Air Quality Monitoring in Botswana

Air Quality Monitoring in Botswana
Air quality management is an important tool for assessing the status of air pollution in order to
design and implement standards for the control and measurement of air pollution, and to meet air
quality objectives. Air pollution mitigation strategies are designed to identify pollution problems
and provide solutions at the town, regional, national and international level. Ambient monitoring
is concerned with on-site measurements of major emissions (e.g. particulate matter (PM), NOx,
SO2 and carbon monoxide). Routine air pollution monitoring in Botswana began in the mid-1970s,
with monitoring of SO2 gas from three stations only.49,50 The number of monitoring stations
increased in 1995 and expanded to include pollutants such as NOx and other substances, and
ground level ozone monitoring began in 1996. The majority of SO2 emissions have come from the
copper-nickel smelter at Selebi Phikwe, while major towns with high traffic volume show
significant elevation of NOx concentrations during peak hours. Currently, there are several air
pollution monitoring stations across Botswana, operating under the Department of Waste
Management and Pollution Control (DWMPC). Several studies undertaken on the impacts of
smelter emissions showed serious impacts on both vegetation and population in Selebi Phikwe and
surrounding villages, although these studies did not quantify the extent of the impacts.25,40,51
Measured concentrations of SO2 , nitrogen dioxide and ozone indicated potential impacts of air
pollution on vegetation and human health, with the SO2 guideline exceeded in Selebi Phikwe.49,52
Other studies conducted on particle concentrations in Gaborone resulting from biomass burning
indicated an increase in particle concentrations of up to 1700 cm-3 and 1894 cm-3 during the peak
time of winter.27,53 Another study conducted on indoor air pollution from household fuels in
Gaborone from winter to spring (July–September 2007) showed that people from lowincome
groups reported more health effects than those in medium and high-income groups.53 Although
the study was conducted in one part of the city, particle concentrations were increased due to the
burning of raw materials such as cow dung, wood, plastic and Chibuku (local beer) cartons for
cooking and heating of homes. Mean PM concentration indexes estimated for populations around
the world reported a PM2.5 air pollution population exposure level (% of total) of 45.44 in
Botswana in 2013, exceeding the annual average World Health Organization (WHO)
guideline.9,11,54 This index expresses the percentage population exposed to ambient Particlate
Matter 2.5 (PM2.5) concentrations exceeding the WHO guideline value, given as the portion of a
country’s population living in places where the mean annual concentration of PM2.5 is greater
than 10 μg m-3. Overall, these ambient concentrations could mask an individual’s true exposure,
which may vary with an individual’s proximity to the polluting sources during periods when in
use/operation or at work. Table 1 shows threshold limits for some common air pollutants in
Botswana and globally (WHO guidelines).24 Data are shown for some of the major regulated
pollutant species that are regularly monitored to assess pollution levels.
Challenges and Limitations to Air Quality Monitoring in Botswana
As highlighted above, there are a number of challenges with regard to air quality monitoring, data
collection and information dissemination in Botswana, as in most developing countries. Some of
these challenges include lack of regular site visitation and monitoring programs. There remains a
lack of transparency in various aspects of air pollution control, poor environmental regulations or
weak institutional mechanisms to enforce regulation ranging from effluent disposal through
control and monitoring strategies. In addition, regulatory operators do not always adhere to
existing air quality rules and regulations. While the DWMPC is the main body to oversee, facilitate
and implement the management and control of air pollution, assessment must depend on industries
(polluting sources) and/ or individuals for data without regular visitation and site assessments. This
can negatively affect the monitoring of pollutants, especially where the programs/instruments are
inadequate, posing a risk to the workforce. If pollution in Botswana is not regulated to specified
levels, it can lead to harmful effects. For example, pollution may have long lasting effects on
general health and well-being; early exposure in childhood may harm lung development later in
life.55 The workforce and communities near polluting sources may not be adequately educated
about pollution impacts or the use of hazardous materials (e.g. cooking/heating fuels). Similarly,
most air quality monitoring systems do not fully address population exposure to toxic pollutants
and monitoring is needed to determine if companies meet their operational requirements.33 In
addition to these challenges, further studies are needed on air quality and pollutant concentrations,
especially around potentially polluted places and regular check-up of monitoring stations. There
are also a few limitations to the present study. No measurement data was collected or obtained
from the monitoring stations in the present study which could be compared with real world
measurements. This highlights a major concern in Botswana as data is not readily available to
researchers or the public.

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