Assessment of personal exposure to particulate matter on Banana beer and brickyards workers in Musanze City

Abstract

Personal exposure to particulate matter PM2.5 and PM10 from anthropogenic activities is a major concern in Secondary cities of Rwanda, including Musanze. In this thesis, exposure of PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations data of two local industries of Banana Beer and Brickyards Production were collected continuously from 12th of January to 10th June 2023. The assessment was undertaken by characterizing personal exposure to PM2.5 and PM10 in Musanze city. The exposure to PM2.5 and PM10 through daily activities was detected where participants sported a pocket PM2.5 sensors on their chest during their daily activities. The personal exposure levels in the two different groups of people working in Banana Beer and Brickyards production were assessed in relation to their daily activities. The diurnal variation in PM2.5 and PM10 concentration was measured during different activities Brickyards and Banana Beer Production, it was found to be higher in early afternoon and early morning respectively. The main reason was identified. The highest average exposure of hourly PM2.5&PM10 concentrations were observed to be 113 µg/m3 and 136 µg/m3 respectively from 03:00 -09:00 AM of the day for Banana Beer workers followed by Brickyards workers with 153 µg/m3 and 234 µg/m3 in the time fixed from 07:00 AM to 16:00 PM. Contrarily, the hourly average exposure for PM2.5&PM10 concentrations were observed to be 51 µg/m3 and 68 µg/m3 respectively for Banana Beer workers followed by Brickyards workers with 45µg/m3 and 70 µg/m3 in the time of non-working hours. The possible reason which makes the people to be more exposed to PM2.5and PM10 concentrations is linked with the period of working hours, during that period the participants were burning biomass woods in boiling juice and Bricks. It was observed that the personal exposure to air pollution concentrations for People working in Brickyards and Banana Beer in Musanze city are up higher than the WHO’s daily recommended exposure levels which can impends them to Health problems. This study highlights the consequence of being exposed to air pollution and approves previous studies on urban personal exposure to indoor and outdoor air pollution sources from different economic activities, especially in secondary developing cities of Rwanda.