TRAFFIC DENSITY AND MEASUREMENT OF TRAFFIC-INDUCED AIR POLLUTION IN APAPA SEAPORT’S ENVIRONMENT

Abstract

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) on 26th October 2018 adopted an amendment to the Annex of the protocol of 1997 to amend the international convention for the prevention of pollution from ships. Annex VI regulations provide regulations for the prevention of air pollution from ships. To comply with this requirement in Nigerian seaports, this research estimated the substances that constitute ambient air in the Apapa seaport area in Lagos. Pollutants such as CO, NO2 , CO2 , HC and SO2 were critically monitored with air sample analyzer monitors at the source, receptor, and the control. We found that mean concentrations of the following pollutants, in the wet season, were CO (21.3±0.80ppm), NO2

(0.033±0.002ppm), SO2 (0.035±0.002ppm), CO2 (354.33±21.00ppm) and HC (0.029±0.012ppm) while the values of the concentration during the dry season were CO(30.23±2.23ppm), NO2 (0.039±0.007ppm), SO2 (0.038±0.002ppm), CO2 (380.00±25.00ppm) and HC (0.027±0.093ppm) were significantly high. There is a significant difference between the observed values of the two seasons and higher than those recorded in the control group across the seasons, as well as exceeding the safe acceptable limit when compared with both the Nigerian and international standards of the World Health Organization (WHO) for gaseous pollutants.