Vehicular Activities and Tailpipe Carbon (II) Oxide Emission at Osisioma-Aba, Abia State, Nigeria: A Potential Public Health Hazard to Roadside Traders and Artisans

Objective: Vehicular activities have been associated with Carbon (II) Oxide (CO) emission, which inhalation is implicated in the etiology of a cocktail of debilitating diseases. This study evaluated vehicular activities and the volume of CO emission at Osisioma- Aba, Abia State, Nigeria, to point out the potential public health challenges facing roadside traders and artisans. Method: Vehicular activities and tailpipe CO emission were determined at designated locations (1, 2, 3 and 4) along the Osisioma-Port Harcourt Express road, using digital tally counter and Gasman gas monitors, respectively. The control location was at Owerre-Aba with less vehicular activity. Each location was clearly marked with Geographical Positioning System (GPS MAP(R) 78). Result: The least number of vehicles (246) was recorded at location 3 between 8-9 am, while the highest number of vehicles (2540) was recorded at location 1 between 15:00-16:00 h, at the study site and between 89 and 244 at the control site. At all times, the total number of vehicles ranged from 1,109 vehicles between 8-9 am, to 9,417 vehicles between 15:00-16:00 h at the study site. The percentage differences between the vehicular load at the study site and that of the control site ranged between 91.98 during the period 8-9 am to 97.41 during the period between 15-16 pm. The vehicular load showed periodic and location variation with significant difference at p<0.0001. At the study locations, the CO volume ranged from 94.30 ppm (8-9 am) to 282.30 ppm (15-16 pm), and from 6.18 ppm (15-16 pm) to 8.56 ppm (9-10 am) at the control site. There were both location and periodic variations of CO volume in the study and control sites with significant difference at p=0.0001. There were significant correlations between vehicular load and CO emission (r>0.8413, p<0.05) at all the locations of the study site but not at the control site. Conclusion: The values of tailpipe CO emissions at various points in the study site were above safety level as recommended by National and International regulatory bodies. This observation poses public health challenges to artisans and others who have continuously exposed to tailpipe CO emission at Osisoma-Aba.