Assessment of Air Quality Levels in the Major Towns Across Benue Zone C, Nigeria

Abstract

Air pollution is as old as civilization itself. nature produces air pollution, and so do human activities that pollute the environment on a daily basis. this has become a thing of concern and hence, need serious attention. this study assessed air quality levels in five (5) local government areas (lgas) of benue zone c, covering busy roads, garages, schools, residential areas, hospitals, hotels, and markets. the results obtained depicted that the concentration of the air pollutants is at the permissible limit set by who and fmenv except hcho with concentration of 0.0010 mg/m3 to 0.7102 mg/m3 and tvoc with a concentration of 0.0160 mg/m3 to 0.5686 mg/m3 against 0.10 mg/m3 and 0.30 mg/m3 respectively, which is higher in some locations in okpoga, otukpo, oju and ugbokpo. since hcho and tvoc exceeded the permissible limit set by regulatory bodies in some local government areas (otukpo, oju, apa and okpokwu) which can pose serious environmental and health complications in the area. hence, there is need for strict environmental rules to restrict the emission of hcho and tvoc in the areas affected, implementation of strict emission controls, improvement of ventilation, use low voc materials, enhancement of green infrastructure and also enforcement of air quality regulations.