Malaysian Journal of Analytical Sciences Vol 25 No 5 (2021): 821 - 830

 

 

 

 

AIR POLLUTION ASSESSMENT IN SOUTHERN PENINSULAR MALAYSIA USING ENVIRONMETRIC ANALYSIS

 

(Penilaian Pencemaran Udara Di Selatan Semenanjung Malaysia Menggunakan Analisis Environmetrik)

 

Haslinda Ab Malek, Nurul Nabila Natasha Jalaluddin, Sharifah Nadia Syed Hasan,Umi Amira Hassni, Isnewati Ab Malek*

 

Faculty of Computer and Mathematical Sciences

Universiti Teknologi MARA, Cawangan Negeri Sembilan, Kampus Seremban,

70300 Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia

 

*Corresponding author:  isnewati@uitm.edu.my

 

 

Received:  31 August 2021; Accepted: 2 October 2021; Published:  25 October 2021

 

 

Abstract

Air pollution can be defined as the presence of toxic chemicals at levels that pose a health risk. Air quality plays an important role as polluted air could affect the environment. The air pollution problem has become a major issue in Malaysia for the past two decades. Thus, this study focused on the air pollution assessment in Southern Peninsular Malaysia based on the data obtained from the Department of Environment Malaysia. Six major air pollutants (PM10, PM2.5, SO2, NO2, CO and O3) in five monitoring stations were measured hourly for the year 2018. Factor Analysis was used to identify the most dominant air pollutant to the air quality. It is found that PM10 and PM2.5 were the most dominant air pollutants that contribute to the degradation of the air quality in Southern Peninsular Malaysia due to industrial activities. It is hoped that this study could help the authorities in controlling air pollution by determining the most dominant air pollutants involved.

 

Keywords:  air pollution, air pollutant, air quality, factor analysis, dominant

 

Abstrak

Pencemaran udara dapat didefinisikan sebagai kehadiran bahan kimia beracun pada tahap yang menimbulkan risiko kesihatan. Kualiti udara memainkan peranan penting kerana udara yang tercemar dapat mempengaruhi persekitaran. Masalah pencemaran udara telah menjadi isu utama di Malaysia sejak dua dekad yang lalu. Oleh itu, kajian ini memfokuskan pada penilaian pencemaran udara di Selatan Semenanjung Malaysia berdasarkan data yang diperoleh dari Jabatan Alam Sekitar Malaysia. Enam pencemar udara utama (PM10, PM2.5, SO2, NO2, CO and O3) di lima stesen pemantauan diukur setiap jam untuk tahun 2018. Analisis Faktor digunakan untuk mengenal pasti bahan pencemar udara yang paling dominan terhadap kualiti udara. Didapati bahawa PM10 dan PM2.5 adalah bahan pencemar udara yang paling dominan menyumbang kepada penurunan kualiti udara di Selatan Semenanjung Malaysia kerana aktiviti perindustrian. Diharapkan kajian ini dapat membantu pihak berkuasa dalam mengawal pencemaran udara dengan menentukan bahan pencemar udara yang paling dominan.

 

Kata kunci:  pencemaran udara, bahan pencemar udara, kualiti udara, analisis faktor, dominan

 

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