Perbandingan kualiti udara antara tahun 2002 dan 2003 di kawasan padi sewaktu pembakaran jerami di Mergong, Kedah (Comparison of air quality between 2002 and 2003 in the area during the burning of rice straws in Mergong, Kedah)

Abstract

Pembakaran jerami padi yang lazimnya dilakukan pada bulan Mac sering menyebabkan pencemaran udara berlaku di jelapang padi sekitar Alor Star, Kedah. Ia dibuktikan dengan Indeks Pencemar Udara (IPU) setiap jam yang melebihi nilai 70 pada bulan Mac 2002. Selain itu, berlaku juga peningkatan bahan pencemar udara lain saperti karbon monoksida (CO), sulfur dioksida (SO2) dan zarah terampai (PM10) yang dilepaskan ke udara. Contoh perbandingan kualiti udara antara Mac 2002 dan Mac 2003 menunjukkan kepekatan tertinggi gas CO adalah 1.03 ppm pada tahun 2003 berbanding 1.43 ppm pada tahun 2003. Kepekatan zarah terampai PM10 tertinggi pula adalah 208 ,g/m3 pada tahun 2003 berbanding 312 ,g/m3 pada tahun 2002. Bagi gas pencemar SO2 kepekatan maksimum pada tahun 2002 adalah sebanyak 0.013 ppm berbanding 0.006 ppm pada tahun 2003. Malah, hasil ujian t untuk dua sampel dengan anggaran sama varians turut menyokong keadaan tersebut. Terdapat perbezaan yang ketara bagi gas pencemar SO2 yang dilepaskan ke udara bagi tempoh masa 24 jam bagi kedua-dua tahun. Bagaimanapun, ujian t bagi tempoh masa harian tidak menunjukkan perbezaan yang ketara untuk gas pencemar dan zarah terampai.

Katakunci: gas pencemar, Indeks Pencemar Udara, kualiti udara, pencemaran udara, pembakaran jerami padi, zarah terampai

The practise of burning rice straws during the month of March usually causes air pollution within the vicinity of the paddy fields in Alor Star, Kedah. This is shown by hourly Air Pollutant Index (API) readings of more than 70 in March 2002. In addition, the levels of other air pollutants, such as carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and the suspended fine particulates of less than 10 microns (PM10) emitted into the air were also increased during the burning period. The evaluation of the air quality between March 2002 and 2003 showed that the maximum CO concentration was 1.03 ppm in 2003 in contrast to 1.43 ppm in 2002, while the maximum PM10 concentration in March 2003 was 208 μg/m3 compared with 312 μg/m3 in March 2002. The SO2 concentration recorded in 2002 was 0.006 ppm against a maximum of 0.013 ppm in March 2003. The statistical t-test for two samples assuming equal variances also supported these results which showed significant differences for the SO2 pollutant for the averaging period of 24 hours in contrast to the hourly readings which were not significantly different for the suspended particulate matter and gaseous CO and SO2.

Keywords: air pollution, air quality, burning of rice straws, index of water pollution, pollutant gaseous, suspendedparticulate matter