Comparative Assessment of Particulate Matter, Concentration in a Residential Commercial and a Road Construction Site

ABSTRACT Road and building constructions, including other manufacturing often involve lots of activities, which lead to the release of smoke, dust and particles to the atmosphere and this ultimately mix with the surrounding air(that is being inhaled), settled on streams and items within and away from the construction sites: these activities usually cause, among others, air pollution. The polluted air, when inhaled, can be detrimental to human health. However, air quality is a significant environmental and public health concern. For this reason, it’s important to identify the Particulate Matter (PM) concentration, in the concerned areas and embarked upon measures, of managing this, for ensuring, a smooth human health condition in respect of PM. Consequently, this project work aims at developing a methodology for accessing the environmental impact caused by the Particulate Matter (PM) emission that arises from a commercial, residential and construction site. In line with this, therefore, a real time analysis was conducted, of particulate matter concentrations in relation with meteorological factors (such as temperature, humidity and wind-speed) using KEPA’s monitoring equipment. Thus, PM levels and weather parameters was recorded at a commercial area, residential area and road construction site to access variations and influence factors. Statistical analysis, correlation and regression analysis were used to see how meteorological conditions affect air pollution trend. Result shows higher emissions arising from construction activities poses high environmental impacts. The research shows potential health risks associated with high PM concentration and provides significant knowledge, recommendations for improving air quality based on the observed data.