Investigation the Air Quality City of Kashan during 2012 Based on the Air Quality Index

Abstract

Background & aim: Nowadays air pollution from vehicles, industry and increasing consumption of fossil fuels threatens human health and the environment. Monitoring and identifying pollutant sources are one of the basic strategies for controlling air pollution. The aim of this study was to determine the quality of air of Kashan, Iran, based on the air quality index in 2011. Methods: In the present descriptive - analytical study, the concentration of air pollutants, including O3, CO, SO2, NO2 and PM10 were determined. Index of air quality was calculated by the MATLAB R2007a software, which six groups were classified. Results: The results indicated that the air quality index of 365 days in 2011, 179 days were clean and acceptable, but 186 days exceeded the air quality standards. Accordingly, the air quality was unhealthy for sensitive groups at 86 days, unhealthy 38 days, very unhealthy 31 days and 31 days were dangerous. Conclusions: O3, PM10 and CO was responsible for the largest contingent air pollution in non-standard conditions in Kashan city. Moreover, one suggestion for better estimate of the quality of the air in the city is to increase the number of pollutant measuring stations of the city