Air Quality Monitoring

There are two types of air quality monitoring; ambient air quality monitoring and
indoor air quality monitoring.

Indoor Air Quality

Indoor air quality is a term which refers to the air quality within and around buildings
and structures, especially as it relates to the health and comfort of building
occupants.

Indoor air quality monitoring includes check in oxygen, carbon dioxide percentage,
temperature and humidity levels in offices, schools, malls, restaurants, swimming
pools etc.

Ambient Air Quality and Monitoring

Ambient air quality standards are the concentrations of pollutants in the air specified
for a variety of reasons including for the protection of human health, buildings, crops,
vegetation, ecosystems, as well as for planning and other purposes.

Ambient air monitoring is the systematic, long-term assessment of pollutant levels by

measuring the quantity and types of certain pollutants in the surrounding outdoor air.

The air quality monitoring should be done with the standard quality by using the
devices because the air pollutant is harmful for the human health.

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Objectives of Air Quality Monitoring

The main objectives for air quality monitoring are as follow

Background Data

In order to generate background data, air quality monitoring is conducted to

assess existing level of contamination and to asses possible effects of air
contamination occurring in future.

Status and Trend Evaluation

The objective is to determine air pollution status and trend information from
any continuous air quality monitoring program. The information is used to determine,
whether pollution control strategies as advised by implementing authority are giving
acceptable values that is lowering of pollution levels or new or additional control are
required to achieve acceptable levels.

Environmental exposure level determination

The air quality monitoring and survey concern itself with systematic study of
considerable segment of environment to define inter-relationship of source of
pollution, atmospheric parameter and measurable manifestations in order to evaluate
the character and magnitude of existing problem.

Scavenging behaviour of environment

To understand natural scavenging or cleansing process undergoing in the

environment through pollution dilution, dispersion, wind movement, dry deposition,
precipitation and chemical transformation of pollutants generated.

Air quality management

To assess the present status to judge effectiveness of air pollution control

strategies and long term management of air quality.

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Ambient air parameters are as follows;

 Particulates ; TSPM, PM10, PM5, PM2.5

 Gaseous ; NO2, SO2, CO, VOC, O3, CH4, NH3,O3 and so on.
 Meteorology : Temperature, Relative Humidity, Wind Speed, Wind Direction
 Automatic Radiation

 To monitor Yangon’s air quality by setting up observation equipment at three

permanent locations in addition to a single mobile unit.
 Three machines are planned to be positioned in front of Maha Bandoola Park,
at Hledan Junction in Kamayut Township and at Htaukkyant intersection in
Mingaladon Township, while the mobile device will be used in a variety of
locations.
 HAZ-SCANNER Modern EPSAs and chosen 67 places to monitor. Installed
three sets of device as station and other device is used as mobile station. The
eleven kinds of parameters are used for air quality monitoring such as CO2,
CO, CH4, NO2, SO2, PM 2.5, PM 10, relative humidity, wind speed, wind
direction and temperature.
 The permanent positioned devices can monitor 24 hours period and the
mobile devices can monitor about eight hours a day by humans.
 The purpose is for reducing air pollution.
 The result of air quality monitoring in Yangon 2015, will provide in the
following table.

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The result of air quality monitoring in Yangon, in 2015

Monitoring gaseous and PM WHO Standards Results in 2015

NO2 100 48

SO2 75 137

CH4 160 842

CO 9000 915

CO2 345 499

PM10 50 51

PM5 50 43

PM2.5 25 48

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Air pollution

Smog hanging over cities is the most familiar and obvious form of air pollution. But
there are different kinds of pollution, some visible, some invisible that contribute to
global warming. Generally any substance that people introduce into the atmosphere
that has damaging effects on living things and the environment is considered air
pollution.

Carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, is the main pollutant that is warming earth.
Though living things emit carbon dioxide when they breathe, carbon dioxide is widely
considered to be a pollutant when associated with cars, planes, power plants, and
other human activities that involve the burning of fossil fuels such as gasoline and
natural gas.

Other greenhouse gases include methane, which comes from such sources as
swamps and gas emitted by livestock and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which were
used in refrigerants and aerosol propellants until they were banned because of their
deteriorating effect on earth’s ozone layer.

Another pollutant associated with climate change is sulfur dioxide, a component of

smog. Sulfur dioxide and closely related chemicals are known as a cause of acid rain.

Particulate matter (PM) is directly linked to the potential causing health problems. The
small particles less than 10 micrometers in diameter pose the greatest problems
because they can get deep into lungs, and some may even get into bloodstream.
Particles can be carried over long distances by wind and then settle on ground or
water. That can make lakes and streams acidic, depleting the nutrients in soil,
affecting the diversity of ecosystems and contributing to acid rain effects.

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What can be done to reduce air pollution?

Many industrialized countries have worked to reduce levels of sulfur dioxide, smog,
and smoke in order to improve people’s health.

Most people agree that to curb global warming, a variety of measures need to be
taken. On a personal level, driving and flying less, recycling, and conservation
reduces a person is responsible for putting into the atmosphere.

On a larger scale, governments should take measure to limit emissions of carbon

dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

Another method is to put taxes on carbon emissions or higher taxes on gasoline, so

that individuals and companies will have greater incentives to conserve energy and
pollute less.

Reusing, recycling, and composting can have a big effect on garbage output to
reduce air pollution. Managing household waste effectively.

Moreover, upgrating our knowledges about different issues of air pollution and
control the emissions of harmful gaseous.

Planting is one of the most concrete, satisfying action to help the air quality in our
region. Trees produce oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide, which they turn into food.

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