Volatile Organic Compound Composition of Urban Air in Nairobi, Kenya and Lagos, Nigeria

Rebecca L. Cordell; Rikesh Panchal; Emmanuel Bernard; Michael Gatari; Ezekiel Waiguru; Moses Ng’ang’a; James Nyang’aya; Madara Ogot; Michael J. Wilde; Kevin P. Wyche; Akeem A. Abayomi; Rose Alani; Paul S. Monks; Hey JD Vande

doi:10.3390/atmos12101329

Volatile Organic Compound Composition of Urban Air in Nairobi, Kenya and Lagos, Nigeria

Rebecca L. Cordell^*, Rikesh Panchal, Emmanuel Bernard, Michael Gatari, Ezekiel Waiguru, Moses Ng’ang’a, James Nyang’aya, Madara Ogot, Michael J. Wilde, Kevin P. Wyche, Akeem A. Abayomi, Rose Alani, Paul S. Monks, Hey JD Vande

^*Corresponding author for this work

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Sub-Saharan Africa is seeing rapid urbanization, with the population of cities such as Lagos and Nairobi growing at a rate of 3–4% a year. The region is extremely under-sampled for all air pollutants, particularly VOCs, which are useful markers for source apportionment as well as toxic in their own right. There are many contributors to air pollution in the region, and studies examining fine particulate pollution implicate traffic as the primary source in urban areas. In this pilot study, VOCs were analysed at a selection of roadside and urban background locations in Nairobi and Lagos, and 74 VOCs were quantified. GC×GC–MS/FID analysis revealed all locations were dominated by hydrocarbons typical of vehicle emissions, with the aromatic hydrocarbons benzene and toluene among the most abundant VOCs. Typical personal exposure scenarios for citizens of the cities were calculated to far exceed those of a resident in a city in Europe/US. Finally, the calculated ozone forming potential of the VOCs measured was found to be similarly high to other large cities studied with similar air pollution problems. Further study is therefore essential to determine the full extent of VOC pollution in the region and its impact on tropospheric chemistry.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1329-1329
Number of pages	0
Journal	Atmosphere
Volume	12
Issue number	10
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos12101329
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 12 Oct 2021

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Cordell, R. L., Panchal, R., Bernard, E., Gatari, M., Waiguru, E., Ng’ang’a, M., Nyang’aya, J., Ogot, M., Wilde, M. J., Wyche, K. P., Abayomi, A. A., Alani, R., Monks, P. S., & Vande, H. JD. (2021). Volatile Organic Compound Composition of Urban Air in Nairobi, Kenya and Lagos, Nigeria. Atmosphere, 12(10), 1329-1329. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos12101329

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title = "Volatile Organic Compound Composition of Urban Air in Nairobi, Kenya and Lagos, Nigeria",

abstract = "Sub-Saharan Africa is seeing rapid urbanization, with the population of cities such as Lagos and Nairobi growing at a rate of 3–4% a year. The region is extremely under-sampled for all air pollutants, particularly VOCs, which are useful markers for source apportionment as well as toxic in their own right. There are many contributors to air pollution in the region, and studies examining fine particulate pollution implicate traffic as the primary source in urban areas. In this pilot study, VOCs were analysed at a selection of roadside and urban background locations in Nairobi and Lagos, and 74 VOCs were quantified. GC×GC–MS/FID analysis revealed all locations were dominated by hydrocarbons typical of vehicle emissions, with the aromatic hydrocarbons benzene and toluene among the most abundant VOCs. Typical personal exposure scenarios for citizens of the cities were calculated to far exceed those of a resident in a city in Europe/US. Finally, the calculated ozone forming potential of the VOCs measured was found to be similarly high to other large cities studied with similar air pollution problems. Further study is therefore essential to determine the full extent of VOC pollution in the region and its impact on tropospheric chemistry.",

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AU - Cordell, Rebecca L.

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AU - Waiguru, Ezekiel

AU - Ng’ang’a, Moses

AU - Nyang’aya, James

AU - Ogot, Madara

AU - Wilde, Michael J.

AU - Wyche, Kevin P.

AU - Abayomi, Akeem A.

AU - Alani, Rose

AU - Monks, Paul S.

AU - Vande, Hey JD

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N2 - Sub-Saharan Africa is seeing rapid urbanization, with the population of cities such as Lagos and Nairobi growing at a rate of 3–4% a year. The region is extremely under-sampled for all air pollutants, particularly VOCs, which are useful markers for source apportionment as well as toxic in their own right. There are many contributors to air pollution in the region, and studies examining fine particulate pollution implicate traffic as the primary source in urban areas. In this pilot study, VOCs were analysed at a selection of roadside and urban background locations in Nairobi and Lagos, and 74 VOCs were quantified. GC×GC–MS/FID analysis revealed all locations were dominated by hydrocarbons typical of vehicle emissions, with the aromatic hydrocarbons benzene and toluene among the most abundant VOCs. Typical personal exposure scenarios for citizens of the cities were calculated to far exceed those of a resident in a city in Europe/US. Finally, the calculated ozone forming potential of the VOCs measured was found to be similarly high to other large cities studied with similar air pollution problems. Further study is therefore essential to determine the full extent of VOC pollution in the region and its impact on tropospheric chemistry.

AB - Sub-Saharan Africa is seeing rapid urbanization, with the population of cities such as Lagos and Nairobi growing at a rate of 3–4% a year. The region is extremely under-sampled for all air pollutants, particularly VOCs, which are useful markers for source apportionment as well as toxic in their own right. There are many contributors to air pollution in the region, and studies examining fine particulate pollution implicate traffic as the primary source in urban areas. In this pilot study, VOCs were analysed at a selection of roadside and urban background locations in Nairobi and Lagos, and 74 VOCs were quantified. GC×GC–MS/FID analysis revealed all locations were dominated by hydrocarbons typical of vehicle emissions, with the aromatic hydrocarbons benzene and toluene among the most abundant VOCs. Typical personal exposure scenarios for citizens of the cities were calculated to far exceed those of a resident in a city in Europe/US. Finally, the calculated ozone forming potential of the VOCs measured was found to be similarly high to other large cities studied with similar air pollution problems. Further study is therefore essential to determine the full extent of VOC pollution in the region and its impact on tropospheric chemistry.

U2 - 10.3390/atmos12101329

DO - 10.3390/atmos12101329

M3 - Article

SN - 2073-4433

VL - 12

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EP - 1329

JO - Atmosphere

JF - Atmosphere

IS - 10

ER -

Volatile Organic Compound Composition of Urban Air in Nairobi, Kenya and Lagos, Nigeria

Abstract

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