Determination of Suspended Particulate Matter Concentration and Assessment of Inhalation Risk in the Ambient Air of Ahvaz City,Iran

Air pollution due to the presence of particulate matter (PM) in the ambient air is assumed to be the leading cause of many diseases in different metropolitan and industrial regions throughout the world. Based on WHO’s report on the classification of different cities of the world in terms of the amount of fine particles in the air, Ahvaz is one of the most polluted cities among a sample of more than 1100 cities around the world. Heavy metals attached to the inhalable particulate matters having a size of less than 10 microns can penetrate more deeply into the lungs, form sediments, and cause many health problems. In the present study, concentrations of arsenic, nickel, lead, aluminium and magnesium, with two particle sizes of PM_2.5-PM₁₀ and PM₁₀ and larger, in the ambient air of different districts of Ahvaz city have been measured. Their related carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks have been assessed to quantify the amount of pollution. The results showed that the measured concentrations of arsenic, nickel, lead, aluminium and magnesium in the ambient air of Ahvaz were 0.542 μg/m, 0.59 μg/m, 1.65 μg/m, 33.94 μg/m and 0.833 μg/m, respectively. Non-carcinogenic risk assessments for arsenic, nickel, aluminium and magnesium due to their inhalation from the ambient air of Ahvaz were 3.39 × 10⁻², 1.13 × 10⁻², 1.73 × 10⁻² and 1.59 × 10⁻², respectively, which indicates that the health of people in Ahvaz is not adversely affected by the non-carcinogenic factors.