Comparative Investigation of Health Quality of Air in Tehran, Isfahan and Shiraz Metropolises in 2011-2012

Background and Aims: Air pollution causes wide spectrum acute and chronic effects of health from slight physiological disorders to death from cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. In order to set the control programs, air pollution monitoring and determination of air quality are necessary. The objective of this study was to compare health quality of air in Tehran, Isfahan and Shiraz cities in 2011- 2012.Materials and Methods: This Study was a descriptive–analytic study. The moment concentrations of Tehran,Isfahan and Shiraz air pollutants were gathered through referring to the environmental protection agency.Then, Air Quality Index (AQI) was calculated based on the criteria pollutants’ levels (CO, NO2, SO2, PM10,PM2.5 and O3) for three cities through linear interpolation and was classified into describing classes accordingto tables of National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Data analysis was performed with Excel and SPSS software using One-Way ANOVA test.Results: The results showed that the AQI in Tehran, Isfahan and Shiraz was higher than Iran’s environmental protection agency standards (AQI>100) in 341, 323 and 85 days, respectively. Furthermore, particulate matter (PM10) has been the critical pollutant in three cities for most days of the year. One-Way ANOVA test between AQI mean of the three cities showed a significant difference.Conclusion: The air quality of the three cities was unhealthy in 2011-2012 and the situation of Tehran andIsfahan air, however, was in the “bad situation”.Key words: Air pollutants, Air quality index, Pollution standard index, Responsible pollutan