GEOSPATIAL ASSESSMENT OF AIR POLLUTION AND ITS IMPLICATIONS ON HUMAN HEALTH IN IKEJA LGA, LAGOS STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study assessed air pollution and its implications on human health in Ikeja Local Government Area of Lagos State, Nigeria. The pollution was characterized while the concentrations of the pollutants were analysed. An assessment of the health implications was also carried out. Both primary and secondary data were used for the study. The aim of this research is to assess the concentration of air pollution in Ikeja LGA and determine its implication on human health. The study used handheld devices (REED CO-180 and ToxiRAE II) to measure the concentration of carbon monoxide (CO), Sulphur dioxide, SO2 and Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) respectively at randomly selected sample points in the study area in order to determine the spatial concentration of the pollutants. A comparative analysis with the (FEPA) and (WHO) standards was carried out for the analysis of the pollutant concentrations, In order to investigate the health related effect(s) of the pollutants, reported cases of patients diagnosed with respiratory diseases such as asthma, Upper and Lower respiratory tract infections, chronic cough, breathing difficulty etc. were obtained from Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) for the period of 2010 to 2015. Results show high level of pollution in the commercial and industrial areas of ikeja which could be attributed to the heavy use of generators, industrial activities and heavy vehicular traffic in the area. It was also observed that the pollutants concentrations exceeded the (FEPA) and (WHO) standards in the commercial area. 3 The high level of pollution in these areas can be attributed to the high prevalence of respiratory diseases in the area. Thus, results of this study provide understanding on the impacts of air pollution on human health.