Factors Contributing to Air Pollution Levels Using Factor Analysis
by
Asmarini binti Mohamed 1332120843
A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science (Engineering Mathematics)
Institute of Engineering Mathematics UNIVERSITI MALAYSIA PERLIS
2015
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UNIVERSITI MALAYSIA PERLIS DECLARATION OF THESIS Author’ full name : Asmarini binti Mohamed Date of birth : 31 May 1982
Title : Factors Contributing to Air Pollution Levels Using Factor Analysis
Academic Session : 2014 / 2015
I hereby declare that this thesis becomes the property of Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP) and to be placed at the library of UniMAP. This thesis is classified as:
CONFIDENTIAL (Contains confidential information under the Official Secret Act 1972)
RESTRICTED (Contains restricted information as specified by the organization where research was done)
OPEN ACCESS I agree that my thesis is to be made immediately available as hard copy or online access (full text)
I, the author, give permission to the UniMAP to reproduce this thesis in whole or in part for the purpose of research or academic exchange only (except during a period of _____ years, if so requested above).
Certified by:
_________________________ ____________________________
SIGNATURE SIGNATURE OF SUPERVISOR
820531-03-5792 PROF. DR. AMRAN BIN AHMED
Date: _______________ Date: _______________
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest praise to God who has given me strength, faith and determination to complete this thesis.
I would like to express my sincere and special appreciation to my supervisor, Prof. Dr. Amran bin Ahmed, for his supervision, excellent guidance, patience and constant support in reviewing my thesis with constructive criticism, providing assistance in all aspects and encouragement. I also would like to thank to Dr. Hazrul bin Abdul Hamid. He was very supportive and I learnt so many things from him.
My sincere thanks and gratefulness to Puan Rozita binti Abdul Jalil from the Air Pollution Division, Department of Environment (DOE), for her support and the data supply from the DOE station. Last but not least, my deepest gratitude to my lovely parents, Allahyarham Hj. Mohamed bin Hj. Isa and Puan Hajah Asiah binti Mamat for their endless love, prayers and encouragement. Also, especially thankful to my beloved husband, En. Azril bin Abu Bakar for his unfailing love, relentless encouragement, support and prayers that have contributed towards the accomplishment of these dissertations.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
THESIS DECLARATION i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS iii
LIST OF TABLES vii
LIST OF FIGURES x
ABSTRAK xi
ABSTRACT xii
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Backgrouds 1
1.2 Problem Statement 5
1.3 Objectives 6
1.4 Scope Of The Study 6
1.5 Conceptual Definition 7
1.5.1 Ozone 7
1.5.2 Carbon Monoxide 7
1.5.3 Nitrogen Dioxide 8
1.5.4 Particulate Matter 8
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iv CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction 10
2.2 Air Pollutant Index Construction 11
2.2.1 Key Air Pollutants 11
2.2.2 Averaging Times 12
2.2.3 Calculation of API 13
2.3 Meteorological Factors 14
2.4 Multivariate Analysis in Environmental Studies 14
2.5 Summary 19
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction 24
3.2 Location of Air Quality Monitoring Stations 24
3.3 Air Quality Data 28
3.4 Factor Analysis 28
3.4.1 The Factor Analysis Model 29
3.4.2 Steps in Factor Analysis 31
3.4.2.1 Reliable Measurement 32 3.4.2.2 Correlation Matrix 34 3.4.2.3 Extracting of Factors 35
3.4.2.4 Factor rotation 36
3.4.2.5 Interpretation 37
3.5 Summary 38
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v CHAPTER 4: RESULT AND DISCUSSION
4.1 Introduction 39
4.2 Descriptive Statistics 40
4.2.1 Carbon Monoxide, CO 49
4.2.2 Particulate Matter, PM10 53
4.2.3 Ozone, O3 57
4.2.4 Nitrogen Dioxide, NO2 61
4.3 Factor Analysis Adequacy 65
4.4 Factor Extraction 65
4.4.1 Factor Extraction for Perai (Industrial Area) 65
4.4.1.1 Communalities 65
4.4.1.2 Total Variance Explained 66
4.4.1.3 Component Matrix & Rotated Component Matrix 67 4.4.2 Factor Extraction for Shah Alam (Urban Area) 69
4.4.2.1 Communalities 69
4.4.2.2 Total Variance Explained 69
4.4.2.3 Component Matrix & Rotated Component Matrix 70 4.4.3 Factor Extraction for Seberang Jaya (Sub-Urban Area) 72
4.4.3.1 Communalities 72
4.4.3.2 Total Variance Explained 72
4.4.3.3 Component Matrix & Rotated Component Matrix 73 4.4.4 Factor Extraction for Jerantut (Control Area) 75
4.4.4.1 Communalities 75
4.4.4.2 Total Variance Explained 76
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4.4.4.3 Component Matrix & Rotated Component Matrix 77
4.5 Discussion 79
4.5.1 Concentration of the Air Pollutants at Each Stations 80
4.5.1.1 Carbon Monoxide (CO) 80
4.5.1.2 Particulate Matter (PM10) 80
4.5.1.3 Ozone (O3) 81
4.5.1.4 Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) 82
4.5.2 Determination of Factors 82
4.5.2.1 Perai – Industrial Area 82
4.5.2.2 Shah Alam – Urban Area 84
4.5.2.3 Seberang Jaya – Suburban Area 85
4.5.2.4 Jerantut – Background Area 86
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
5.1 Conclusion 87
5.2 Limitation of the Study 89
5.3 Recommendation for Future Studies 89
REFERENCES 91
APPENDIX A 97
APPENDIX B 99
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LIST OF TABLES
NO PAGE
1.1 The index status of air pollutant 4 2.1 The guidelines of ambient air quality in Malaysia 12
2.2 Summarization of the previous study 20
3.1 Details of air monitoring stations 26
3.2 Interpretation of Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin 33
4.1(a) Descriptive statistics of daily average of the air pollutants in Perai
collected from January 2008 to December 2012 41 4.1(b) Descriptive statistics of daily average of the meteorological factors in
Perai collected from January 2008 to December 2012 42 4.2(a) Descriptive statistics of the daily average of the air pollutants in Shah Alam collected from January 2008 to December 2012 43 4.2(b) Descriptive statistics of daily average of the meteorological factors in Shah Alam collected from January 2008 to December 2012 44 4.3(a) Descriptive statistics of the daily average of the air pollutants in
Seberang Jaya collected from January 2008 to December 2012 45 4.3(b) Descriptive statistics of daily average of the meteorological factors in
Seberang Jaya collected from January 2008 to December 2012 46 4.4(a) Descriptive statistics of the daily average of the air pollutants in
Jerantut collected from January 2008 to December 2012 47 4.4(b) Descriptive statistics of daily average of the meteorological factors in Jerantut collected from January 2008 to December 2012 48 4.5(a) CO concentration data from 2008 to 2012 for Perai 49
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4.5(b) CO concentration data from 2008 to 2012 for Shah Alam 50 4.5(c) CO concentration data from 2008 to 2012 for Seberang Jaya 51 4.5(d) CO concentration data from 2008 to 2012 for Jerantut 52 4.6(a) PM10 concentration data from 2008 to 2012 or Perai 53 4.6(b) PM10 concentration data from 2008 to 2012 for Shah Alam 54 4.6(c) PM10 concentration data from 2008 to 2012 for Seberang Jaya 55 4.6(d) PM10 concentration data from 2008 to 2012 for Jerantut 56 4.7(a) O3 concentration data from 2008 to 2012 for Perai 57 4.7(b) O3 concentration data from 2008 to 2012 for Shah Alam 58 4.7(c) O3 concentration data from 2008 to 2012 for Seberang Jaya 59 4.7(d) O3 concentration data from 2008 to 2012 for Jerantut 60 4.8(a) NO2 concentration data from 2008 to 2012 for Perai 61 4.8(b) NO2 concentration data from 2008 to 2012 for Shah Alam 62 4.8(c) NO2 concentration data from 2008 to 2012 for Seberang Jaya 63 4.8(d) NO2 concentration data from 2008 to 2012 for Jerantut 64
4.9 Communalities for Perai 66
4.10 Total variance explained for Perai 67
4.11 Component matrix for Perai 67
4.12 Rotated component matrix for Perai 68
4.13 Number of factors for Perai 68
4.14 Communalities for Shah Alam 69
4.15 Total variance explained for Shah Alam 70
4.16 Component matrix for Shah Alam 71
4.17 Number of factors for Shah Alam 71
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4.18 Communalities for Seberang Jaya 72
4.19 Total variance explained for Seberang Jaya 73
4.20 Component matrix for Seberang Jaya 74
4.21 Rotated component matrix for Seberang Jaya 74
4.22 Number of factors for Seberang Jaya 75
4.23 Communalities for Jerantut 76
4.24 Total variance explained for Jerantut 77
4.25 Component matrix for Jerantut 77
4.26 Rotated component matrix for Jerantut 78
4.27 Number of factors for Jerantut 78
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LIST OF FIGURES
NO PAGE
3.1 Stations that monitor the quality of the air in Malaysia 27 3.2 Analysis of factor workflow 31 3.3 Graphical representation of factor rotation 35 4.1(a) Monthly average of CO concentration for Perai 49 4.1(b) Monthly average of CO concentration for Shah Alam 50 4.1(c) Monthly average of CO concentration for Seberang Jaya 51 4.1(d) Monthly average of CO concentration for Jerantut 52 4.2(a) Monthly average of PM10 concentration for Perai 53 4.2(b) Monthly average of PM10 concentration for Shah Alam 54 4.2(c) Monthly average of PM10 concentration for Seberang Jaya 55 4.2(d) Monthly average of PM10 concentration for Jerantut 56 4.3(a) Monthly average of O3 concentration for Perai 57 4.3(b) Monthly average of O3 concentration for Shah Alam 58 4.3(c) Monthly average of O3 concentration for Seberang Jaya 59 4.3(d) Monthly average of O3 concentration for Jerantut 60 4.4(a) Monthly average of NO2 concentration for Perai 61 4.4(b) Monthly average of NO2 concentration for Shah Alam 62 4.4(c) Monthly average of NO2 concentration for Seberang Jaya 63 4.4(d) Monthly average of NO2 concentration for Jerantut 64
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Faktor Penyumbang Kepada Tahap Pencemaran Udara Menggunakan Analisis Faktor
ABSTRAK
Kajian ini bertujuan untuk mengenalpasti faktor dan sumber utama pencemaran udara di dalam empat stesen pemantauan udara yang dipilih di Malaysia. Data diperolehi dari Januari 2008 hingga Disember 2012. Pembolehubah yang berkaitan adalah dua faktor meteorologi (suhu dan kelembapan relatif) dan empat bahan pencemar udara (CO, PM10, O3 and NO2). Kawasan yang menjadi fokus terdiri daripada empat kawasan yang berlainan iaitu; Perai (S1-perindustrian), Shah Alam (S2-bandar), Seberang Jaya (S3- pinggir bandar) dan Jerantut (S4-kawalan). Dua kaedah statistik dipilih untuk menganalisis set data iaitu analisis statistik deskriptif dan analisis faktor. Analisis statistik deskriptif menunjukkan bahawa Perai mencatatkan kepekatan tertinggi bagi CO, O3 and NO2 manakala Seberang Jaya mencatatkan kepekatan tertinggi untuk PM10. Hasil analisis faktor, didapati bahawa terdapat tiga faktor di Perai, Shah Alam dan Jerantut manakala dua faktor di Seberang Jaya. Walau bagaimanapun, kombinasi komponen dalam setiap faktor adalah berbeza untuk setiap stesen. Namun begitu, terdapat kombinasi komponen yang signifikan di Perai di mana ia boleh dikategorikan sebagai Faktor Pencemaran Organik, Faktor Meteorologi dan Faktor Bahan Api. Keputusan ini membentangkan satu garis panduan untuk mewujudkan penilaian yang sesuai untuk ciri- ciri pencemaran dan sistem klasifikasi untuk stesen pemantauan kualiti udara di Malaysia.
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Factors Contributing to Air Pollution Levels Using Factor Analysis
ABSTRACT
The aims of this study is to determine the major factors and causes of air pollution levels within the four selected Malaysian air monitoring stations. The data were obtained from January 2008 to December 2012. The variables concerned are two meteorological factors (temperature and relative humidity) and four air pollutants (CO, PM10, O3 and NO2). The focus areas comprise of four different localities which are; Perai (S1- industrial), Shah Alam (S2-urban), Seberang Jaya (S3-suburban) and Jerantut (S4- control). Two statistical methods were selected to analyze the datasets which are descriptive statistical analysis and factor analysis. The descriptive statistical analysis showed that Perai recorded the highest concentrations of CO, O3 and NO2 while Seberang Jaya recorded the highest concentration of PM10. The results of the factor analysis showed that there were three factors at Perai, Shah Alam and Jerantut while two factors at Seberang Jaya. However, the combination of the components in each factors are different for every station. Nevertheless, it has a significant combination of the components at Perai where it can be categorized as an Organic Pollution Factor, Meteorological Factor and Fuel Factor. These results present a guideline to establish evaluations appropriate to pollution characteristics and classification systems for air quality monitoring stations in Malaysia.
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1 CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Backgrounds
Air pollution is a global problem in modern society, and becomes a major environmental issue throughout the world. In Malaysia, air pollution has been a major problem over the past few years due to swift urban development and it is influenced by pollution that is largely native to most areas (Latif et al., 2011). The rapid growth of the industrial sector and urbanization has been part of the cause to the high levels of air pollutants in the environment. In addition, the increase of motor vehicles for example, individual cars, business vehicles and motorcycles have caused an acute bottleneck in virtually every portions of the highway network, particularly in the central commercial areas and inevitably the nature in these areas has deteriorated due to the exhaust emission released from the engine of vehicles.
Describing air pollution is not easy. People can claim that every man-made (anthropogenic) emission released into the air is considered as air pollution, this is due to the fact that it will change the natural configuration of earth’s atmosphere. On the other side, air pollution can be depicted as the presence of any gaseous, fluid or solid substance, including noise and radioactive radiation in the atmosphere that can attack materials, imperil human health and welfare of plants and animals, produce undesirable odours or reduce visibility.
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The sources of air pollution can be categorized as two types, natural sources and man-made sources. Natural sources that contaminate the air included the evaporation of organic compounds, wind erosion, forest fires, pollen dispersal, volcanic eruptions and natural radioactivity. Man-made air pollution sources are called anthropogenic while from animals or plants is said to be biogenic. Its chronological growth has been described by progressively growing quantities of entire emissions, the creation of new sources of pollution emission and the emission of pollutants that had not previously been emitted by man-made sources. Currently, the main causes of man-made air pollution are motorized street traffic (particularly exhaust gases and wheel abrasion), the burning of fuels, and larger emissions from the manufacturing industries (Zell et al., 2010).
Pollutants released from man-made sources like industrial sources, power and heat generation, waste disposal, and the operation of internal combustion engines have a maximum effect on the environment when compared to that caused by natural sources like volcanoes, coniferous forests, and hot springs.
Mobile sources, especially motor vehicles, stationary sources, including industrial waste incinerators, power plants and emission of urban construction works and quarries, along with open burning are the main sources of air pollution in Malaysia.
Trans boundary emissions like uncontrolled wildfires, earthquake and volcanic eruptions from neighbouring countries also contributed to become the sources of air pollution to this country (Afroz et al., 2003). According to the Department of Environment (1977) in the article of CES 2014, motor vehicles contributed 68.5% of the emission of the pollutants to the atmosphere. While stationary sources (power plant and industrial) and other sources accounted for 26.7% and 4.8% respectively.
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Pollutants can be categorized as primary or secondary. Primary pollutants are substances that are straightforwardly emitted into the air from sources. Carbon compounds (carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) & volatile organic compounds (VOCs)), nitrogen compounds (nitrogen monoxide (NO), nitrous oxide (N2O), & ammonia (NH3)), sulphur compounds (hydrogen sulfide (H2S) & sulphur dioxide (SO2)), halogen compounds (chlorides, fluorides and bromides) and particulate matter (PM or “aerosols”) are the main primary pollutants which are detrimental when the concentrations is higher. Secondary pollutant is a pollutant that is not specifically radiated from sources, but instead form in the air from primary pollutants. In other meaning it is called as “precursors”. The main secondary pollutants which are identified to cause hazard when they accumulated at higher concentration are ozone (O3) formed from photochemical reactions of nitrogen oxides, VOCs sulphuric acid droplets formed from SO2, NO2 and HNO3 formed from NO and nitric acid droplets formed from NO2, sulphates and nitrates aerosols (e.g., ammonium (bi)sulfate and ammonium nitrate) formed from reactions of sulphuric acid droplets and nitric acid droplets with NH3, respectively and organic aerosols formed from VOCs in gas-to-particle reactions.
Malaysian Air Quality Index (MAQI) which is the first system of air quality index was developed by the Department of Environment (DOE) in 1993. When DOE revised its index system in 1996, it changed MAQI to Air Pollutant Index (API) as the tools to conveying the status of ambient air quality, ranging from good to hazardous. The Department of Environment (DOE) monitors the country’s ambient air quality through 52 continuous monitoring stations located in urban, sub-urban and industrial areas to
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observe any substantial alteration in the air quality which probably hazardous to the health of mankind and the environment. Nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ozone (O3), sulphur dioxide (SO2), carbon monoxide (CO) and particulate matter of less than 10 microns in size (PM10) are the air pollutants used in computing the API. Dominant of air pollutant with the highest concentration levels of the individual sub-index is used to determine the API value which provides a noteworthy method to assess the variations of air quality status (Awang et al., 2000). In Table 1.1, the API categories presented started from Good, Moderate, Unhealthy, Very Unhealthy and ultimately Hazardous.
Table 1.1: The Index Status of Air Pollutant
API Status API
Good 0 – 50
Moderate 5 – 100
Unhealthy 101 – 200
Very Unhealthy 201 – 300
Hazardous > 300
Source: Department of Environment, DOE (2013)
Environmental monitoring programs generate a large bulk of data which can provide a great deal of information about pollution, trend and effectiveness of policy with suitable statistical analysis. To achieve significant statistical results, the data used for analysis must be accurate, reliable and meet certain data quality objectives. Many statistical procedures have been used to analyze environmental data such as multivariate analysis. Over the last few years, the usage of multivariate analysis to complex datasets has seen growing momentum within the scientific community. And now, it has been
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considered as a conventional standard of practice in most if not all disciplines. (Brereton, 2003). According to Massart and Kaufman (1983), multivariate analysis is a method for grouping, modelling and interpretation of huge data sets taken from programs which monitor the environment. As the result of the analysis conducted, it is probable that the dimensionality of the data as well as the process of extracting information may occur.
1.2 Problem Statement
Air pollution is a critical issue in Malaysia. This is due to the fact that it causes harmful effects to all living beings. According to the Malaysian Department of Environment annual report, the air quality at the present time is declining when compared to the past. Interpreting the huge amount of data in order to identify the real factor which contributes to pollution at any particular area is quite difficult because of the complexity of the data and therefore requires one to use the correct methods. To overcome this problem, factor analysis was chosen as a technique to identify contributing factors which lead to air pollution. Based on the identified factors, it is hoped that this study shall provide an input to the Department of Environment on the important factors which contributed to the air pollution at any given areas.
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6 1.3 Objectives
The objectives of this study are:
i. To compare the average concentration of the air pollutants at four monitoring stations.
ii. To determine the major factors and air pollution levels at four monitoring stations.
iii. To determine the major causes of air pollutants.
1.4 Scope Of The Study
The focus areas of this study comprise of three different localities which are;
urban, suburban and industrial and one control area (background area). According to the multivariate statistics approach, this study utilizes the daily data of four critical air pollutants and two meteorology parameters from the year of 2008 until 2012 to examine the major factors and sources and air pollution levels and discusses the correlation between pollutant and the concentration of air pollutants found in every area where the station that monitors air quality is located, to precisely show the variances of air status among monitoring areas. It then transforms into a guideline in providing assessments appropriate to the characteristics of pollution and systems of classification for monitoring areas that monitor the quality of air in Malaysia.
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7 1.5 Conceptual Definition
According to Compendium of Environment Statistics (2014), the conceptual definition used in this study is defined as follows:
1.5.1 Ozone
Ozone is an inorganic molecule contain of three oxygen atoms. In chemical formula, it’s written as O3. It is a known toxic gas, pungent and colourless. Ground-level ozone is classified as a secondary pollutant because it is not emitted directly into the atmosphere. It results from photochemical reactions between oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the presence of sunlight (Ismail. M, 2011, Pudasainee et al., 2006). Photochemical ground-level ozone formation depends on a number of natural and anthropogenic factors. Typical summer fair weather conditions are responsible for an increase in ground-level ozone production (Jacob & Winner 2009).
1.5.2 Carbon Monoxide
Carbon Monoxide is an odourless, colourless, deadly and non-irritating but very poisonous gas. Carbon monoxide consists of one carbon atom and one oxygen atom (CO). Carbon monoxide comes from the incomplete combustion of natural gas, diesel or gasoline in traffic engines. High concentrations of CO commonly take place in areas
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with substantial traffic intensity and congestion. Point sources of CO emissions also consist of industrial processes, non-transportation fuel combustion, and natural sources such as wild forest fires. Indoor sources consist of leaking gas stoves, heaters and generators (Han & Naeher, 2006).
1.5.3 Nitrogen Dioxide
Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) is formed in the ambient air through the oxidation of Nitrogen Monoxide (NO). It transforms in the air to form gaseous nitric acid and toxic organic nitrates. This reddish-brown toxic gas has a sharp and pungent odour. As a component of nitrogen oxides (NOx), it goes through an intricate process of chemical and photochemical reactions with nitric oxide (NO), ozone, and other gases. The presence of NO2 in the atmosphere can be attributed to two different sources. The first source is the primary pollutant which comes directly from emission. The second source is the secondary pollutant which originated from chemical reactions in the atmosphere.
Exposure to NO2 poses harmful effects to human health. Lung injury and airway responsiveness may occur due to short term exposures to the gas. Meanwhile infections to the respiratory system and weakened immunity may possibly follow in the case of long-term exposures (Han & Naeher, 2006).
1.5.4 Particulate Matter
A mixture of liquid droplets and solid particles found in the air are used to describe the Particulate matter or PM. It exists in different shapes and sizes and contains
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numerous chemicals of varying nature. One of the particulate matters is the particle of less than 10 microns in diameter which is called as PM10. PM10 can be a liquid or solid form and it includes aerosol, pollen, smoke and dust. The most important sources of these pollutant emissions include domestic combustion in household heating, road traffic, and industrial combustion. In addition to the emissions of primary particulate matter, particles are also formed in ambient air by chemical and physical processes from precursor gases (Kiesewetter et al., 2014).
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10 CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction
Malaysia is one of the largest environmentally friendly and rich developing countries in the Earth, which is known as greening country. Yet nowadays Malaysia started to encounter the problem culminating from industrial pollution as well as the degradation of urban environments as the country races toward rapid economic and industrial growth by 2020. The effects of air pollution resume to become an anxiety for the authorities who want to lay measure with a specific objective to have it contained so that it will not represent a menace to all wellbeing. Records derived from previous programs that monitor the quality of the air indicate the fact which shown that some quantities of pollutants of the air in a number of urban areas is increasing over the long haul and occasionally the readings are intolerable as indicated by the national ambient quality standards (Afroz et al., 2003). Recommended Malaysia Ambient Air Quality Guidelines (RMAQG) which has been published by the Department of the Environment (DOE) since 1989 is used to measure the level of the air quality in Malaysia by characterizing the concentration bounds of selected air pollutants which could adversely influence the wellbeing and welfare of the overall community.
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11 2.2 Air Pollutant Index Construction
The Air Pollutant Index is designed and sustained by methodical and systematic measurement with respect to the quality of the air in Malaysia so that it could be categorized and utilized especially in matters of health interest. In other words API is intended to report the condition of the air quality in a particular region or area. The Malaysian API system is based on the Pollutant Standard Index (PSI) system of the United States of America. The Malaysian DOE, in the context of this study, works by monitoring the ambient quality of air. In order to achieve this, the department has at its disposal a comprehensive network consisting of 52 stations which endlessly monitor the quality of air nationwide. These monitoring stations are deliberately situated in industrial, urban and suburban zones to identify noteworthy alteration to the quality of the air (Department of Environment, 1975: Malaysia Environmental Quality Report, 2013).
2.2.1 Key Air Pollutants
Disparity in the selection of crucial air pollutions, will continuously exist as different countries identify different pollutants whereby the most harmful to the population shall be singled out. (Elshout & Leger, 2006). According to Department of Environment the air pollutants identified as a part of calculating the API are sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), particulate matter with a diameter less than 10 microns (PM10) and ground level ozone (O3).
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