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A two-year assessment of particulate air pollution and sources in Kuwait

Alahmad B 1 , Al-Hemoud A 2 , Kang CM 3 , Almarri F 4 , Kommula V 4 , Wolfson JM 3 Show all authors , Bernstein AS 5 , Garshick E 6 , Schwartz J 3 , Koutrakis P 3

Affiliations 

  • 1 Environmental Health Department, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, MA, United States; Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Faculty of Public Health, Kuwait University, Hawalli, Kuwait. Electronic address: b.alahmad@g.harvard.edu
  • 2 Environment and Life Sciences Research Center, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, P.O. Box 24885, 13109, Safat, Kuwait
  • 3 Environmental Health Department, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, MA, United States
  • 4 Environmental Lab, Al-Rehab Complex, 36141, Hawalli, Kuwait
  • 5 Center for Climate, Health and the Global Environment, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, MA, United States; Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Harvard University, Boston, MA, United States
  • 6 Pulmonary, Allergy, Sleep and Critical Care Medicine Section, Department of Medicine, Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System and Harvard Medical School, West Roxbury, MA, United States; Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Harvard University, Boston, MA, United States
Environ Pollut, 2021 Aug 01;282:117016.
PMID: 33848912 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2021.117016

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Kuwait and the Gulf region have a desert, hyper-arid and hot climate that makes outdoor air sampling challenging. The region is also affected by intense dust storms. Monitoring challenges from the harsh climate have limited data needed to inform appropriate regulatory actions to address air pollution in the region.

OBJECTIVES: To compare gravimetric measurements with existing networks that rely on beta-attenuation measurements in a desert climate; determine the annual levels of PM2.5 and PM10 over a two-year period in Kuwait; assess compliance with air quality standards; and identify and quantify PM2.5 sources.

METHODS: We custom-designed particle samplers that can withstand large quantities of dust without their inlet becoming overloaded. The samplers were placed in two populated residential locations, one in Kuwait City and another near industrial and petrochemical facilities in Ali Sabah Al-Salem (ASAS) to collect PM2.5 and PM10 samples for mass and elemental analysis. We used positive matrix factorization to identify PM2.5 sources and apportion their contributions.

RESULTS: We collected 2339 samples during the period October 2017 through October 2019. The beta-attenuation method in measuring PM2.5 consistently exceeded gravimetric measurements, especially during dust events. The annual levels for PM2.5 in Kuwait City and ASAS were 41.6 ± 29.0 and 47.5 ± 27.6 μg/m3, respectively. Annual PM2.5 levels in Kuwait were nearly four times higher than the U.S. National Ambient Air Quality Standard. Regional pollution was a major contributor to PM2.5 levels in both locations accounting for 44% in Kuwait City and 46% in ASAS. Dust storms and re-suspended road dust were the second and third largest contributors to PM2.5, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS: The premise that frequent and extreme dust storms make air quality regulation futile is dubious. In this comprehensive particulate pollution analysis, we show that the sizeable regional anthropogenic particulate sources warrant national and regional mitigation strategies to ensure compliance with air quality standards.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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