Ambient PM2.5 Temporal Variation and Source Apportionment in Mbarara, Uganda
Abstract Air pollution is the leading environmental cause of death globally, and most mortality occurs in resource-limited settings such as sub-Saharan Africa. The African continent experiences some of the worst ambient air pollution in the world, yet there are relatively little African data charact...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Springer
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Aerosol and Air Quality Research |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.230203 |
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| author | Silver Onyango Crystal M. North Hatem A. Ellaithy Paul Tumwesigye Choong-Min Kang Vasileios Matthaios Martin Mukama Nuriat Nambogo J. Mikhail Wolfson Stephen Ferguson Stephen Asiimwe Lynn Atuyambe Data Santorino David C. Christiani Petros Koutrakis |
| author_facet | Silver Onyango Crystal M. North Hatem A. Ellaithy Paul Tumwesigye Choong-Min Kang Vasileios Matthaios Martin Mukama Nuriat Nambogo J. Mikhail Wolfson Stephen Ferguson Stephen Asiimwe Lynn Atuyambe Data Santorino David C. Christiani Petros Koutrakis |
| author_sort | Silver Onyango |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Air pollution is the leading environmental cause of death globally, and most mortality occurs in resource-limited settings such as sub-Saharan Africa. The African continent experiences some of the worst ambient air pollution in the world, yet there are relatively little African data characterizing ambient pollutant levels and source admixtures. In Uganda, ambient PM2.5 levels exceed international health standards. However, most studies focus only on urban environments and do not characterize pollutant sources. We measured daily ambient PM2.5 concentrations and sources in Mbarara, Uganda from May 2018 through February 2019 using Harvard impactors fitted with size-selective inlets. We compared our estimates to publicly available levels in Kampala, and to World Health Organization (WHO) air quality guidelines. We characterized the leading PM2.5 sources in Mbarara using x-ray fluorescence and positive matrix factorization. Daily PM2.5 concentrations were 26.7 µg m−3 and 59.4 µg m−3 in Mbarara and Kampala, respectively (p < 0.001). PM2.5 concentrations exceeded WHO guidelines on 58% of days in Mbarara and 99% of days in Kampala. In Mbarara, PM2.5 was higher in the dry as compared to the rainy season (30.8 vs. 21.3, p < 0.001), while seasonal variation was not observed in Kampala. PM2.5 concentrations did not vary on weekdays versus weekends in either city. In Mbarara, the six main ambient PM2.5 sources identified included (in order of abundance): traffic-related, biomass and secondary aerosols, industry and metallurgy, heavy oil and fuel combustion, fine soil, and salt aerosol. Our findings confirm that air quality in southwestern Uganda is unsafe and that mitigation efforts are urgently needed. Ongoing work focused on improving air quality in the region may have the greatest impact if focused on traffic and biomass-related sources. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2bae92bebe704871a0e3f2b58c72e589 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1680-8584 2071-1409 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | Springer |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Aerosol and Air Quality Research |
| spelling | doaj-art-2bae92bebe704871a0e3f2b58c72e5892025-02-09T12:23:36ZengSpringerAerosol and Air Quality Research1680-85842071-14092024-01-0124411910.4209/aaqr.230203Ambient PM2.5 Temporal Variation and Source Apportionment in Mbarara, UgandaSilver Onyango0Crystal M. North1Hatem A. Ellaithy2Paul Tumwesigye3Choong-Min Kang4Vasileios Matthaios5Martin Mukama6Nuriat Nambogo7J. Mikhail Wolfson8Stephen Ferguson9Stephen Asiimwe10Lynn Atuyambe11Data Santorino12David C. Christiani13Petros Koutrakis14Mbarara University of Science and TechnologyMassachusetts General HospitalMassachusetts General HospitalConsortium for Affordable Medical TechnologiesDepartment of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public HealthDepartment of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public HealthConsortium for Affordable Medical TechnologiesConsortium for Affordable Medical TechnologiesDepartment of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public HealthDepartment of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public HealthMbarara University of Science and TechnologyMakerere School of Public HealthMbarara University of Science and TechnologyMassachusetts General HospitalDepartment of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public HealthAbstract Air pollution is the leading environmental cause of death globally, and most mortality occurs in resource-limited settings such as sub-Saharan Africa. The African continent experiences some of the worst ambient air pollution in the world, yet there are relatively little African data characterizing ambient pollutant levels and source admixtures. In Uganda, ambient PM2.5 levels exceed international health standards. However, most studies focus only on urban environments and do not characterize pollutant sources. We measured daily ambient PM2.5 concentrations and sources in Mbarara, Uganda from May 2018 through February 2019 using Harvard impactors fitted with size-selective inlets. We compared our estimates to publicly available levels in Kampala, and to World Health Organization (WHO) air quality guidelines. We characterized the leading PM2.5 sources in Mbarara using x-ray fluorescence and positive matrix factorization. Daily PM2.5 concentrations were 26.7 µg m−3 and 59.4 µg m−3 in Mbarara and Kampala, respectively (p < 0.001). PM2.5 concentrations exceeded WHO guidelines on 58% of days in Mbarara and 99% of days in Kampala. In Mbarara, PM2.5 was higher in the dry as compared to the rainy season (30.8 vs. 21.3, p < 0.001), while seasonal variation was not observed in Kampala. PM2.5 concentrations did not vary on weekdays versus weekends in either city. In Mbarara, the six main ambient PM2.5 sources identified included (in order of abundance): traffic-related, biomass and secondary aerosols, industry and metallurgy, heavy oil and fuel combustion, fine soil, and salt aerosol. Our findings confirm that air quality in southwestern Uganda is unsafe and that mitigation efforts are urgently needed. Ongoing work focused on improving air quality in the region may have the greatest impact if focused on traffic and biomass-related sources.https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.230203Air pollutionAir qualityAfricaBiomassResource-limited setting |
| spellingShingle | Silver Onyango Crystal M. North Hatem A. Ellaithy Paul Tumwesigye Choong-Min Kang Vasileios Matthaios Martin Mukama Nuriat Nambogo J. Mikhail Wolfson Stephen Ferguson Stephen Asiimwe Lynn Atuyambe Data Santorino David C. Christiani Petros Koutrakis Ambient PM2.5 Temporal Variation and Source Apportionment in Mbarara, Uganda Aerosol and Air Quality Research Air pollution Air quality Africa Biomass Resource-limited setting |
| title | Ambient PM2.5 Temporal Variation and Source Apportionment in Mbarara, Uganda |
| title_full | Ambient PM2.5 Temporal Variation and Source Apportionment in Mbarara, Uganda |
| title_fullStr | Ambient PM2.5 Temporal Variation and Source Apportionment in Mbarara, Uganda |
| title_full_unstemmed | Ambient PM2.5 Temporal Variation and Source Apportionment in Mbarara, Uganda |
| title_short | Ambient PM2.5 Temporal Variation and Source Apportionment in Mbarara, Uganda |
| title_sort | ambient pm2 5 temporal variation and source apportionment in mbarara uganda |
| topic | Air pollution Air quality Africa Biomass Resource-limited setting |
| url | https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.230203 |
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