Prof. Beth Parks, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Colgate University

Air Quality Measurements in Uganda

During the 2015-16 academic year, I was a Fulbright scholar at Mbarara University of Science and Technology in Uganda, where I initiated a program to monitor PM10 concentrations in three distinct environments: an urban center (Kampala), a small city (Mbarara) and a village location (Rubindi), both in the wet season and the dry season. These measurements are still underway through the PhD project of a Ugandan student I am supervising. These concentrations were measured using co-located gravimetric (filter-based) collectors and real-time optical instruments. The results show that particulate levels are high in all three locations, with average PM10 levels measured gravimetrically of 157 mg/m3 in Kampala; 124 mg/m3 in Mbarara; and 188 mg/m3 in Rubindi. (WHO guidelines for maximum PM10 levels are 20 mg/m3; US EPA levels are somewhat more lenient.) Ongoing work involves correlating the different measurement techniques, as well as analysing the particulates to determine the sources.