DUBAI, UAE: URBAN AIR TOXIC STUDY
Myramid Analytical in conjunction with engineering and GIS firms performed the Dubai Urban Air Toxics Study for
the Dubai Municipality.
This study was conducted to determine the actual pattern and quantities of toxic air pollutants (TAPs) at various sites throughout the Emirate. This data was used to build a geographical map of pollutants across the Emirate using US EPA and EU protocols.
TAPs are pollutants that are suspected to cause cancer or other serious health effects, such as reproductive or birth defects. There are hundreds of TAPs and many are designated by the United States Clean Air Act Amendment of 1990 as hazardous air pollutants (HAPs). These 188 compounds each have their own toxic characteristics. Examples of TAPs include benzene, chlorine, ethylbenzene, methanol, styrene, and toluene. TAPs are generated from a number of different sources, including point combustion sources, and mobile sources such as vehicles, evaporative losses from gasoline pumps, and dry cleaning facilities.
This study was conducted at sixty-nine locations in three phases:
- Six short term, eight-hour “Hot Spot” locations
- Thirty-five long term, two month locations
- Twenty-eight one-week locations
The concentrations of hydrogen fluoride, aldehydes, polycyclic organic compounds (POCs), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) – benzene, toluene, xylenes, tetrachloroethylene (Perc) were determined at each location.