Assessment of ambient particulate matter (PM) pollution in Ilaro, Yewa South Local Government Area, Ogun State, Nigeria

The aim of the study was to assess the ambient particulate matter (PM) Pollution in Ilaro, Yewa South Local Government Area, Ogun State, Nigeria. The objectives were to assess the PM, relative humidity (RH), temperature (Temp), and gas pollutant (CO2, SO2, NO2, and O3) levels at four separate locations in Ilaro. It also assesses the toxicity potential (TP), looks at the primary sources of PM pollution, and takes the effects of meteorological on the pollutants. SentinAir sensors were used at four sampling points to detect the ambient levels of the criterion pollutants according to the guidelines. The overall 24-h values for NO2, SO2, O3, CO2, PM2.5, PM1, and PM10 were found to be 568 ppm, 7.40 µg/m3, 10.46 µg/m3, and 11.13 µg/m3, respectively. The O3 levels in this study are lower than the 100 µg/m3 limit value that is advised by the WHO for 8 h. The potential for toxicity differs significantly throughout the locations. A high TP above 1 denotes a high danger of pollution, meaning that places (junctions) where people and cars move around, where there is cement dust, where there is a forest fire, where waste is burned, and where other man-made activities occur are hazardous to both human and environmental health. For every site, SO2 concentration levels show a very consistent pattern, albeit they change with time. Significant associations were observed between the contaminants and the climatic variable. The PCA eigenvalues are greater than 1 at p > 0.05. The study concluded that PM2.5, PM10, and NO2 exceeds the WHO standard, the findings imply that the sources of pollution are comparable. This study provides evidence that the quality of the air in the studied locations may be negatively impacted by human activities. The findings underscore the need for targeted mitigation strategies to address the pollutants problems.