Correlation of PM{sub}10 Mass Concentrations Using Air Metrics and BGI Air Samplers from 1998 to 2001 in the Greater Cairo area

摘要

Cairo is one of the world's megacities that is experiencing rapid population and industrial growth. This growth has resulted in an increase in air pollution and the accompanying adverse effects on human health. Unfortunately, there have been no sustained monitoring efforts that provide historical data sufficient to determine temporal or spatial air quality trends. Available historical data is limited to monitoring programs that were brief in duration and/or restricted in spatial coverage. The Cairo Air Improvement Project (CAIP), which is implemented by a team led by Chemonics International, and funded by USAID in partnership with the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA). CAIP has implemented a monitoring program to determine ambient air levels PM{sub}2.5, PM{sub}10, and lead in the greater Cairo (GC) area. Monitoring operations at 34 ambient sites were initiated on 1 October 1998. Since start-up, samples have been collected concurrently at all sites by sampling for 24 hours, once every 6th day. Continuous meteorological measurements are also obtained at four of the monitoring sites. This paper summarizes the PM mass monitoring results obtained during the period from October 1998 through December 2001 using AirMetrics, and BGI samplers. CAIP installed one AirMetrics and one BGI (collocated) in one monitoring site for PM{sub}10 measurements. The results show high levels of correlation for PM{sub}10 mass obtained by the two samplers (92%) for the whole period. This work presents the mass data correlation for each year, along with a discussion of the results.