CAUSES OF AIR POLLUTION IN PORTHARCOURT

AN analogy posits the general air quality as composing Vehicular Emission, Air Pollution, and Emission Concentration which determines to a great extent the AIR QUALITY INDEX of a region, city, or a defined geographical territory. Cities with nasty traffic situation are susceptible to poor air quality.
Vehicular emission remains a threat to environmental health problem which is expected to increase reasonably as vehicle ownership increases in geometric proportion in the world.
It is reported that over 600million people globally are expose to hazardous level of traffic-generated pollution UN(1998). Human exposure to these air pollutants due to traffic is believed to have constituted severe health problems especially in urban areas where pollution levels are on the increase.
Port Harcourt Telegraph METRO investigation revealed that in Nigeria much attention is accorded to general industrial pollution and pollution in oil industries, with little or no attention given to damage of pollution caused by automobile transportation sources.
Consequent upon the above, there is increased pollution from automobile transportation sources which is further exacerbated by the increase in per capital vehicle ownership. Invariably contributing to high congestion on roads in Nigeria major cities with increase in the concentration of pollutants in the air with its concomitant effect on increase in health risk on human pollution.
Port Harcourt, one of the major industrialized cities in Nigeria is not exempted as the volume of emission impacted negatively on the ambient. Air quality indicators namely Co,So2, No2 and Total Suspended Particulates (TSP) could be determined. The concentration of TSP are reportedly high in Port Harcourt and other cities in the Niger Delta when compared to the WHO’s standard, it was learnt.
Government at all levels should endeavour to put this critical issues at the front burner while strategizing policy issues in Nigeria.