GAW Report No. 205 - IGAC Project

CHAPTER 2 - AFRICAcomparable to those encountered in the most polluted cities of the world. Due to anthropogenicpressure and lack of present regulations, pollution and associated risks are expected to increasemore and more in the absence of any mitigation plan. These are not only national problems, butinternational problems due first to pollutant transport but also to technological trades (e.g. China toAfrica for two wheel vehicles, Africa to China for coal liquefaction process).The actions to be taken are complex and multiple because Africa has a wide representationof development levels. Africa has to fight against problems of both developed, semi-developed anddeveloping countries, e.g. food and energy development, political instability, high pollutingtechnologies related to industries and domestic fuel burning conversion, growing traffic reduction,health diseases, etc. Indeed, in most places, importance of health diseases due to air pollution isnow competitive to ones due to infectious diseases. This is very critical due to expectedinteractions between both diseases and public health deterioration.Moreover, air pollution and health problems have a significant cost on national economicslinked to hospital costs but also to absenteeism, job losses, and deaths. All of the proposed planswill need to be tested from an economical point of view as well as from the consequence ofmorbidity/mortality effects.These actions can also have an important impact on climate change due toreduction/increase of greenhouse gases and aerosol emissions, not only due to pollutantconcentrations but also due to quality with relative composition of atmospheric pollution mixtures.In conclusion, it is time to act, and the actions for research studies have to focus onintegrated projects combining emissions, air quality, health studies (epidemiological monitoring,toxicology, hospitalizations), acid deposition and impacts on soil, crop and water resources, localand regional climate change and cost-benefit studies to provide possible emission mitigationsoption that include air quality and climate change feedback impacts. A required condition forsuccessful action could be found if a strong link between these research programmes isconstructed regionally with educational systems and policy makers.ReferencesAir Quality Guidelines. (2000). Geneva: World Health Organization.Arab Republic of Egypt-cost assessment of environmental degradation. (2002): World Bank.Atlas of Health in Europe (2008). World Health Organization, Geneva.Abu-Allaban, M., Gertler, A. W., & Lowenthal, D. H. (2002). A preliminary apportionment of thesources of ambient PM10, PM2.5, and VOCs in Cairo. Atmospheric Environment, 36(35),5549-5557. doi: 10.1016/S1352-2310(02)00662-3Abu-Allaban, M., Lowenthal, D. H., Gertler, A. W., & Labib, M. (2007). Sources of PM10 and PM2.5in Cairo’s ambient air. Environ. Monit. Assess., 133(1-3), 417-425. doi: 10.1007/s10661-006-9596-8Abu-Allaban, M., Lowenthal, D. H., Gertler, A. W., & Labib, M. (2009). Sources of volatile organiccompounds in Cairo’s ambient air Environ. Monit. Assess., 157(1-4), 179-189. doi:10.1007/s10661-008-0526-9Adejumo, J. A., Obioh, J. B., Ogunsola, O. J., Akeredolu, F. A., Olaniyi, H. B., Asubiojo, O. I.,Oluwole, A.F., Akanle, O.A., and Spyrou, N. M. (1994). The atmospheric deposition of major,minor and trace elements within and around three cement factories. Journal ofRadioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, 179(2), 195-204. doi: 10.1007/BF02040153Annegarn, H. J., & Grant, M. R. (1999). Direct Source Apportionment of Particulate Pollution withina Township. Pretoria: Department of Minerals and Energy, Low Smoke Coal Programme.Annegarn, H. J., & Sithole, J. S. (1998). Soweto Air Monitoring – SAM Trend Analysis ofParticulate Pollution 1992 – 1997 and Recommendations for Future Air Quality Monitoring.54