Impact of Air Pollutant on Human Health in Kushtia Sugar Mill, Bangladesh

Abstract

The study dealt with the concentration of air pollutants emitted from Kushtia sugar mills in Jagati region of Bangladesh in order to evaluate their impact on human health. The dispersion of air pollutants from sugar mill's chimney was obtained through point source Gaussian dispersion model. The air pollutants were monitored during winter season in 2011- 2012. A questionnaire survey was randomly carried out in a small scale at the study area. The result showed that the maximum concentration of SO2, NOx and PM10 were 28.837 µg/m 3 , 76.177 µg/m 3 and 380.339 µg/m 3 respectively. The particulate matter (PM10) concentration was found to be very high whereas sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) concentrations were low at the study area. The calculated value of air pollution index (API) was 88.18 which indicate that heavy air pollution can predispose individuals to heart and lung disease in the study area people. This study revealed that the concentration of particulate matter found in Kushtia sugar mill had exceeded the minimum level according to the WHO standards. The high concentration of PM10 is suggested to affect human health and environmental conditions in the study area.