ATMOSPHERIC PARTICULATE MATTERS IN ABIDJAN

According to their article, In Vitro Cytotoxic Effects of PM2.3 from the City of Abidjan (Ivory Coast) on Human Lung Cells, Kouakou Serge Kouassi, Sylvain Billet and their colleagues state that ?Epidemiological studies associate air pollution, especially particulate, increased morbidity and mortality from respiratory and cardiovascular origin?. This statement shows that particulates are the causes of many health problems people are facing in the city of Abidjan. In fact, beyond the city of Abidjan, it is all the African continent which is exposed to air pollution because of its high rate of urbanization. Also it is important to notify that there an initiative called ??  "Initiative on the air quality in Sub-Saharan Africa" which shows all the importance of atmospheric concentrations of certain pollutants such as nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide and particulate matter (PM₁₀).

Abidjan, due to its status of economic Capital and the most industrialized city of the country, as all the great Capital cities in Africa, is confronted to air pollution caused by its industries and this affects the health of its six (6) million inhabitants. Scientists show that particulates are very dangerous for the human health as they affect the most sensible part of human being. For instance, atmospheric particulates attack the lung, the cells and the heart. According to some reports, people who breathe polluted air are two times affected than people who smoke cigarettes. In fact, in the air, the particulates are very small and they are 0.1 micrometer and this makes them become easy to access certain part of our being. In Abidjan, the most touched by the air pollution are children and old persons.

Particulate presence in the atmosphere of Abidjan comes from diverse sources. The first source of particulate ejection in the atmosphere is industries. The second source which is also very dangerous is the transport Abidjan. The third source which causes the presence of particulate in the air is the uncontrolled domestic wastes. Also, people who make farm at the bordering of the city cause particulate in the air issues as they are the responsible of bush fire which also produces particulate in the atmosphere.

It is very important to reveal that the presence of particulates in the air is not neglected by the authorities of the country. As a matter of fact, the Ministry of Health has considered it as a serious threat which should be efficiently tackled. It is even classified as a public health issues. We cannot without recalling that the part of the population which is most affected by the atmospheric particulate is the children and the old persons.

REFERENCES

Kouakou-Serge Kouassi, Sylvain Billet, Guillaume Garçon, Anthony Verdin, Amadou Diouf, Fabrice Cazier, Joseph Djaman, Dominique Courcot et Pirouz Shirali « Effets cytotoxiques in vitro des PM_2,5 de la ville d?Abidjan (Côte-d?Ivoire) sur des cellules pulmonaires humaines », Pollution atmosphérique, N? 213-214, 2012, p. 117-130.

Kouakou-Serge Kouassi, Sylvain Billet, Guillaume Garçon, Anthony Verdin, Amadou Diouf, Fabrice Cazier, Joseph Djaman, Dominique Courcot et Pirouz Shirali « Effets cytotoxiques in vitro des PM_2,5 de la ville d?Abidjan (Côte-d?Ivoire) sur des cellules pulmonaires humaines », Pollution atmosphérique [En ligne], N? 213-214, mis à jour le : 24/09/2015, URL : http://lodel.irevues.inist.fr/pollution-atmospherique/index.php?id=312, https://doi.org/10.4267/pollution-atmospherique.312