MEASUREMENTS OF CARBON MONOXIDE CONCENTRATIONS AND THE CREATION OF A UNIQUE GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION SYSTREM (GIS) LAYER MAP FOR CARBON MONOXIDE POLLUTION IN MINNA, NIGER STATE

Abstract

Air pollution arising from the release of toxic gases during the process of combustion is commonly encountered in most households because the use of coal-powered and wood-fire hearths is widespread; the use of petrol- and diesel powered generators is also becoming very popular. This study was undertaken in order to determine the trend of carbon monoxide concentrations in Minna, Niger state. Data acquisition procedure was facilitated by the use of the carbon monoxide meter, and about 6000 households were visited for this exercise. The data acquisition procedure was basically a house to house exercise whence the GPS unit and the CO meter were employed to gather geo-referenced data and CO pollution level data. The north-south axis of Minna from Maikunkele to Chanchaga and the east-west axis from Maitumbi to Kpakungu were covered in this investigation. All of the stations of interest occupied for this investigation showed insignificant levels of ambient concentrations of carbon monoxide, explaining the green dotted colour coding on the result maps. The major neighbourhoods of Minna township like Chanchaga, Maitumbi, Minna Central, Bosso, and Tunga have high green dot densities because of the high residence density of those areas. The insignificant values of carbon monoxide observed for this work is due to the fact the nearly all of the sources surveyed were outdoor sources that encourage rapid dispersion of the CO gas into the atmosphere. By use of the Geographical Information system (GIS) platform, a carbon dioxide pollution layer for Minna has been created, a novelty in itself. The final pollution map is a perfect guide to the overall CO pollution trend of Minna.