Air Quality Indices , Sources and Impact on Human Health of PM 10 and PM 2 . 5 in Alexandria Governorate , Egypt

In this study, PM10 and PM2.5 were measured in seven sites representing different activities (the same sites of EEAA monitoring stations) in addition to eighth site that used as a background. All results were higher than AQLs of EEAA, US/EPA, and EC although PM10 and PM2.5 are considered to be a direct cause of cardiovascular diseases as well as lead to death and it may be a reason for a number of chest diseases in short-term as well as long-term. Results were compared to the Air Quality Forecast system which developed by EEAA and AQI which created by US/EPA was calculated for some PM10 and PM2.5. Probable potential anthropogenic sources for such high concentrations of PM included unpaved roads, indiscriminate demolition and construction work, industrial activities, and solid wastes. This study resulted in a number of suggestions and recommendations include: 1) Implementation of integrated ISO 26000 and ISO 14001, 2) EIMP/EEAA monitoring stations need restructuring plan to cover all areas in Alexandria, 3) EIMP/EEAA must be supported with PM2.5 monitors, 4) PM control systems must be used in all industrial activities to reduce PM pollution from the source, 5) AQL of PM2.5 in the ambient environment must be reduced and it must be included in the working environment parameters, 6) Environmental law must be applied strictly, and 7) Multidisciplinary co-operation especially between environment and public health specialists must be increased.


Introduction 1.Particulate Matters
Particulate Matters (PM) are a complex mixture of particles that can be solid, liquid or both vary in size, composition, and origin.The specific composition and size distribution of PM varies by region, time of year, time of day, weather conditions and other factors (WHO, 2001) [1].

PM Categories
PM can be divided into four categories:  TSP: (Total Suspended Particulates): particulate matter with an upper size limit of approximately 100 µm. PM 10 : particles with a diameter less than 10 micrometers (course particles), such as those found near roadways and dusty industries, and pose a health concern because they can be inhaled into and accumulate in the respiratory system. PM 2.5 : particles with a diameter less than 2.5 micrometers (fine particulates) such as those found in smoke and haze, and are believed to pose the largest health risks.PM 2.5 has very small size less than one-seventh the average width of a human hair and can lodge deeply into the lungs and reach terminal bronchioles and alveoli. UFPs (Ultrafine Particulates): particles with a diameter less than 0.1 micrometer (PM 0.1 ) (WHO, 2001) [1].

PM Sources
It is imperative to survey sources to solve the problem of PM high concentrations.PM sources may be natural or anthropogenic: 1) Natural sources that include dust storms, pollen grains and spores, volcanic eruptions, forest and grassland fires and sea spray.2) Anthropogenic sources that include industrial processes, combustion of fossil fuel, either by stationary sources or by transportation, construction and demolition activities, exciting of road dust in the atmosphere (especially in unpaved roads), domestic solid waste, smoking, and agricultural operations (US EPA, Dec. 2009) [2].

Health Effects
Exposure to PM 10 and PM 2.5 has adverse effects on human health whether in the short or long terms.US/EPA published a reference about Integrated Science Assessment for Particulate Matter (ISA PM) in December 2009, which included inventory of different health effects of PM 10 and PM 2.5 which scientific studies had shown that there was an explicit correlation between PM concentrations and these diseases.(US EPA, Dec.2009) [2].
1) Exposure to PM 2.5 PM 2.5 considered more influential than PM 10 on human health because of its ability to penetrate the respiratory system and access to trachea and primary bronchi.Research studies have shown that exposure to large concentrations of

Air Quality Index
The AQI is an index for reporting daily air quality.As the AQI increases, an increasingly large percentage of the population is likely to experience increasingly severe adverse health effects.Different countries have their own air quality indices that are not all consistent.Different countries also use different names for their indices such as Air Pollution Index and Pollutant Standards Index (PSI).

Study Area
The study area is Alexandria governorate, the second largest industrial city in Egypt.It has the latitude and longitude of 31˚13'N and 29˚58'E, with a population more than 4.6 million according to the latest report of CAPMAS, 2012 [4].
Measurements and survey carried out in the seven sites of EEAA monitoring stations and eighth site as background as shown in Table 3 and Figure 1 (IDSC, Dec 2011) [5].

Environmental Problem
This thesis was prepared to study the environmental problem of the very high concentrations of PM 10 and PM 2.5 that have serious health effects.Available data as in WHO report about polluted cities classified Egypt as one of the most polluted countries all over the world (WHO, 2001) [7], CAPMAS Annual reports from 2003 to 2011 recorded that the annual average concentrations of PM 10 in Alexandria city were higher than AQLs (IDSC, Dec 2011) [5], as shown in Table 4 and Figure 2. In addition, there is lacking of data about PM 2.5 although it has highly risk impact than PM 10 .

Monitoring Instruments
To complete this research, multiple devices have been used such as, CEL-712 MICRO DUST PRO to measure PM 10 and PM 2.5, GPS to determine locations of measurement points on the map, and digital camera to document different activities of the ambient measurement locations which would help us in the interpretation of the figures and results.

Previous Data Sources
Previous data collected from different sources such as (EEAA) and (CAPMAS),

Metrological Data
Climatic variables are considered as one of the very important factors in understanding and analyzing any results of all air pollutants and significantly affect the concentration of pollutants in the air and help in identifying places which highly affected by any contaminant.

Legislations
Results of PM 10 and PM 2.5 measurements compared to AQLs in: 1) The local legislations that issued by the ministry of state for environmental affairs represented by EEAA as shown in Table 5.
2) AQLs of US/EPA as shown in Table 6.
3) AQLs of EC as shown in Table 7.

Air Quality Index (AQI)
AQI is a number used by government agencies to communicate to the public how polluted the air is currently or how polluted it is forecast to become as mentioned above.In this study, AQI of PM in United States (US/EPA, Dec 2011) (11) -Table 8-and Air Quality Forecast in Egypt (EEAA)-Table 9-used for assessment of results.
The equation that's used to calculate the AQI is: [3] ( ) PM 10 Air Quality Forecast used in this research to create another one for PM 2.5 .Both AQFs consist of the same categories and the same color icons.The only difference was decreasing of ranges according to AQLs.PM 10 has AQL of 150 µg/m 3 for 24-hrs and PM 2.5 has AQL of 100 µg/m 3 for 24-hrs and hence all values of PM 10 Pollution Index was multiplied by correction factor 0.67 to create a new Air Quality Forecast for PM 2.5 as shown in Table 10.As for the wind, the average wind speed over the past year did not exceed 12 km/hr and the prevailing wind in Alexandria always has been from the northwest.PM measurements were conducted during the last month of spring season (from May 21, 2015 to June 20, 2015).These period recorded readings were very close to the annual average temperature and wind speed as shown in Table 11, as well as this period did not record rainfall at all and hence there no wet deposition of PM occurred (http://www.wunderground.com)[13].

Results and Discussion
PM 10 and PM 2.5 were measured in seven sites in Alexandria which representing different activities as shown in Figure 4.These sites include Abu Keir, El-shouhada Square, El-Max, IGSR, El-Asafra, Ghait El-Inab, and El-Nahda.
For PM 10 Results, El-Nahda site recorded the highest average concentration (1805 µg/m 3 ), while Ghait El-Inab site recorded the lower average concentration (170 µg/m 3 ).When comparing concentrations to AQLs of EEAA and US/EPA (150 µg/m 3 ); All sites were higher than AQLs except Ghait El-Inab.When comparing concentrations to AQL of EC (50 µg/m 3 ); All sites were higher than AQLs as shown in Table 12 and Figure 5.
For PM 2.5 Results, El-Nahda site also recorded the highest average concentration (1368 µg/m 3 ), while Ghait El-Inab site recorded the lower average concentration (70 µg/m 3 ).When comparing concentrations to AQL of EEAA (100 µg/m 3 ); All sites were higher than AQL except Ghait El-Inab.When you compare results up to AQL of US/EPA (35 µg/m 3 ); All sites were higher than AQL without any exceptions as is shown in Table 13 and Figure 6.PM 10 and PM 2.5 were compared to the Air Quality Forecast which created by EEAA.For PM 10 Results, three sites were classified as "Emergency" (>650 µg/m 3 ) while two sites were classified as "Alert" (420 to 549 µg/m 3 ) while one site was       classified as "Moderate" (134 to: 233 µg/m 3 ) and another site was classified as "Normal" (133 to 67 µg/m 3 ) as shown in Table 15 and Figure 8.
In addition, PM 10 and PM 2.5 concentrations were compared to the AQI which created by US/EPA.These AQIs calculated according to the previous equation that mentioned in 3.5.2.AQIs were not applicable for three sites that have PM 10 concentrations higher than 604 µg/m 3 as shown in Table 16 and for five sites that have PM 2.5 concentrations higher than 500.4µg/m 3 as shown in Table 17.
The background measurement site in the north coast recorded 108 μg/m 3 for PM 10 while PM 2.5 recorded 85 μg/m 3 and both were below than AQLs of EEAA and classified as "Normal" in the EEAA Air Quality Forecast.

Expected Sources of PM
There are several potential sources of PM pollution which was noticed during We cannot say for sure that the PM 2.5 was the only cause of those rates of patients and deaths as there is interference with other reasons that may be other air pollutants.It may be also because of genetic factors or otherwise.However, PM 2.5 remains one of reasons that led to the occurrence of these diseases and deaths, but we cannot accurately determine the percentage of its impact.

Management Options
There are several management options for mitigating these high concentrations of PM 10 and PM 2.5 and hence protect human health from adverse effects that mentioned above.These options include, 1) Increasing awareness about ISO2600 (CSR) and ISO 14001, 2) Restructuring EIMP/EEAA monitoring stations and supporting them with PM 2.5 monitors, 3) Using different PM collection devices in industrial activities, 4) Reducing AQL of PM 2.5 , and 5) Increasing Environmental law enforcement firmly.

Implementation of Integrated ISO 26000 and ISO 14001
CSR is the traditional way to refer to the role of a business in contributing positively to the larger community in which it operates.ISO 26000 uses the term Social Responsibility (SR) to refer to this concept, to show that its guidance can be used by all kinds of organizations (ECOLOGIA, May 2011) [15].However, since this handbook is designed especially for the needs of small and medium size businesses, we have used CSR the more familiar term throughout.ISO 26000 identifies seven core subjects that socially responsible businesses should address.Implementers of ISO 26000 should evaluate their actions in each of the core subjects, to identify what they are doing in their current practices, and to set priorities for improvements (ECOLOGIA, May 2011) [15].ISO 26000 has seven core subjects which are 1) Organizational governance: Practicing accountability and transparency at all levels of your organization; using leadership to create an organizational culture which uses core values of social responsibility when making business decisions.
2) Human rights: Treating all individuals with respect; making special efforts to help people from vulnerable groups.
3) Labor practices: Providing just, safe and healthy conditions for workers; engaging in two way discussions to address workers' concerns.
4) Environment: Identifying and improving environmental impacts of your operations, including resource use and waste disposal.Implementation of integrated ISO 2600 and ISO 14001 will solve many environmental problems.For example, Wadi El-Qamar Street can be paved as Social responsibility of surrounding companies in this area according to 7 th ISO 26000 core subject or as Improvement of their environmental performance by decreasing PM emitted because of transporting raw materials and products according to ISO 14001 (ISO Central Secretariat, 2015) [16].

Restructuring of EIMP/EEAA Monitoring Stations
Quick review of the administrative border of the Alexandria governorate-Figure 3 shows that the monitoring stations need to restructure as: 1) Nearly western half of the Alexandria does not have monitoring stations, although it includes the New Borg El-Arab city, which includes several industrial zones.
2) Total area of cultivated land in Alexandria governorate is 18,120,000 Acre according to IDSC in 2010 (8,427,000 old land + 9,642,000 new land) with total cropped area of 31,612,000.Most of those agricultural areas are located in the southern part of Alexandria and there is no monitoring stations represent agri-culture areas, although it is considered downwind for all industrial areas.
3) There are 6 stations of the seven which include instruments to monitor PM 10 and none of them include any device for measuring PM 2.5 although it is the most dangerous to human health.

Reducing Pollution from the Source
PM collection occurs when the particle leaves the entraining air and contact a collecting surface.There are different applicable techniques such as elutriators, cyclones, electrostatic precipitator, etc.

1) Elutriators for PM collection
Elutriators used for PM collection can have either vertical or horizontal orientation.A simplified horizontal elutriators design shown in Figure 9 (Robert F. Phalen, and Robert N. Phalen, 2013) [17].
2) Cyclones: Cyclones (and aerosol centrifuges) impart a rotational velocity to the particle-containing air stream that produced an increased artificial g-force (gravitational acceleration), sometimes called a "centrifugal" force, to the particles.The increased g-force increases the collection efficiency, especially for small particles that normally settle slowly.A common cyclone design used for PM collection is shown in Figure 10 (Robert F. Phalen, and Robert N. Phalen, 2013) [17].
3) Electrostatic precipitator Charged particles in an electrical field can encounter electrostatic forces that greatly exceed resistive drag and gravitational forces.Charged particles are attracted to oppositely-charged and grounded bodies.The velocity with charged particle move toward a collecting surface can be more than 1000 times greater than the particle's terminal settling velocity.The movement of an electrically-charged particle toward a collector is the mechanism by which an electrostatic precipitator (ESP) operates.Particles that are to be collected need not carry an initial electrical charge; Figure 11

5) Venturi Scrubbers
Venturi Scrubbers operate on the principles similar to spray towers.They differ in that the contaminated air usually flows downward toward a converging "throat" where it is rapidly accelerated.Liquid is introduced along the wall above the converging section, where it is aerosolized upon encountering the reduced pressure in the throat.The aerosolized and falling collection liquids contacts and collects the downward flowing particles and gases in a diverging lower section of the scrubber, Figure 13 (Robert F. Phalen, and Robert N. Phalen, 2013) [17].
6) Bag filters Bag filters are specialized filters that are preferable to simple flat filters because they can be repeatedly cleaned and reuse.Thus, they do not require frequent replacement.Bag filters are widely used for the collection of PM in high-throughput applications, such as coal-fired power plants, or for other industrial processes that require efficient dust emission controls, Figure 14 (Robert F. Phalen, and Robert N. Phalen, 2013) [17].
7) Packed beds Packed beds, such as those containing activated charcoal or collections of glass, metal, or plastic beads, are used for efficiently collecting particles and gases, including caustic substances.The beads can be coated with various substances to improve their performance (Robert F. Phalen, and Robert N. Phalen, 2013) [17].
3.3.4.Reducing PM2.5 AQL PM 2.5 not included in the Egyptian environmental law till 2011, and also its AQLs in the new amendment (for 24-hr and annual average) is noticed to be higher than all international AQLs as shown in Figure 15.It must be reduced to be compatible with international AQLs.Journal of Environmental Protection Computing AQI requires an air pollutant concentration from a monitor or model.The function used to convert from air pollutant concentration to AQI varies by pollutant, and is different in different countries.AQI values are divided into ranges, and each range is assigned a descriptor and a color code.Standardized public health advisories are associated with each AQI range (David Mintz, Sept. 2012)[3].

Figure 1 .
Figure 1.Showing the background site and other measurement sites.
(Air Quality) index, C = the pollutant concentration, C low = the concentration breakpoint that is ≤C, C high = the concentration breakpoint that is ≥C, I low = the index breakpoint corresponding to C low , I high = the index breakpoint corresponding to C high .

Figure 6 .
Figure 6.Pie chart for air quality forecast of PM 10 conc. in all sites.

5 ) 7 )
Fair operating practices: Respecting the law; practicing accountability and fairness in your dealings with other businesses, including your suppliers.6) Consumer issues: Providing healthy and safe products, giving accurate information, and promoting sustainable consumption.Community involvement and development: Getting involved in the betterment of the local communities that your organization operates in; being a good neighbor (ECOLOGIA, May 2011) [15].ISO 14001 is an internationally agreed standard that sets out the requirements for an environmental management system.It helps organizations improve their environmental performance through efficient use of resources and reduction of waste, gaining a competitive advantage and the trust of stakeholders (ISO Central Secretariat, 2015) [16].ISO 14001 helps:  Demonstrate compliance with current and future statutory and regulatory requirements. Increase leadership involvement and engagement of employees. Improve company reputation and the confidence of stakeholders through strategic communication. Achieve strategic business aims by incorporating environmental issues into business management. Provide a competitive and financial advantage through improved efficiencies and reduced costs. Encourage better environmental performance of suppliers by integrating them into the organization's business systems.

Table 1 .
Summary of causal determinations for short-term exposure to PM 2.5 .

Table 2 .
Summary of causal determinations for short and long-term exposure to PM 10-2.5 .

Table 10 .
New Air Quality Forecast of PM 2.5 .Temperatures range between 4˚C in the winter season, 39˚C in the summer season and average annual temperature reach to 21˚C.Total rainfall has reached 150.64 mm during 12 months (from 01 July 2014 to 30 June 2015).

Table 12 .
Summary of results for PM 10 measurements in all sites.

Table 13 .
Summary of PM 10 Air quality forecasts according to EEAA limits.

Table 14 .
Summary of PM 10 AQIs according to US/EPA limits.

Table 15 .
Summary of results for PM 2.5 measurements in all sites.

Table 16 .
Summary of PM 2.5 Air Quality Forecast according to EEAA limits.

Table 17 .
Summary of PM 2.5 AQI according to US/EPA limits.