Investigating air quality and air-related complaints in the City of Tshwane, South Africa

Abstract

To determine the impact of implemented air quality interventions beyond ambient air pollution reductions, indicators need to be identified and appropriate health data need to be routinely collected to track air-related health. Presently, the only regulated environmental health performance indicator routinely collected as part of air quality management is the air-related complaint lodged by the public. Here, five years of air-related complaints (n = 875) made by residents in the City of Tshwane (Pretoria, Gauteng) were analysed and considered in relation to ambient SO and PM concentrations monitored at 2 10 permanent air quality monitoring stations. When considering xceedances of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards, there were 17 complaint days with either an SO or PM daily average concentration 2 10 exceedance. However, it was very difficult to make meaningful conclusions about the relation between ambient AQ and air-related complaints given social, economic and data challenges and constraints. There is a real need to have local, air-related health data, for example, upper and lower respiratory tract infections, asthma, etc, generated at clinics and hospitals delivered directly and on an on-going, continuously updated basis to those responsible for implementation of air quality management plans.