Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in air and vegetation: case study at three selected toll stations along North South Expressway in Johor, Malaysia

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from vehicular emission are products of the incomplete combustion of organic fuel, and are usually attached to the particulate matter from the emission and can caused pollution and hazard to human health due to its carcinogenic, mutagenic and teratogenic characteristics. The objective of this study is i) to determine the concentration PAHs in the air of sampling area, ii) to determine the concentration PAHs in vegetation, iii) to determine the relationship of concentration of PAHs in plants and air of sampling area and iv) to study the different composition of PAHs in different species of plants to determine the potential biomonitoring agent. The study is carried out at three toll stations along PLUS’ North-South Expressway in Johor. Air sample and plant leaves sample collected were extracted with ultrasonic agitation in dichloromethane and fractionated according to polarity before submitted to gas chromatography – mass spectrometry analysis to determine the concentration of the PAHs compounds. Spearman’s rank correlation test was carried out using SPSS to determine the correlation between concentration of PAHs in air and plant leaves sample. Seven PAHs were identified and quantified in the atmospheric sample and plant leaves sample. Those PAHs were acenaphtylene (ACN), phenanthrene (PHE), fluorene (FL), pyrene (PY), chrysene (CHR), benzo[a]anthracene (BaA), and benzo[a]pyrene (BaP). Significant correlation at 0.05 level (2-tailed) was observed in samples of Ficus microcarpa, Cordyline fruticosa, Hibiscus spp., and Ixora coccinea with the value 0.622, 0.643, 0.680 and 0.608 respectively. The positive correlation shows that the plants have capabilities to absorb organic pollutants from the environment. Based from this research, the most suitable species to be introduced into the environment as a biomonitoring agent and to be further studied as a medium for low and medium level pollution bioremediation is Ficus microcarpa, Cordyline fruticosa, and Ixora coccine

Carbon emission from vehicular source in selected industrial areas in Malaysia

Vehicle emission has been the major source of environmental pollution for the past 30 years. The urbanization, industrialization and traffic systems growth are causing more air pollution problem in the city creating an uncomfortable atmosphere to live in. Carbon emission is one of the main air pollutants causing problems in the local and global community. This paper discusses the effect of increasing vehicular traffic on the road in a few industrial sites within cities in Malaysia to the release of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide in the atmosphere. This paper studies the traffic trend using census data from JKJR and converted into carbon emission using DEFRA GHG Conversion Factors and air quality trend from Alam Sekitar Malaysia in three selected industrial area in Malaysia, which are Shah Alam Industrial Area, Seremban-Senawang Industrial Area and Kuantan-Pekan Industrial Area. Carbon monoxide concentration trend in Shah Alam and Seremban-Senawang fluctuates with the highest concentration of 1.78ppm for Shah Alam and 0.77ppm in Seremban-Senawang in the earlier years and becoming lower in 2010 and 2011 compared to the trend in Kuantan-Pekan, which increased since 2001 to 2011 with the highest concentration of 0.54ppm. Carbon dioxide concentration is highest at Shah Alam ranging from 18067.17 to 88150.01 kg CO2 /km travelled compared to Kuantan-Pekan ranging from 3520.39 to 6953.69 kg CO2 /km travelled and Seremban-Senawang ranging from 3783.29 to 5734.30 kg CO2 /km travelled. Based on the early findings, the increasing vehicular traffic resulted in increment of carbon emission in the atmosphere

Relationship of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PaHs) from vehicle emission in air particulate and plant leaves From highway roadsides in Johor, Malaysia

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) produced from the incomplete combustion of the organic and fossil fuel, and are usually attached to the particulate matter from the emission. Abundance of PAHs occurrence in the atmosphere has the ability to accumulate into vegetation. This study, by using selected species of plants is carried out to determine the relationship between the composition of PAHs in plants and the degree of PAHs pollution in the atmosphere to discover the ability of plants to absorb PAHs from the atmosphere. The study is concentrated on 3 toll station along PLUS’ North- South Expressway in Johor. From this study, it was observed that some plants are suitable for absorption of PAHs pollutant from the environment and suitable to be introduced as a medium for biomonitoring

Moving towards embracing sustainability: learning from doing in the extended mega urban region, Kuala Lumpur

The embracing of sustainability and liveability of an extended urban region depends on several underlying factors related to the three pillars of sustainable development. We have identified some of these factors: the soundness of collaboration between stake holders to create functioning institutions; effective governance to ensure feasible implementation and monitoring of plans and policies, the consideration related to the physical environment, creation of favourable social sphere, and balanced economic drivers such as industrial and retail diversity. In ensuring Malaysia’s rapid development, the industrial sector was promoted, thus encouraging domestic and foreign investments and diversified industrial activities. Industrial growth is important to boost up the economic growth. However, the growth of industrial areas in cities makes it a very vulnerable environment for people to live in, for their pollution threats. Retailing is the main component that contributes to the liveability of a city centre because this will encourage residents to visit the central business district. However, for traffic congestions there is a need for regional redistribution of marketing such as regional shopping complex. Retail planning is compulsory in order to sustain from either the arrangement or distribution of the shops. Seremban Town Centre showed that the retail outlet has moved to sell “high end” products. Education is one of an essential tool for achieving sustainability. An education for sustainable development is based on an integrated approach to economic, environmental and societal development as well as encompasses a broad range of related issues. Governance in sustainable development institutions can refer to the procedures and processes as a bridge that will link to sustainable development. The process of effective governance in achieving sustainable development requires the proactive involvement of all parties

Evaluation and Prediction of PM10 and PM2.5 from Road Source Emissions in Kuala Lumpur City Centre

Particulate matter (PM) is one of the major pollutants emitted by vehicles that adversely affect human health and the environment. This study evaluates and predicts concentrations and dispersion patterns of PM10 and PM2.5 in Kuala Lumpur city centre. The OML-Highway model calculates hourly time series of PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations and distribution caused by traffic emissions under different scenarios; business as usual (BAU) and 30% traffic reduction to see the impact of traffic reduction for sustainable traffic management. Continuous PM10 and PM2.5 data from a nearby monitoring station were analysed for the year 2019 and compared with modelled concentrations. Annual average concentration at various locations of interest for PM10 and PM2.5 during BAU runs were in the ranges 41.4–65.9 µg/m3 and 30.4–43.7 µg/m3 respectively, compared to during the 30% traffic reduction run ranging at 40.5–59.5 µg/m3 and 29.9–40.3 µg/m3 respectively. The average concentration of PM10 and PM2.5 at the Continuous Air Quality Monitoring Station (CAQMS) was 36.4 µg/m3 and 28.2 µg/m3 respectively. Strong correlations were observed between the predicted and observed data for PM10 and PM2.5 in both scenarios (p < 0.05). This research demonstrated that the reduction of traffic volume in the city contributes to reducing the concentration of particulate matter pollution

Spatiotemporal Variations of Particulate Matter and their Association with Criteria Pollutants and Meteorology in Malaysia

Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) poses a higher risk to human health than coarse particulate matter (PM10). This study aims to determine the spatiotemporal variations of PM2.5 and PM10 in Malaysia and their association with other criteria pollutants and meteorological factors. Hourly data from air quality monitoring stations for the year 2018 were retrieved from the Malaysian Department of Environment and analysed for temporal and spatial scales according to different regions in Malaysia. Further statistical analyses, such as Spearman’s Rank Correlation and Principal Component Analysis (PCA), were conducted to study the associations between PM2.5 and PM10 with other main criteria air pollutants, as well as meteorological parameters. Higher mean concentrations of PM2.5 (23 ± 8 µg m–3, range = 4.6–158 µg m–3) and PM10 (32 ± 10 µg m–3, range = 6.0–181 µg m–3) were observed in the central region of the Malaysian Peninsula. The diurnal patterns of PM2.5 and PM10 were in a bimodal pattern and influenced by traffic emissions. The highest mean PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations were recorded during the southwest monsoon season, notably in the central region. The Spearman’s Rank Correlation shows that NO2 and CO have a moderately positive correlation (p \u3c 0.01) with PM2.5 (r = 0.47) and PM10 (r = 0.48) in the central regions while all meteorological parameters show significantly weak to very weak correlations with PM. The PCA analysis indicates that the major sources leading to the formation of particulate matter are from the contribution of secondary aerosols and combustion-related sources. The ratio of PM2.5 to PM10 ranged between 0.51 and 0.76 nationwide with the highest mean recorded in the central region (0.72). This study indicates that there is a higher abundance of fine particulate in the ambient air of the urbanised environment and thus a greater likely risk to human health in more developed areas