Investigation of PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations in the air of Aradkooh waste management facility of Tehran and neighboring areas in 2020

Waste management is one of the ways to reduce the environmental and health effects of human activities, however sometimes it causes environmental and health problems.Therefore, knowing the quality and quantity of pollutants released from waste management facilities will make its remedial solutions more effective.In this study, the air concentration of particulate matter (PM) in Aradkooh waste management facility of Tehran and its surrounding area was investigated.

In this cross-sectionalstudy, PM2.5and PM10were measured with a portable analyzer and samples were taken from 5 points inside and 3 points outside the waste management facility. The sampling was in the summer of 2020 in two consecutive weeks. Ethicalconsiderations were observed in all stages of the study.

The mean values of PM2.5were significantly different by sampling site (pvalue <0.05).The mean values of PM2.5and PM10in processing unit were higher than other points and were 405 and 1048 μg/m3, respectively.The mean values of PM2.5in Shurabad and Mahdiabad were 25 and 35 μg/m3, respectively.The mean values of PM in most cases violated the standard of ambient air quality in Iran.

According to the results of this study, it was not possible to determine the specific origin of PM, but it seemed that in addition to waste management operations, other factors such as traffic, local dust and unknown sources affected the concentration of PM. The results showed that the environmental protection measures inside and around the waste management facility is essential to reduce air pollution, especially PM.