TITLE:
Atmospheric Pollutants in a Commercial Region of Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil: Integration of Health, Environment and Economy in Urban Planning to Improve Air Quality
AUTHORS:
Mônica Giovana Alves Cardoso Ratts, Brenna Kessy Silva Lima, Gilvan Ribeiro dos Santos, Fladimir de Lima Gondim, Rinaldo Santos Araújo, Mona Lisa Moura de Oliveira, Francisco Sales Ávila Cavalcante, Daniel Silveira Serra
KEYWORDS:
Air Quality, Urban Planning, Particulate Material, Health Impacts
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection,
Vol.12 No.5,
May
22,
2024
ABSTRACT: The accelerated growth of the vehicular fleet, the modernization of large urban centers, and the few adjustments to the road network in Fortaleza have intensified the problems of traffic and emissions of atmospheric pollutants, highlighting the necessity for strategic urban planning initiatives to address the escalating issues of traffic and pollution. With the objective of analyzing the indices of concentrations of atmospheric pollutants and estimating how these levels can affect human health, this work consists of a study of the analysis of air quality in the intense trade region of Fortaleza. For this, the analysis zone was divided into three perimeters (Major - Medium - Minor), where each perimeter was analyzed at 7 am, 12 noon and 5 pm. Concentrations of the type of O3, particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), CO2 and HCHO were collected. Our results demonstrate that most of the analyses are within the limits of current legislation; however, at certain times and perimeters, the analyses of CO2 and HCHO exceeded the established limits. In view of the above, we conclude that public policies to control air quality are necessary to reduce the damage to human health and the environment caused by pollutants.