Health Effects of Air Pollution in Oleh Town, Delta State

The spread of pollutant in an area is partly a function of wood burning in local kitchens by the population of the area. This pollution generated through combustion of wood  fuels presents difficult environmental challenges to societies as it could degrade the environment and affect human health and quality of life. Wood burning emissions are major contributors to air pollution in rural areas as they contain harmful gases. The level of carbon monoxide in the air in two location in oleh town have been investigated. A restaurant (high) and household kitchen (low) were studied to determine the air pollution status of the area, carbon monoxide detector (electrochemical cored device) used for the analysis indicated variations in the levels of CO for the period of study. The results obtained revealed that the concentration of CO in mama Matilda restaurant kitchen is higher than that of umukoro resident kitchen and is unacceptable compared with the federal Environmental protection Agency(FEPA) Nigeria set limit. The dispersion pattern suggests that wood burning emission contributes to the levels of carbon monoxide in the environment.