Pollutants Emissions of Filling Stations and Their Impact on the Air Quality

This study investigated pollutants emissions of filling stations and the impact they cause to the air quality. Gas monitors were employed to identify the different pollutants present in the ambient air of the study areas. The results shows that the most prominent pollutants present in the ambient air are the volatile organic compounds followed by methane, then carbon monoxide. Measurements were taken at the controls at distances between 20 to 200m. The pollutants concentration recorded at the study areas shows that the level of pollutants exceeded the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA) air quality guidelines. There are few exceptions in pollutants like the particulate matter which was found to be at concentrations within the FEPA limits. Regression analysis of the pollutants at the controls shows that only the volatile organic compounds and methane are the only significant pollutants present in the ambient air, primarily because of the presence of the filling stations. These two pollutants show a strong negative correlation with distance from the study area. Specifically, the regression curve for the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) shows a nearly perfect curve with exponential functions as its regression model trend line, while that of methane has linear model trend line. Both VOCs and methane have a correlation coefficient (R) that is above 0.9 for the study areas. Hence, a conclusion was drawn from the findings that the primary pollutants to consider when building filling station are the VOCs and methane. Similarly, the minimum safe distance to site a filling station is 80m away from residential areas.