PATHWAYS TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: Environmental diagnostics and air pollution mitigation in Lagos, Nigeria

Abstract

The pathway towards sustainable development for any city must involve knowledge of the pollution problems and finding ways to limit or eliminate such problems. It is essential to find a pathway for Lagos to be sustainable as it is one of the most populated cities in Africa vested in creating a safe and sustainable environment for its people. Air pollution is a very serious problem that is not given enough significance in Africa due to the developing nature of countries on the continent. To find out the air pollution problems of Lagos, Nigeria, the meteorological factors that influence air pollution in the city were observed and their extent was determined. A particle size distribution of particulate matter (PM) distribution in the air was also obtained using the optical aerosol spectrometer (Grimm), while various low-cost sensors were used to compare the concentrations at various places in Lagos. The pollution volume of different areas in the city was analyzed to know how much long-range transport had on particle movement and how much local pollution had on those areas. The Chemical ionization method spectroscopy (CIMS) was applied to analyze the organic components of the particulate matter in Lagos. Using energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) in conjunction with positive matrix factorization (PMF), the location of the various sources of pollution in the city was done which helped us to advise on possible mitigation methods to curb air pollution in Lagos. If these mitigation methods are introduced we believe that air pollution will be reduced by more than half its current levels.