Institute of Environmental Management and Quality Control

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://dspace.njala.edu.sl/handle/20.500.144402/148

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    Gaseous Air Quality Indicators along Traffic Routes in Greater Freetown, Sierra Leone
    (Conscientia Beam, 2017) Taylor, Eldred Tunde
    Urban air pollution is increasingly getting attention in developing countries in recent years. It was against this backdrop that this piece of work examined three indices of air pollution along a single carriage road (Kissy Road) and dual carriage road (Wilkinson Road) on either direction. Brief monitoring spell of nitrogen dioxide (NO2); sulphur dioxide (SO2) and carbon monoxide (CO) were made between August 2015 and September 2015 using the Drager X am 5000 realtime monitor for the different gases. Diurnal monitoring was made in the morning, afternoon and evening periods representing peak and off peak periods. Results indicated higher levels of pollution at Kissy Road relative to Wilkinson Road. Considerable variation were also observed among the pollutants for the two sites and the hourly average values revealed levels that are within ambient air quality standards except for SO2. Field observations revealed poorly maintained vehicles, human behavioral pattern, frequent traffic jams were attributed to the observed values.
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    Prevalence of Acute Respiratory Infections in Women and Children in Western Sierra Leone due to Smoke from Wood and Charcoal Stoves
    (Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, 2012-06-19) Taylor, Eldred Tunde
    Combustion of biomass fuels (wood and charcoal) for cooking releases smoke that contains health damaging pollutants. Women and children are the most affected. Exposure to biomass smoke is associated with acute respiratory infections (ARI). This study investigated the prevalence of ARI potentially caused by smoke from wood and charcoal stoves in Western Sierra Leone, as these two fuels are the predominant fuel types used for cooking. A cross sectional study was conducted for 520 women age 15-45 years; and 520 children under 5 years of age in homes that burn wood and charcoal. A questionnaire assessing demographic, household and exposure characteristics and ARI was administered to every woman who further gave information for the child. Suspended particulate matter (SPM) was continuously monitored in fifteen homes. ARI prevalence revealed 32% and 24% for women, 64% and 44% for children in homes with wood and charcoal stoves, respectively. After adjusting for potential confounders for each group, the odds ratio of having suffered from ARI was similar for women, but remained large for children in homes with wood stoves relative to charcoal stoves (OR = 1.14, 95%CI: 0.71-1.82) and (OR = 2.03, 95%CI: 1.31-3.13), respectively. ARI prevalence was higher for children in homes with wood stoves compared with homes with charcoal stoves, but ARI prevalence for both types of fuels is higher compared with reported prevalence elsewhere. To achieve a reduction in ARI would require switching from wood and charcoal to cleaner fuels.