Assessment of the Air Quality of Isfahan City, Iran, Using Selected Air Quality Parameters

Background: Today, air pollution is one of the major problems in large cities including Isfahan. Methods: The objective of this study was to investigate the variations of ozone (O3), carbon monoxide (CO), nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulphur dioxide (SO2), and particulate matter (PM10) concentrations in different months at three stations and also to explore the correlations between pollutants. Monthly averages of air pollutant concentrations recorded in three pollution monitoring stations (Bozorgmehr, Azadi, and Laleh) were obtained in 2008 and 2009. Results: There were significant monthly variations in the concentrations of air quality parameters. Results showed that there was a correlation between ozone and particle matter (p<0.05), and between nitric oxide and nitrogen oxides (p<0.01). The statistical analysis indicated that there were significant differences in the O3, NO, NOx and PM10 concentrations. Conclusion: The air quality monitoring data collected in city center of Isfahan showed seasonal variations for O3, CO, NO, NO2, NOx, SO2, and PM10.