)p<°@° *x9J9*<° =C<>° =)p=x !6Eg° #Jh=°A°$E>K° *>°@°)¢):° i=+>°L6d°¨ $FM°E=N° q)¤°3=° ' N 7xj=9° Oy° F=° L3,¥° ¢PE°E?°*E° ©=rQMx %E ? 8R<9°¢LE°G?°-E°?sRSz° T9=9°M° U°?h¤°+7dx¢k=9C<: M ° E8V?9° W{° £El?°¢XH°E?°-H°¢X=x°?rYZz° %"NN @°¤°.x¢??:°=N <h?7°F=° ?7=x+D?°H)°t)¤° 4=°E8[=; LN $;67CN >N K8C N °*I\¦>°%E=° &|L ?]¥°@°E?°"E°/6L@a6°° ° :7>°)° r^6@bhu° °rL8@c6E?°6¤°@°?= +R}° = %"N N =0_x° /°8¤°Mx°=m?8~L8°Bs+°@° -8HL¡-h° +:°??.Lx°?° %"N v-e=°EN«°- *Rn*5h>° %#HN N =NG@N !J9FG:A<N N ° p1f<° EL¬L°* 0Lh*5o<° ° E=° '!°z)x?° &"IN N :K9N D95FB<FN() **+,-.**/0**1-2*3-2*N4N !JCx<9° 2>° §° ­ ®° ¯° Ex<° 3`h=° w?° (f° ASSESSMENT OF FINE PARTICULATE MATTER IN HEAVY TRAFFIC AREAS IN FIJI by Shavneet Ambar Mani A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master in Science on Chemistry Copyright © 2020 by Shavneet Ambar Mani School of Biological and Chemical Sciences Faculty of Science, Technology and Environment The University of the South Pacific March, 2020 Dedication To my mum; if only words could describe the blessing that you are……. i Acknowledgment In retrospect, this section seemed like the easiest to write. It has quickly become the hardest as I try to turn emotions into words. A thousand faces immediately flash up, all of whom have played a beat to tune this thesis. I begin with name of almighty, Lord Ganesha, the source of my will and breath, both of which he has provided in the most difficult of times. Second to god, I thank my mum, Yeshmin Lata Narayan, who has believed in me more than I ever could. Thank you for reminding me that I was capable, especially when my nerves frayed. I must sincerely extend my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Dr Francis Mani. I admire your knowledge and patience, especially since I have led you to age a decade in the past 2 years. Thanks for keeping me in check! Special thanks also goes to Mrs Monika Lemestre and Dr Peggy Gunkel- Grillon of the Institute of Exact and Applied Sciences at the University of New Caledonia. Sincere appreciation and gratitude also goes to Professor Richard Peltier of the University of Massachusetts for guiding me throughout the research and providing professional insights. Many thanks to my academic advisors and technical staff including Mr Steven Sutcliffe, Dr Ajal Kumar, Joslin Lal, Thomas Tunidau, Shelvin Prasad and everyone at the “chem prep room”. I thank the Research Office and the Faculty of Science, Technology and Environment for providing all the necessary funding and support. I would certainly be made to disappear if I did not mention the members of my “tea gang”, Shivam Hanushri Goundar, Kunal Singh, Kavnil Lal, Zahra Azid and Janice Mani. Thank you so much Shamal and Sweta or should I say shamuweta? I would also like to acknowledge Aysheal Chand, Vinal Prasad and Krishneel Prasad for their guest appearances. ii My hearty appreciation goes to Mr and Mrs Ronal Deo and the kids, for showing me what it means to be humble. Special thanks also goes to Mr Davendra Nand and Mrs Roselyn Karan. You all were the team working in the background and have provided immense moral support. Finally, I would like to thank members of my family. Special thanks to my dad, Mr Shailendra Mani. Thanks to my namesake, Mr Shavneet Mani (Monu), my grandmother, Sheeran Kumari, Shaya Malini, Mohammed Salim, Kapul Prasad, Rahul Chand (Papa Joe), Avishal Singh and Sagita Devi. Before I finish, thank you so much Ashley (my niece) for forcefully teaching me what you have learnt at pre-school. I hope I don’t have to sit for an exam. Thanks to everyone that I may have missed. You know who you are so smile. iii Abstract Traffic emissions are a primary source of PM2.5-related air pollution in many urban environments. However, air quality data on heavy traffic areas in urban centres across the Pacific Island Countries (PICs) including Fiji, remain largely absent. To bridge the data gap, we monitored roadside PM2.5 concentrations in two of the largest cities in the south pacific island countries, Suva and Lautoka City in Fiji. A high volume air sampler was used for sampling in densely populated and heavy trafficked areas in Suva from September 2018 to January 2019 and in Lautoka from January to March 2019. Daily mean PM2.5 concentrations in Suva and Lautoka cities were reported to be 21.6 ± 13.3 μg/m3 and 67.2 ± 35.2 μg/m3, respectively. In comparison, PM2.5 concentrations in Lautoka City were more than twice the World Health Organisation 24 hour mean guideline concentration of 25 μg/m3. Correlations between PM2.5 and meteorological parameters including wind, rainfall, humidity and temperature were also investigated. Real time concentrations of PM2.5 and Black Carbon (BC) were also monitored to assess the diurnal patterns. Real time concentrations were monitored at four different sites, namely, Samabula, Suva City Bus Station, Reservoir Road community and Lautoka City. The BC concentrations were 3.9 ± 2.9 μg /m3 and 2.6 ± 2.7 μg /m3, 2.4 ± 2.3 μg /m3 and at 4.02 ± 4.7 μg /m3 at Samabula, Suva City Bus Station, Reservoir Road and Lautoka City, respectively. Concentrations of Al, As, Ba, Ca, Cd, Co Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, P, Pb, S, Si, Sr, V, and Zn were investigated along with their Enrichment Factors and these are presented in Chapter 4. Elements such as Al, Ba, Ca, K, Na and Zn were observed to have concentrations greater than 1 μg/m3 in both the cities. This study demonstrates that PM2.5 related air quality is already worse in Lautoka City in comparison to Suva, with mean concentrations greater than twice the WHO daily mean guidelines. Due to the absence of air quality legislation and significantly increasing number of cars, air quality could deteriorate to levels with significant public health impacts in future unless intervention is made. Finally, policy recommendations to reduce PM2.5 and BC emissions from land transport sector is also provided. iv List of Acronyms AGL Above Ground Level Al Aluminum As Arsenic Ba Barium BC Black Carbon Ca Calcium CBD Central Business District Cd Cadmium Co Cobalt CO2 Carbon Dioxide Cr Chromium Cu Copper EC Elemental Carbon EF Enrichment Factor EPA Victoria Environmental Protection Authority Victoria Fe Iron FJD Fiji Dollar GHG Green House Gasses HSU Hatridge Smoke Unit HVS High Volume Sampler HYSPLIT Hybrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory K Potassium Mg Magnesium Mn Manganese Mo Molybdenum LTA Land Transport Authority LVS Low Volume Sampler Na Sodium v Ni Nickle NGO’s Non-Governmental Organizations NOx Nitrogen Oxides NVOC Non Volatile Organic Compound OC Organic Carbon OECD Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development P Phosphorus PAH’s Poly Aromatic Hydrocarbons Pb Lead PICs Pacific Island Countries PM Particulate Matter PM10 Particles having aerodynamic diameter equal less than 10 μm PM2.5 Particles having aerodynamic diameter equal or less than 2.5 μm RH Relative humidity S Sulfur Si Silicon SSI Size Selective Inlet SO2 Sulfur Dioxide SOA Secondary Organic Aerosols Sr Strontium TC Total Carbon TIN’s Traffic Infringement Notices USD United States Dollar US EPA / EPA United States Environmental Protection Agency V Vanadium VOC Volatile Organic Compound WHO World Health Organization WSOC Water Soluble Organic Carbon Zn Zinc vi Table of Contents Dedication ..................................................................................................................... i Acknowledgment ......................................................................................................... ii Abstract ....................................................................................................................... iv List of Acronyms ......................................................................................................... v Table of Contents ....................................................................................................... vii List of Tables............................................................................................................... ix List of Figures .............................................................................................................. x 1.0 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Background and Significance ............................................................................. 1 1.2 Aim ..................................................................................................................... 7 1.3 Objectives ........................................................................................................... 7 2.0 Literature Review ................................................................................................... 8 2.1 Definition of particulate and composition .......................................................... 8 2.2 Health Impacts and Exposure Limits of PM2.5 ................................................. 11 2.3 Sources of PM2.5 ............................................................................................... 18 2.4 PM2.5 in a PIC: Fiji ........................................................................................... 20 2.5 Dispersion Factors ............................................................................................ 23 2.5.1 Wind speed and direction .......................................................................... 23 2.5.2 Rainfall......................................................................................................