INHALABLE PARTICULATES AND METEOROLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CITY OF RIYADH, SAUDI-ARABIA

The ambient inhalable particulates (IP) have been sampled in the city of Riyadh by means of a fixed sampling site using an automatic Dichotomous sampler. The concentration of fine particulates (0-2. 5 mu m aerodynamic diameter), the coarse particles (2. 5-15 mu m aerodynamic diameter) and the total IP were determined. The meteorological variables were recorded simultaneously with an atmospheric sampling process during the period of 1 March-31 May, 1984 (92 samples were obtained). The samples were analyzed by means of the Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer for As, Pb, Fe, Cu, Al and Na. Statistical analysis using the multilinear regression technique has been carried out to correlate the concentration of particulate matter of interest with the local meterological variables of the city. It was determined that the pressure, wind speed and wind direction could be used to predict the IP concentration. The concentrations of atmospheric fine, coarse and total IP matter were found at high levels. The highest and lowest correlations are discussed.