ASSESSMENT OF CONCENTRATION CHANGES AND TRAFFIC EFFECTS ON CARBON MONOXIDE LEVEL IN THE CITY OF YASUJ, IRAN

Abstract

Background and objectives: Identification and measurement of air pollutants are the first steps to manage air pollution. Because many of these pollutants can have adverse effects on ecosystem and human health, no knowledge of the quality and quantity of pollutants can cause problems in identifying, determining concentration and, if necessary, controlling. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the changes in carbon monoxide (CO) concentration and the effect of traffic on the level of this pollutant in the city of Yasuj in Iran.

Materials and methods: In this study, the first action was the selection of study sampling stations, where were considered to be ten major squares of the city. The samples were collected in cold and hot seasons at traffic hours (between 7am and 22pm). In the next step, the direct-reading instrument (First Check) was used to measure the concentration of air CO. Traffic intensity measurements were also performed visually. Finally, the data were analyzed using SPSS 16 software.

Results:The mean CO concentration in the city of Yasuj was estimated at 1.01 ppm. The maximum concentration of this pollutant was measured in the hot season and in night hours on the first days of the week In addition, the results of this study showed that increased traffic intensity enhanced linearly the CO concentrations.

Conclusion: Although the results of the present study indicated the CO concentrations less than the allowable environmental standard limits, but since even small amounts of air pollutants can cause damage to the health of exposed people and environment, the necessary interventions should be taken into account in order to control the air pollutants for maintain and improving the existing conditions.