Marble Dust Effect on the Air Quality: An Environmental Assessment Approach

Qaiser Iqbal, Muhammad Ali Musarat, Najeeb Ullah, Wesam Salah Alaloul, Muhammad Babar Ali Rabbani, Wesam Al Madhoun and Shahid Iqbal
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Qaiser Iqbal: Department of Civil and Engineering, Sarhad University of Science & Information Technology, Peshawar 25000, Pakistan
Muhammad Ali Musarat: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Bandar Seri Iskandar 32610, Malaysia
Najeeb Ullah: Department of Civil and Engineering, Sarhad University of Science & Information Technology, Peshawar 25000, Pakistan
Wesam Salah Alaloul: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Bandar Seri Iskandar 32610, Malaysia
Muhammad Babar Ali Rabbani: College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Bedford Park, Adelaide, SA 5042, Australia
Wesam Al Madhoun: Faculty of Engineering, Gaza University, Gaza 711226, Palestine
Shahid Iqbal: Department of Civil and Engineering, Sarhad University of Science & Information Technology, Peshawar 25000, Pakistan

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 7, 1-15

Abstract: All over the world, increasing anthropogenic activities, industrialization, and urbanization have intensified the emissions of various pollutants that cause air pollution. Marble quarries in Pakistan are abundant and there is a plethora of small- and large-scale industries, including mining and marble-based industries. The air pollution caused by the dust generated in the process of crushing and extracting marble can cause serious problems to the general physiological functions of plants and it affects human life as well. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to assess the air quality of areas with marble factories and areas without marble factories, where the concentration of particulate matter in terms of total suspended particles (TSP) was determined. For this purpose, EPAM-5000 equipment was used to measure the particulate levels. Besides this, a spectrophotometer was used to analyze the presence of PM2.5 and PM10 in the chemical composition of marble dust. It was observed that the TSP concentrations in Darmangi and Malagori areas of Peshawar, Pakistan—having marble factories—were 626 µg/m 3 and 5321 µg/m 3 respectively. The (PM 2.5 , PM 10 ) concentration in Darmangi was (189 µg/m 3 , 520 µg/m 3 ) and in Malagori, it was recorded as (195 µg/m 3 , 631 µg/m 3 ), which was significantly higher than the non-marble dust areas and also exceeded WHO recommended standards. It was concluded that the areas with the marble factories were more susceptible to air pollution as the concentration of TSP was significantly higher than the recommended TSP levels. It is recommended that marble factories should be shifted away from residential areas along with strict enforcement. People should be instructed to use protective equipment and waste management should be ensured along with control mechanisms to monitor particulate levels.

Keywords: marble dust; air pollution; health hazards; environmental pollution (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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