Particulate matter in air of downtown Asunción City. August September 2014 period

Abstract

Air pollution is a significant environmental health problem affecting developed countries around the world. Globally, the atmospheres emit large amounts of potentially harmful gases and particles that affect human health and the environment, and in long-term damage to the resources needed for sustainable development of the planet. In this research work it has been diagnosed air quality in the downtown of the city of Asuncion. It has been proposed aimed at evaluating samples of particulate matter collected by deposition in different strategic points of the city downtown. To evaluate samples of the particulate material from the air, a method of passive monitoring deposition was used, and as the particles collector Petri dishes were used with filter paper. In the study six points of samples were considered, leaving the samplers for a full week with three repetitions of the same. The study shows that the mass of particulate matter collected air was quite high in points higher vehicular traffic, highlighting the intersection of streets Felix de Azara and the United States with a total value of 325 ?g and a surface density of 2,14 ?g cm-2 and a total mass of particulate matter collected about 1150 ?g in the area of micro center of Asuncion.