Airmetrics: Case Studies

Ambient PM2.5, PM10, and Lead Measurements in Cairo, Egypt
By James E. Howes, JR., CH2M Hill International; Noha Samaha, Chemonics Egypt; Mounir Labib, Chemonics Egypt; Mohamed Sabry, Egyptian Geological Survey and Mining Authority; and Hesham El Araby, Cairo University

Abstract
The Cairo Air Improvement Project (CAIP) is undertaking several pollution reduction initiatives to improve the air quality in the Greater Cairo Area. As part of CAIP, a monitoring program has been implemented to quantify the improvement of air quality achieved by these initiatives.

The CAIP Air Quality Monitoring Program currently focuses on the measurement of particulate matter (PM) and lead. The monitoring network includes 36 sites located in industrial, residential, mixed land-use, highly trafficked, and background areas. Meteorological monitoring is performed at four of the PM monitoring sites.

Monitoring for PM2.5, PM10, and lead began on 1 September 1998. PM2.5, PM10, and lead data obtained during the first year of monitoring (September 1998 - August 1999) will be used to establish baseline levels of these pollutants.

Results obtained during the first four months of the monitoring program indicate that PM2.5 and PM10 mass concentrations are generally high throughout the Greater Cairo Area. PM10 values obtained for all sampling events at all monitoring sites exceeded the Government of Egypt's (GOE) Law Number 4 of 1994 limit of 70 Fg/m3 (24-hour average). The highest PM levels were found in industrial and heavily trafficked areas. The monitoring results suggest that control of particulate matter in Cairo may be a difficult problem.

Lead monitoring data indicates that lead levels in ambient air exceed the GOE's Law 4/1994 limit of 1 Fg/m3 (annual mean) in areas downwind of secondary lead smelters and in heavily trafficked areas. The highest mean and single sampling event lead levels were observed in the heavily industrialized areas of Shoubra el-Kheima and Tebbin. Ambient air lead concentrations were generally near or below the Law 4 limit of 1 Fg/m3 (annual mean).

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