Empirical Studies that have been made about Air Pollution in Egypt

           There are numerous sources to air pollution in Egypt, as in other countries. However, the formation and levels of dust, small particles and soot are more characteristic in Egypt than presently found in industrialized countries. Some of the sources for these pollutants, such as industries, open-air waste burning and transportation, were also well known problems in most countries only 10 to 20 years ago (Anderson, P.37). Suspended dust, measured as PM₁₀, can be seen to be a major air pollution problem in Egypt. PM₁₀ concentrations can exceed daily average concentrations during 98% of the measurement period. The surpass of  PM₁₀ is highest in industrial areas. On the other hand it seems that the natural background of PM₁₀ in Egypt is close to or around the Air Quality Limit value. PM₁₀ are collected and analyzed in different ways in the Environmental Information and Monitoring Program (EIMP) programme (Awad, P.22). EIMP operates presently about 40 measurement sites for measuring air pollution in Egypt where there is 4 sites located in the Greater Cairo area, 8 sites in Alexandria area, 7 sites in the Delta, 3 sites in the Canal area and 10 sites in Upper Egypt and Sinai beginning from 1997 up till the day (Awad, P.22). The continuous records of PM10 are analyzed every half-hour by beta attenuation, the sampling of PM10 on filters for gravimetric analyses and the filter analyses of black smoke by reflectrometric methods. In Law no. 4 for the Environment of Egypt the only Air Quality Limit value given for PM10 is based on 24-hour average concentrations.

The concentration level should not exceed 70 (mg/m3) (Hopkins).  Egypt, levels of PM10 have reached 580 μg/m3 in Cairo and 450 μg/m3 in Alexandria. Also these is a high concentration of SO2, which is an indicator for sulphur emissions from burning of fossil fuels and from industrial processes, were recorded in central parts of Cairo and at some industrial sites in the Delta and in Upper Egypt. The main cause of air pollution is that almost all industrialized nations have gone through an initial phase of unrestrained economic growth with no concern for environmental conditions such growth brings. Egypt is no different than any other nation, in this respect. However, the rapid rate of industrialization, coupled with some naturally occurring conditions in Egypt, have increased its current pollution problems. (Abu-taleb, P.38) For example, Egypt's usable land area is restricted by desert and most of its people live in just a few centralized urban locations, essentially along the Nile. Industrial plants are located near these population centers to ensure a labor supply and good transportation. The result is a heavy concentration of industry and population in a small region of the country, causing greater local pollution problems than if population and industry were more evenly distributed. 

Other studies made by The World Health Organization reports that the Air Pollution in Downtown Cairo is 10-100 times what is considered a safe limit (Awad. P.22). Quantifying the extent of the air pollution problem in Egypt is difficult; there are virtually no data on emissions except in rare cases, no industrial plant emission measurements are made, no industry-wide data available. It is not difficult, however, to identify plants, processes, and industries that are the major contributors to Egypt's air pollution problems; they are the same as in any other industrialized nation. They include, among others, cement producers, metallurgical plants including iron and steel mills, chemical plants, petroleum refineries and electricity generation and, of course, pollution produced by automobile transportation (Anderson, P.A15). There were some data collected for transportation pollution, for example according to Engineer Essam Nada, executive director of The Arab Office for Youth and Environment (AOYE), vehicle emissions are responsible for 40 per cent of the air pollution in Egypt. AOYE statistics have revealed that 2,400 cases of early deaths occur annually, because of air pollution in 2004 (Nadia). As a solution many plants in industrial areas, when initially built, may have had air pollution control devices installed, but all too often maintenance has been so poor that most are not working today and there is no indication that plant management is at all interested in getting them to work leading to no empirical data.

-Amira Badr