What you need to know about installed air monitors in Nairobi

This article was originally published on www.the-star.co.ke

The World Health Organization estimates that air pollution kills 7 million people yearly.

In Summary

• 4.2 million people die from ambient air pollution and 3.8 million from indoor air pollution are contributed to by burning wood and charcoal as fuel.

• These deaths are caused by the breathing of particulate matter in the air that penetrates and lodges in the human lungs and eventually enters the bloodstream. 

WRI head of air quality and country director Dr. George Mwaniki, (in grey Kaunda suit), Nairobi Deputy Governor Njoroge Muchiri and Environment Principal Secretary, Dr. Eng. Festus Ng’eno during the launch of a clean air monitoring site at the Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital.
Image: CLIQUE PICTURES

Last week, the world observed the International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies on September 7, to push for policies within governments and educate the public on the importance of clean air and the dangers that the ever-worsening air quality poses to human health. 

The World Health Organization estimates that air pollution kills 7 million people yearly: 4.2 million people from ambient air pollution and 3.8 million from indoor air pollution are contributed to by burning wood and charcoal as fuel.

These deaths are caused by the breathing of particulate matter in the air that penetrates and lodges in the human lungs and eventually enters the bloodstream. 

They are called particulate matter and measured in micrometers and can be 2.5mm (PM2.5) or 10mm (PM10).

PM2.5 is said to be 40 parts of a fine sand particle and therefore cannot be viewed with the naked eye, and that’s why they are harmful when breathed in. 

To mark the Day, the Kenyan Environment Ministry, led by the Principal Secretary, Festus Ng’eno launched a clean air monitoring site at the Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital together with partners that include the Nairobi City County, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and World Resources Institute (WRI), which work together under the Clean Air Catalyst. 

Dominic Kirui caught up with Dr. George Mwaniki, the WRI head of air quality and country director for more information on the most asked questions and clarity on the air quality in Nairobi. Here is his interview: 

What is particulate matter and how does it affect human health?

These are the tiny particles in the air that you can breathe in and can go to your lungs without any filter and go straight from the lungs to the bloodstream. 

What is the air quality like in Nairobi? 

From 1963 to now, the air quality in Nairobi has worsened 180% like it has almost doubled. And, we didn't have equipment to monitor air quality then, but we have the visibility readers from the airport, so we can see we have reduced how far we can see, and based on advocates and then, air pollution is getting worse in the city, if you continue that trajectory, only in 50 years, when development was actually very slow, that we have gone that far, maybe the next 20 years, we've maybe increased that by 300% and if you look at most of the activities in terms of the number of vehicles in Nairobi, they double almost every six years.

So when you project that into the future, then you're likely to get much worse in terms of numbers of concentration for breathable particles, the WHO recommends five microgram per meter cube, what we saw there was 20, what we are seeing in the fire station is 70. So this one is four times above the recommendation. The one at the Fire Station is 14 times above the recommendation. So it's quite bad, and we need to see how to start reversing that trend. 

Why are these particles important that you have focused on them? 

Because when you say a particle, you don't know what that particle is made of. Some of them are made of very dangerous chemicals; a particle from industries and a particle from a household are not the same in terms of how much impact they can have on your health. So that's why we really focus on the particles. And, with the air monitors, then we can go to the next step of looking at what is the core chemical composition of these particles and what is driving some of these elements we are seeing in the city. 

What were you launching today and what does it do? 

We launched an air quality monitor for measuring that plays a critical role in driving clean air action by providing data on air pollution levels, which can be used to take decisions and actions aimed at improving air quality. 

How many monitors have you launched across Nairobi so far? 

Under the Clean Air Catalyst project, we have deployed regulatory-grade monitoring equipment at two stations: Nairobi Fire Station on Tom Mboya Street and Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital which will be monitoring respiratory particulates, black carbon, and weather parameters. In the next few months, Nairobi will have around 37 air quality monitors, hopefully in every ward, but those will be low-cost monitors which we be calibrating here before we deploy them to the field. 

How did you arrive at the choice of location for this air monitor and why?

When we started this work of air quality in Nairobi, we thought, like any other city, vehicles are the biggest cause. But then we went further and dug and realized hospital waste in Nairobi is a major issue of concern in terms of how it is managed. The city generates around 350 tons of hospital waste from public hospitals only every month, and the only facility that has a certified incinerator is Mama Lucy Hospital. So that's why we put it here because we know here we are not only going to see that huge influence from the incinerator but also we are very keen to see how good is this incinerator performing, and how does it connect with the pollution from the site. They are also themselves very keen, because they say the number one reason why people come to Mama Lucy Hospital because of lower and upper respiratory ailments. So they are very keen to also create that data. 

What are some of the air pollutants that you are focusing on that are polluting Nairobi air? 

We are focusing on particulate matter and black carbon. 

After studying the particles, what next does this equipment allow you to do?  

With this kind of equipment, then we can go to the next step of looking at what is the core chemical composition of these particles, and what is driving some of these elements we are seeing in the city. So, you will have a particulate PM2.5 monitor, and then you have a five-wavelength black carbon monitor. When you say five wavelength, it can show you the sources of the black carbon. If black carbon is from vehicles, then you'll see the number of vehicles. If it's from burning wood fuel. You'll see the old fuel, if it's coming from burning diesel, cooking, etc

Why the focus on black carbon, what informs your decision to study it? 

Black carbon is particularly important for climate change, and also is part of the PM2.5 so it drives negative health effects. But also it is a black particle; and so, you know, from physics, black surfaces absorb a lot of heat. So with a lot of black carbon, some of it you don't see, but once you have a lot of black particles all over, then they absorb more heat. And then, that can contribute to the heat island effect in the city, where you feel the temperature is higher than just a few meters outside the city. And also it aggravates climate change. So black carbon is very, very important. Very few people in Africa are looking at it. So this gives us a chance as Kenya or as Nairobi to start thinking about what is our impact on the black carbon concentration around Nairobi.

What does vehicular emissions look like across Nairobi? 

Vehicle emission contributes around 40% of all the air pollution we are seeing in the city, which is a huge, huge percentage. For vehicles, most importantly, they emit those breathable particles; but more importantly, they are also a huge source of gas-phase emissions, what we call the volatile organic carbons. They are very carcinogenic. And if you look at the Nairobi and most urban areas, you see the rise of cancer cases. Some of that can be attributable to vehicle emissions. 

What would be your recommendation or wish for the government? 

I think the biggest wish was to see the seriousness that the government is taking air quality issues with. But today, I think that challenge seems to be solved. I'll be following up to see, because of the level of commitment we see with the deputy governor, with the PS Environment and the DG NEMA committing that there will be a gazettement of the emission standards; that is quite hopeful. But we are working very closely with them, providing them with the data and the evidence to see how to push this forward.