months that had CPI values below 1, suggesting strong biogenic influence rather than anthropogenic sources such as vehicles, as Yi et al [2] proposed in a preliminary PM study in Myanmar. However, there are other sources of alkanes in PM 10 that may also explain this CPI.…”

“…Although there have not been many emission inventory studies conducted in Yangon, traffic was believed to be the primary source of PM in the city. For example, Yi et al [2] considered traffic as the major source of PM 2.5 in Yangon. Additionally, there was some construction taking place in the city during the sampling period.…”

“…However, only a few studies of particulate matter in Myanmar have been conducted and limited information about the sources of PM in urban regions of Myanmar has been reported. A five-day preliminary study 2 of 18 by Yi et al [2] monitored the concentrations of PM 2.5 and attempted to pinpoint the PM 2.5 hotspots at different times of the day in seven townships in Yangon, the former capital of Myanmar. The results show that the concentrations reached the highest points in the mornings and the authors speculated that the main sources of PM 2.5 in these townships were motor vehicle emissions.…”

Myanmar Country Environmental Analysis

“…Two further studies measuring air quality at the ground level in Yangon indicate that outdoor air is highly contaminated with traffic-related pollutants. One of the studies used portable pocket sensors attached to smartphones to measure PM 2.5 in seven townships around Yangon city (Yi et al 2018). They found that concentrations of PM 2.5 in the air exceeded the WHO guidelines, particularly during rush hours due to motor vehicles emissions.…”

Environmental Health Surveillance System for a Population Using Advanced Exposure Assessment

“…However, it is important to integrate indoor and outdoor air pollution levels and individual time-activity patterns to generate reliable exposure assessments [13]. Recent studies have used new methodologies to assess exposure for the urban population based on alternative technologies and mobile monitoring approaches [14][15][16]. However, there is still a need to improve the air pollution exposure assessment for a population.…”