Research
Analysis of Air Pollution in Ado Ekiti Residential and Commercial Areas
Air pollution is one of the environmental challenges threatening the wellbeing of man, animals and plants as well as the environment. A number of research works has linked air pollution with adverse health, acid rain, climate change and global warming. This study investigated the level air pollution in Ado Ekiti. The air pollutants investigated includes Particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), Total suspended particles (TSP), carbon monoxide (CO), Hydrogen sulfide (H2S), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and sulfur dioxide (SO2). The air quality samples were taking in July 2017 (Rainy season) and January 2018 (Dry season) for a period of one week in each season. Seven (7) sampling points across the two (2) major environmental zones in the study area namely; commercial and residential (high income and low income areas) were considered, resulting in forty nine (49) samples, three (3) times daily for each of the seven (7) air pollutant totaling two thousand and fifty eight (2058) samples. It was discovered that most of the air pollutants sampled were disgustingly higher than the World health organization (WHO) standard thereby posing great risk to the public health in particular and the environment in general. The federal, state and local government is doing nothing to mitigate the air pollutant in the study area. As it were, air pollution and its attendant consequences in the urban area under study should be made public. Steps that could be taken for air pollution mitigation such as controlling the pollution at source; deal with the pollutants and; deal with the polluted areas should be clearly spelt out.
