Assessment of Automobile Induced Pollution in an Urban Area (A Case Study of Port-Harcourt City,Rivers State,Nigeria)

Study(ies) on the effect of automobile emission in an urban city (Port-Harcourt, Rivers State) was carried for two weeks. Two locations noted for heavy traffic congestion in the city were chosen for the study. Monitoring times were chosen to capture the traffic congestion. In total, five(5) morning and evening measurement were conducted at each location over the course of two weeks(2) beginning from August 11th – 15th 2010 for garrison intersection and August 18th - 22nd 2010 for slaughter intersection. Concentration measurement for Hydrocarbon (HC) , sulphur dioxide (SO2), Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and carbon monoxide (CO) were carried out in the morning (6.30 – 8.00am) and evenings (5.00 – 7.00pm) pea periods of traffic congestion using standard gas monitor (temperature at the time of measurement were noted). Results show that the levels of these gaseous emissions were higher than permissible level on Wednesday to Saturday at the two junctions both morning and evening. However, the level of these gases on Sunday at the two junction in the morning and evening were below detection limit. It imply that these areas are polluted in morning and evening when offices and commercial activities commence. Key words: Pollution, automobile, urban area and Port-Harcour