Paper Title
Evaluation of No2 in Ambient Air in Industrial Area of Sungai Buloh by using Passive Sampling Method
Abstract
Air pollution has been a concern to mankind since peak of Industrial Revolution. Over the years, the increasing
concern of air pollution has led to establishment of ambient air quality standards. One of the six major pollutants listed in
most ambient air quality standards is nitrogen dioxide (NO2). NO2 is typically emitted due to incomplete combustion of
diesel, from vehicles and high thermal unit operations like cement-kilns and power plants. Measurement of pollutants, such
as NO2 in ambient air can be conducted in two ways; active sampling or passive sampling. Conventionally, active sampling
is used to measure the presence of nitrogen oxide in ambient air. However, in recent years, there have been various
developments in passive sampling methods. Passive sampling does not require power source for operation whereby the air
pollutants are trapped onto sorbent material by diffusion mechanism. This project was carried out to evaluate NO2
concentration by using passive samplers in industrial area in Sungai Buloh. The measurement of NO2 from passive sampling
is then compared with the data of NO2 concentration from nearest Continuous Air Quality Monitoring Station (CAQMS) in
Petaling Jaya to measure accuracy of the passive sampler. Average concentration of NO2 measured by using passive
samplers in Sungai Buloh was 0.034 ppm, while CAQMS Petaling Jaya which uses active sampling showed an average NO2
concentration of 0.042 ppm. The data collected using passive samplers in Sungai Buloh is lower by 19% compared to data at
CAQMS Petaling Jaya. This is due to distance of approximately 10.5 kilometers between the two points. In Sungai Buloh,
major sources of NO2 pollution is due to transportation and manufacturing activities. From this project, it can be concluded
that passive sampling can be considered as a alternative to measure NO2 in ambient air which can be implemented in
monitoring stations in Malaysia.
Keywords - Air Pollution, Nitrogen Dioxide, Passive Sampling, Air Monitoring