Levels of particulate matters in air of the Gonabad city, Iran

The pollution of air and its effect on the ecosystem and particularly on human wellbeing is an issue of important public and governmental concern. To understand the levels of particulate matters and compositional data for total particulate matters fractions, samples were collected from October to February 2018. The samples were collected using gravitational dust sampling method. Weekly and monthly variations of particulate matters in studied stations were in range of 0.0262–0.0802 and 0.0243–0.2109 mg/cm(2).day. The XRD analysis showed that most of particles were inorganic in nature, representing that these particles originates mainly from deserts. However, local and regional and international sources of these particles should be determined. Thus, comprehensive control efforts will be required in addition to local initiatives to improve the air quality in cities like Gonabad.