LEVELS AND AIR QUALITY INDEX OF SO2 AND H2S IN AMBIENT AIR OF JEMITA/ YOLA METROPOLIS, ADAMAWA STATE, NIGERIA

The Air quality of hydrogen Sulphide and Sulphur dioxide in Jimeta/Yola Metropolis were determined at ten differentlocations, using a portable hand held gas monitor (crown instrument Ltd Oxon CE-89/336/EEC). The result showed that concentration of SO2 and H2S ranged between 0.03 to 0.135 and 0.030 to 0.057 ppm for both seasons. There high levels may be due to high traffic density, anthropogenic activity and seasonal variation. The difference in mean concentration between dry and rainy season were significant for both SO2 andH2S. The Concentration of SO2 and H2S exceeded the permissible limit of 0.1 and 0.01 ppm respectively. However, poses serious threat to the human, animals and plant.Therefore relevant agency should embark on enlightenment and sensitization campaign in order to reduce the air pollution of those locations. Keyword: Air quality, Gas monitor,Yola metropolis, Environment ——————————  —————————— INTRODUCTION Jimeta/Yola, the capital and major city of Adamawa state, has developed in recent years, there by experiencing high emission of gaseous pollutant. Which have result to high traffic emission, anthropogenic activities and industrial emission. This hasled to the hazy atmosphere within the metropolis. According to the World Health Organization, more than two million premature deaths may be attributed to gaseous pollutant (Farrah, 2011). Gaseouspollutants are gases when release into the air can have adverse effect on humans and the ecosystem. The gaseous pollutant may include Oxide of sulphur:which are produced whensulphur containing fossil fuel is burnt. The most common, sulphur dioxide is a gas that is poisonous to both animal and plant. At a low concentration, it can cause respiratory disease such as asthma, bronchitis, emphysema in human being. However at high concentration it leads to stiffness of flower bud which eventually falls off from plants.Hydrogen sulphide emissions result in damage to human health. It also causes irritation of the respiratory tract and damage to the central nervous system. At high IJSER International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research, Volume 8, Issue 3, March-2017 41 ISSN 2229-5518 IJSER © 2017 http://www.ijser. org concentrations it destroys immature plant tissue (Peirce, 1998). The major source of hydrogen sulphide is the microbial decay of organic matter and the reduction of sulphate ion (Sanchez, 2008). Understanding the extent to which humans are exposed to toxic air pollutants requires a sound knowledge of their concentrations in the environment, and the health risks they pose but lack of monitoring data makes it difficult to develop a reliable control strategy(Kuko and Osuntogun, 2007). This is a broader study that investigated the levels of outdoor air pollution with the goal of examining the health effects associated with exposure to air pollutants. However, the study was seen as the first step to assess the environment in Jimeta/Yola.Even though there are number of reports on the adverse effects of air pollution on human health and the environment, no known available studies have been carried out around Jimeta/Yola metropolis to assess its air quality. This work is therefore aimed at assessing the air quality around the metropolis to determine the levels of sulphur dioxide (SO2) and hydrogen sulphide (H2S). MATERIALS AND METHODS Materials and Equipment A portable gas monitor manufactured by crown instrument Ltd Oxon CE-89/336/EEC for each gas and sound level thermometers was used. Study Area Yola city is located between 9.2 N and 12.48 E, it has a population of 3,737,233. However Yola has an annual low temperature of 21.7C and a high temperature of 34.1C, which gives the total average of 28.1C and an annual precipitation of 917mm. Meanwhile Yola is split in two parts. The old town of Yola where the Lamido resides is the traditional city, but the new city of Jimeta(about 5 km NW) is the administrative and commercial center. Generally the term Yola means both. Ten locations were selected for the study along the major roads in Jimata/Yola metropolis, as shown in Figure 1. It shows the major roads and sampling areas in Yola metropolis. These locations includes; Yola town market (location 1), Jippu-Jam round about (location 2),AA Lawan (location 3), Police roundabout (location 4), Jimeta shopping complex (location 5), Mubi IJSER International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research, Volume 8, Issue 3, March-2017 42 ISSN 2229-5518 IJSER © 2017 http://www.ijser. org roundabout (location 6), Hayin gada (location 7), Jimeta-ultra market (location 8), Airport roundabout (location 9) and Janbutu market (location 10), farm center (location C). A location in a farm far beside FGGC Yola was used as control site, which was neither close to houses nor any main road. Figure 1: Map of Jimeta Showing the Study Areas.