Department of Physiology, University of Medicine 1, Yangon, Myanmar.
Center for Health and Environmental Risk Research, National Institute for Environmental Studies, 16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8506, Japan.
Environ Health Prev Med. 2018 Oct 25;23(1):53. doi: 10.1186/s12199-018-0741-0.
Airborne particulate pollution is more critical in the developing world than in the developed countries in which industrialization and urbanization are rapidly increased. Yangon, a second capital of Myanmar, is a highly congested and densely populated city. Yet, there is limited study which assesses particulate matter (PM) in Yangon currently. Few previous local studies were performed to assess particulate air pollution but most results were concerned PM alone using fixed monitoring. Therefore, the present study aimed to assess distribution of PM in different townships of Yangon, Myanmar. This is the first study to quantify the regional distribution of PM in Yangon City.
The concentration of PM was measured using Pocket PM Sensor (Yaguchi Electric Co., Ltd., Miyagi, Japan) three times (7:00 h, 13:00 h, 19:00 h) for 15 min per day for 5 days from January 25 to 29 in seven townships. Detailed information of eight tracks for PM pollution status in different areas with different conditions within Kamayut Township were also collected.
The results showed that in all townships, the highest PM concentrations in the morning followed by the evening and the lowest concentrations in the afternoon were observed. Among the seven townships, Hlaingtharyar Township had the highest concentrations (164 ± 52 μg/m) in the morning and (100 ± 35 μg/m) in the evening. Data from eight tracks in Kamayut Township also indicated that PM concentrations varied between different areas and conditions of the same township at the same time.
Myanmar is one of the few countries that still have to establish national air quality standards. The results obtained from this study are useful for the better understanding of the nature of air pollution linked to PM. Moreover, the sensor which was used in this study can provide real-time exposure, and this could give more accurate exposure data of the population especially those subpopulations that are highly exposed than fixed station monitoring.
在发展中国家，空气中的悬浮颗粒污染比工业化和城市化迅速发展的发达国家更为严重。缅甸的第二首都仰光，是一个高度拥挤和人口密集的城市。然而，目前对仰光的颗粒物（PM）评估研究有限。以前很少有当地研究评估过颗粒物空气污染，但大多数结果仅关注使用固定监测的 PM 单独情况。因此，本研究旨在评估缅甸仰光不同镇区的 PM 分布情况。这是首次在仰光市量化 PM 区域分布的研究。
使用 Pocket PM 传感器（日本宫城县矢吹电机株式会社），于 1 月 25 日至 29 日的五天内，每天三次（7:00 h、13:00 h、19:00 h），每次测量 15 分钟，在七个镇区进行 PM 浓度测量。还收集了 Kamayut 镇区八个不同条件下不同区域 PM 污染状况的详细信息。
结果表明，所有镇区的 PM 浓度在早上最高，其次是傍晚，下午最低。在七个镇区中，Hlaingtharyar 镇区早上的浓度最高（164±52μg/m），傍晚的浓度最高（100±35μg/m）。Kamayut 镇区八个轨迹的数据也表明，同一镇区在同一时间，不同区域的 PM 浓度存在差异。
缅甸是少数仍需建立国家空气质量标准的国家之一。本研究结果有助于更好地了解与 PM 相关的空气污染性质。此外，本研究中使用的传感器可以提供实时暴露数据，这可以为人口，特别是那些高度暴露的亚人群提供比固定站监测更准确的暴露数据。
