Monitoring of particulate matter on unpaved roads in the province of Chupaca / Peru during October - 2023

Resumen

The exponential increase in urban areas is proportional to the emission of particulate matter generated by the vehicle fleet and the design of tall buildings and the width of narrow roads that hinder the dispersion of pollutants, this problem increases when it comes to unpaved roads, higher vehicular traffic, dust rising and wear of tires and brakes that cause higher emissions of PM. Therefore, the intention of the present investigation was to estimate the concentration and temporal variation of fine and coarse fashion PM during October 2023 in the city of Chupaca, belonging to the department of Junín-Peru, using a PurpleAir sensor as a particle meter. The results indicate a maximum concentration of 30 ug/m3 of PM2.5 on October 24 and that 50% of the monitored days exceed 10 ug/m3; for the case of PM10 it has a maximum concentration of 40 ug/m3. In addition, the fine mode and coarse mode have a positive correlation with humidity and a negative correlation with temperature. In conclusion, unpaved roads are a potential source of pollution, and although in this research they do not exceed national and international air quality standards, other studies indicate that the speed and type of vehicle can cause high PM emissions; therefore, it is necessary to implement prevention and control policies to avoid public health problems.