Author(s)

Bunting Kayode Williams^1*, Joe Milton Beah¹, Eldred Tunde Taylor¹, Thomas Fayia Kamara², Daniel Kaitibi³

¹Institute of Environmental Management and Quality Control, School of Environmental Sciences, Njala University, Main Campus, Njala, Sierra Leone.
²Department of Biological Sciences, School of Environmental Sciences, Njala University, Main Campus, Njala, Sierra Leone.
³Department of Physics and Computer Science, School of Technology, Njala University, Main Campus, Njala, Sierra Leone.

An assessment of the emission of combustible gases in developing countries requires reliable analytical realtime monitors that can rapidly screen them with minimal handling. Considering the expensive nature of monitoring environmental pollutants, chemical sensors are expected to play a pivotal role in measuring and recording environmental data. The Drager X am 5000 was used to report emission levels of combustible gases in this study, namely; nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), sulphur dioxide (SO₂) and carbon monoxide (CO) at traffic and practising waste dumpsite in Freetown, the main city of Sierra Leone. Hourly average values for the three pollutants were recorded in the morning, afternoon and evening periods, respectively. The range of values were 18 - 76 ppb for NO₂, 211 - 506 ppb for SO₂ and 11 - 14 ppm for CO at traffic site; and 6 - 16 ppb for NO₂, 118 - 276 ppb for SO₂ and 8 - 15 ppm for CO at the dumpsite, respectively. There were significantly high hourly variations for NO₂ and SO₂ at the traffic site and for CO and SO₂ at the dumpsite. Evidence of peak values showed emission levels that were considered dangerous for human exposure. This pilot study revealed that combustible gases released in certain areas of the capital city are a concern for both public health officials and environmental advocates.

Pollution, Nitrogen Dioxide, Sulphur Dioxide, Carbon Monoxide, Air Quality

Williams, B. , Beah, J. , Taylor, E. , Kamara, T. and Kaitibi, D. (2017) Emission of Combustible Gases at Traffic and Practising Waste Dumpsite in Freetown, Sierra Leone: A Pilot Study. Atmospheric and Climate Sciences, 7, 1-10. doi: 10.4236/acs.2017.71001.