Análisis de contaminantes atmosféricos en la entrada norte (Av. Panamericana) y el nuevo acceso norte (Av. República) de la ciudad de Riobamba como indicadores de la calidad de aire

Abstract

The objective of this study was to analyse the atmospheric pollutants at the north entrance (Av. Panamericana) and the new north access (Av. República) of the city of Riobamba for the analysis of atmospheric pollutants. Forty strategic sampling points were identified, 20 for each route; The concentration of Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) and Sulphur Dioxide (SO2) was determined from four monitoring carried out for periods of seven days each and Sedimentable Particulate Material (MPS) for 30 days continuously, using the sampler technique. Passives: Once the exposure was carried out, colourimetric tests were conducted to establish the presence of the contaminants in the collectors and the absorbance measurement by UV-Visible spectrophotometry for NO2 and SO2, while for MPS it was carried out by gravimetry, using mathematical equations to calculate the concentrations. Of each of the contaminants. As a result, average concentrations for MPS of 0.911 mg/cm2/month were determined on Av. Panamericana and 1.005 mg/cm2/month on Av. República, for (NO2): 76.8475 ug/m3 on Av. Panamericana and 63.6059 ug /m3 on Av. República and for (SO2): 55.4627 ug/m3 on Av. Panamericana and 43.0533 ug/m3 on Av. República; When comparing with the air quality standard, the concentrations of NO2 and SO2 at all sampling points comply with the permissible limits, unlike the MPS, which at 12 points on Av. Panamericana and 4 on Av. República has concentrations higher than the limits allowable. Based on this quantification and comparison of both avenues, it is evident that Av. Panamericana presents more significant contamination as it has a high presence of urbanisation, construction activities and vehicular traffic. For this reason, it is recommended to carry out similar studies in neighbouring areas or with similar characteristics to the study area.