Toxicological assessment of chlorine concentration in atmospheric particulate matter in Benin City, Nigeria

Abstract

Chlorine gas is widely known as obnoxious gas in the environment. It is well documented that little amount of chlorine gas in the atmosphere can cause pulmonary edema, pneumonitis, emphysema, bronchitis, and irritation of eyes, throat, and nose, just to mention a few. The thrust of this work is to investigate the breathing disease and health hazard emanating from the inhalation of chlorine concentration in particulate matter during job activities. This work was conducted among 120 employers from nine (9) industries. Information of the various ailments were gathered by using questionnaires and spirometry. The spirometry has an opening in which one blows in air to determine the lung volume. The commonest symptoms in the work were cough 47.5%, phlegm expectoration 50.0%, wheeze 5.8%, chest tightness 10.0%, chest pain 5.7%, breathlessness 8.3%, and cough with phlegm 8.3%. The concentration of chlorine in the total suspended particle ranged from 0.005 to 0.189 ppm, while the mean concentration of chlorine in the inhalable particle ranged from 0.112 to 0.270 ppm, and the concentration of chlorine gas in respirable particle ranged from 0.070 to 0.266 ppm. Further study should be conducted to enable establishment of reference level for the state.

Full text

Toxicological assessment of chlorine concentration in atmospheric
particulate matter in Benin City, Nigeria
T. F. Ediagbonya
1
&A. E. Tobin
2
Received: 14 May 2020 /Accepted: 4 June 2020
#Springer Nature B.V. 2020
Abstract
Chlorine gas is widely known as obnoxious gas in the environment. It is well documented that little amount of chlorine gas in the
atmosphere can cause pulmonary edema, pneumonitis, emphysema, bronchitis, and irritation of eyes, throat, and nose, just to
mention a few. The thrust of this work is to investigate the breathing disease and health hazard emanating from the inhalation of
chlorine concentration in particulate matter during job activities. This work was conducted among 120 employers from nine (9)
industries. Information of the various ailments were gathered by using questionnaires and spirometry. The spirometry has an
opening in which one blows in air to determine the lung volume. The commonest symptoms in the work were cough 47.5%,
phlegm expectoration 50.0%, wheeze 5.8%, chest tightness 10.0%, chest pain 5.7%, breathlessness 8.3%, and cough with
phlegm 8.3%. The concentration of chlorine in the total suspended particle ranged from 0.005 to 0.189 ppm, while the mean
concentration of chlorine in the inhalable particle ranged from 0.112 to 0.270 ppm, and the concentration of chlorine gas in
respirable particle ranged from 0.070 to 0.266 ppm. Further study should be conducted to enable establishment of reference level
for the state.
Keywords Chlorine .X-ray fluorescence .Respiratory symptoms .Spirometry .Particulate matter
Introduction
The amount of chlorine in the ambient air had been deter-
mined by very few persons using X-ray fluorescence and
PIXE (Morata et al. 2008; Oluyemi and Asubiojo 2001;
Alexandre et al. 1998;Mkomasetal.2010; Han et al. 2009;
He et al. 2001;Owoadeetal.2009;Yeetal.2003;Ezehetal.
2012,2015). Human’s reaction to the amount of chlorine gas
in the atmosphere varies from one person to another
(Gorguner et al. 2004). The various pitfalls of chlorine gas,
which have been well documented, are the destruction of mu-
cus lining in throat, airway, and eyes. High quantity of this gas
can hamper the lungs, which, in turn, can result to various
breathing illnesses (Hasan et al. 1983; Miller et al. 2005;
Rajesh et al. 2008; Gunnarson et al. 1998; Das and Blanc
1993; Jones et al. 1986; Schwartz et al. 1990), pneumonitis,
(Das and Blanc 1993; Van Sickle et al. 2009;Charanetal.
1995), emphysema (Bernard et al. 2009;Gorguneretal.2004;
Jones et al. 1986), and bronchitis (Gorguner et al. 2004;Van
Sickle et al. 2009; Lemiere et al. 1997). In serious cases, the
destruction of the lung may engender death thus suffocation.
Gautrin et al. (1994) reported that high concentration of chlo-
rine gas (45,000 μg/m
3
) (15.1 ppm) in the atmosphere can
engender throat irritation, while high concentration of chlorine
gas of 90,000 μg/m
3
(30.2 ppm) can snowball into headache.
This halogen can engender huskiness, coughing, watering and
redness of eyes, and sneezing when human is exposed to it for
a length of time. Besides these effects mentioned above, spu-
tum from the pharynx, bleeding from the nose, and trachea
may contain blood (Van Sickle et al. 2009). High concentra-
tion of chlorine in the atmosphere such as 40,000 to
60,000 μg/m
3
(14 to 21 ppm) for 30to 60 min can be insidious
to the environment, while 290,000 μg/m
3
(100 ppm) cannot
be resisted for more than 1 min (Gorguner et al. 2004). The
various symptoms experienced during the exposure of chlo-
rine concentration are syncope, dizziness, choking, nausea,
anxiety, vomiting, retching, dyspnea, burning eyes, and head-
ache (Gunnarson et al. 1998). While that of perennial expo-
sure limit for about 6 h should not be more than 0.5 ppm
(1.5 mg/m
3
). Over 2000 ppm of chlorine gas is very
*T. F. Ediagbonya
tf.ediagbonya@gmail.com; tf.ediagbonya@osustech.edu.ng
1
Department of Chemical Sciences, Olusegun Agagu University of
Science and Technology, Okitipupa, Ondo State, Nigeria
2
Institute of Lassa Fever Research and Control, Irrua Specialist
Teaching Hospital, Irrua, Edo State, Nigeria
Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11869-020-00848-0

fatal (Health and Safety Executive 2005). Occupational expo-
sure of chlorine concentration in the atmosphere set by World
Health Organization (WHO) Task Group to guide the public
from respiratory related disease was 0.3 ppm of chlorine gas
(WHO 1982). Literature has it that people with history of
respiratory symptom such as asthma are more susceptible to
persistent airway obstruction after chlorine inhalation (Hasan
et al. 1983;D’Alessandro et al. 1996).
Study population and design
The study group comprised sawmills workers in Benin City.
Procedure
Analysis of group was chosen to pick the people involved in
this research work (Grimes and Schulz 2005).
Data collection techniques
The British Medical Research Council (MRC) questionnaire on
respiratory symptoms was adopted (Medical Research Council
1960), which has been certified by previous work (Ugheoke
et al. 2009; NHANES 1998). Peak expiratory flow was in ac-
cordance with American Thoracic Society (ATS) guidelines
(ATS 1991). Details of the analysis has been reported (Tobin
et al. , 2016). Particle capturing machine was used to capture the
particles in the atmosphere. The concentration of chlorine gas in
glass fiber filter was analyzed using X-ray fluorescence. Details
of the analysis has been reported by Ediagbonya et al. (2013)
and Ediagbonya (2016).For selecting study group participants,
a one-stage cluster sampling technique was used. A list of reg-
istered sawmills has been obtained from State Ministry of
Agriculture’s Forestry Department. A preliminary survey as-
cribed the total number of sawmill workers as 15. The mini-
mum number of sawmills needed to yield the sample size was
calculated as 9 (calculated by dividing the sample size by the
average number of workers at each mill).
Method of data analysis
Data was analyzed using Social Sciences Statistical Packages
(SPSS) version 15.0 and Computer Epidemiologist Program
(PEPI), version 10.0 (O’conner and Manning 2005). Discrete
data were described as diagrams and proportions (percentages),
while continuous variables, which were common in distribution
(such as age and height), were expressed as mean and standard
deviation. Statistical comparisons of the study’sarithmeticmeans
and comparison groups were made using the ttest (two-tailed) of
the unpaired student. The statistical analysis of the difference
between proportions was conducted with the use of the X
2
test.
Results and discussion
Atmospheric particulate matter and its composition had
been reported to cause deleterious health issues in
Table 1 Prevalence of respiratory
symptoms in study Symptom Study group
(N=120)
Comparison
group (N=120)
χ
2
test pvalue
n(%) n(%)
Cough 57(47.5) 10(8.3) 25.951 0.000
Phlegm 60(50.0) 5(4.2) 34.711 0.000
Breathlessness 10(8.3) 2(1.7) 2.406 0.1209
Wheeze 7(5.8) 2(1.7) 0.892 0.345
Chest pain 4(5.7) 2(1.7) 0.892 0.345
Chest tightness 12(10.0) 0(0.0) 5.414 0.020
Cough with phlegm 10(8.3) 2(1.7) 2.406 0.120
*Significant at p< 0.001
Table 2 Comparison of lung
function among nonsmokers in
study and comparison groups
Parameter Sawmill workers
mean ± SD (N=120)
Control group mean
±SD(N=120)
pvalue
FEV1 (L) 3.07 ± 0.51 3.30 ± 0.53 < 0.001
FVC (L) 3.60 ± 0.70 3.79 ± 0.69 0.046
FEV1/FVC 77.64 ± 4.32 79.48 ± 6.26 0.009
PEFR (L/min) 404.11 ± 88.80 457.40 ± 84.45 < 0.001
Air Qual Atmos Health

human (Park et al. 2020; Skalska et al. 2019;Vuetal.
2018).Overall, the number of eligible males (133) and
120 of the employees in nine sawmills volunteered to
participate in the study, which amounted to 92% of the
employees participating in the research. The most com-
mon respiratory symptom observed by individuals in the
research groups was as follows: 47.5% cough, 50.0%
phlegm development, 8.3% breathlessness, 5.8%
wheeze, 5.7% chest pain, 10.0% chest tightness, and
8.3% phlegm cough. Large rise in respiratory issues is
relative to those who have recently smoked and former
smokers compared with nonsmokers.
Table 1shows the prevalence of respiratory symptoms in
the study.
FEV1 forced expiratory volume in first second, FVC forced
vital capacity, FEV1/FVC ratio between them, PEFR peak
expiratory flow rate
The mean values of all parameters (FEV
1
, FVC, FEV
1
/
FVC, and PEFR) were significant (p= < 0.001, 0.046,
0.009, and < 0.001, respectively), as shown in Table 2.
Eighty-two (68.3%) of the individuals participating in the
study were found with at least one respiratory symptom. The
association between job category, duration of work, and his-
tory of person employment in a dusty occupation with occur-
rence of one major respiratory symptom is not statistically
significant as shown in Table 3. The incidence of both symp-
toms was also substantially higher among current and ex-
smokers than among nonsmokers. In contrast to the reference
Table 3 Factors associated with
the presence of at least one
respiratory symptom among
study
No symptom (n= 38) At least one symptom (n=82) χ
2
p
History of previous dusty job
Yes 9(42.9) 12(57.1) 0.704 0.401
No 29(29.3) 70(70.7)
Total 38(31.7) 82(68.3)
Duration of work (years)
< 4 19(32.8) 39(67.2) 2.060 0.584
5–9 7(22.6) 24(77.4)
10–14 5(29.4) 12(70.6)
> 15 7(50.0) 7(50.0)
Total 38(31.7) 82(68.3)
Job category
Operator 12(36.4) 21(63.6) 2.866 0.748
Drawer/table boy 10(22.7) 34(77.3)
Jack man 5(26.3) 14(73.7)
Maintenance 5(50.0) 5(50.0)
Manager 2(40.0) 3(60.0)
Loader/Packer 3(37.5) 5(62.5)
Total 38(31.7) 82(68.3)
Table 4 Mean concentration of
chlorine gas in total suspended
particulate matter (ppm)
Locations Min Max Mean SD F p
Ogida 0.0494 0.05073 0.05005a 0.067 7864.083 0.000
Egor 0.08014 0.08270 0.081.42b 0.128
Ekenwan 0.05452 0.05581 0.05502c 0.070
Oluku 0.06242 0.06418 0.06340d 0.090
Upper Sokpoba 0.1179 0.1187 0.1183e 0.040
Dumez 0.08766 0.08921 0.08825f 0.083
Uwasota 0.18784 0.19085 0.18979g 0.169
Eyan 0.14800 0.14925 0.14873h 0.065
Federal Road 0.12097 0.12122 0.12112e 0.0.14
Means with different letters are statistically significantly different at p<0.05
Air Qual Atmos Health

group, research group respondents had a substantially higher
prevalence (p= 0.00) of all symptoms.
The presence of respiratory disease in this work gives the
impression that occupational exposure to chlorine has a higher
risk of developing pulmonary disorders. From respondents in
this study, it was observed that phlegm expectoration and
cough were more common vis-à-vis the wheeze, chest tight-
ness, and chest pain. In a likely manner, when comparison was
done among nonsmokers, peak expiratory flow values and
spirometric values were significantly better in the comparison
than the study groups, though for both groups, FEV
1
/FVC
was essentially normal.
Table 4shows the descriptive statistics for TSP in Benin
City. The mean TSP in Ogida is 0.05005 ± 0.067 (0.04940–
0.05073), 0.08142 ± 0.128 (0.08014–0.08270) ppm in Egor,
0.05502 ± 0.070 (0.05452–0.05581) in Ekenwan, 0.06340
(0.06242–0.06418) in Oluku, 0.11834 ± 0.040 (0.11791–
0.11871) in Upper Sokpoba, 0.088.25 ± 0.083 (0.08766–
0.08921) in Dumez, 0.18979 ± 0.169 (0.18784–0.19085) in
Uwasota, 0.14873 ± 0.065 (0.14800–0.14925) in Eyan, and
0.12112 ± 0.014(0.12097–0.12122) in Federal Road. The ta-
ble also shows the inferential statistics that test for spatial
variation in mean TSP level in Benin City. From ANOVA,
it was observed that there is statistical significant (p<0.05)
difference in the mean TSP in the different locations. Scheffe
post hoc analysis revealed that there was no statistically sig-
nificant difference in the mean TSP level in Upper Sokpoba
and Federal Road, while other locations were not statistically
significantly different. The values obtained in this study can
be compared with other studies in Nigeria and westernized
world: Oluyemi and Asubiojo (2001) had a value of
9.41 μg/m
3
(0.00324 ppm); He et al. (2001)hadarangeof
2050–2450 ng/m
3
(0.000706–0.00084 ppm). Note that 1 ppm
of chlorine gas is equal to 2.9 mg/m
3
,whileHanetal.(2009)
had an average of 53.9 ng/m
3
(0.0000186 ppm) and Ye et al.
(2003) had a range of 1010–1445 ng/m
3
(0.000624–
0.0000498 ppm).
Table 5shows the descriptive statistics for inhalable in Benin
City. The mean inhalable in Ogida is 0.14624 ± 0.53 (0.14582–
0.14683), 0.18203 ± 0.48 (0.18154–0.18250) in Egor; Ekenwan is
Table 5 Mean concentration of
chlorine gas in inhalable
particulate matter (ppm)
Locations Min Max Mean SD F p
Ogida 0.14582 0.14683 0.14624a 0.053 796.911 0.000
Egor 0.18154 0.18250 0.18203b 0.048
Ekenwan 0.11075 0.11399 0.11287c 0.183
Oluku 0.13661 0.13759 0.13699a 0.053
Upper Sokpoba 0.19293 0.19554 0.19460b 0.145
Dumez 0.22191 0.22263 0.22218d 0.039
Uwasota 0.267.66 0.26880 0.26812e 0.060
Eyan 0.22487 0.24489 0.23760f 0.1107
Federal Road 0.29589 0.29786 0.29688g 0.098
Means with different letters are statistically significantly different at p<0.05
Table 6 Mean concentration of
chlorine gas in respirable
particulate matter (ppm)
Locations Min Max Mean SD F p
Ogida 0.06957 0.07076 0.07035a 0.068 3232.953 0.000
Egor 0.10934 0.11033 0.10992b 0.051
Ekenwan 0.07620 0.07729 0.07660a 0.060
Oluku 0.09723 0.09897 0.09833c 0.096
Upper Sokpoba 0.14412 0.14754 0.14623d 0.184
Dumez 0.17284 0.17457 0.17387e 0.091
Uwasota 0.22165 0.22352 0.22239f 0.100
Eyan 0.17817 0.18784 0.18157g 0.544
Federal Road 0.26524 0.26737 0.26622h 0.108
Means with different letters are statistically significantly different at p<0.05
Air Qual Atmos Health

0.11287 ± 0.183 (0.11075–0.11393); in Oluku, 0.13699 ± 0.053
(0.136616–0.13759); in Upper Sokpoba, 0.19460 ± 0.145
(0.19293–0.19534); in Dumez, 0.22218 ± 0.039 (0.22191–
0.22263); in Uwasota, 0.26812 ± 0.060 (0.26766–0.26880); in
Eyan, 0.23760 ± 0.1107 (0.22487–0.24489); and in Federal
Road, 0.29688 ± 0.098 (0.29589–0.29986). Table 5also shows
the inferential statistics, which test for spatial variation in mean
inhalable level in Benin City. ANOVA analysis showed that there
is a statistically significant (p< 0.05) difference in the mean
inhalable in the different locations. Scheffe post hoc analysis re-
vealed that there was no statistically significant difference in the
mean inhalable level in Ogida and Eyan and Egor and Upper
Sokpoba, while other locations were not statistically significantly
different. The values obtained in this study can be compared with
other studies in Nigeria and westernized world: Mkomas et al.
(2010)had a range value of 1200 ng/m
3
(0.000414 ppm) to
92,000 ng/m
3
(0.0032 ppm); Owoade et al. (2009) had a range
of 31.7–36.4 μg/m
3
(0.011 ppm–0.0126 ppm). Note that 1 ppm of
chlorine gas is equal to 2.9 mg/m
3
, while Ezeh et al. (2015)hada
mean of 902 μg/m
3
(0.0032 ppm).
Table 6shows the descriptive statistics for respirable in
Benin City. The mean respirable in Ogida is 0.07035 ±
0.068 (0.06957–0.07076), 0.10992 ± 0.051 (0.10934–
0.11033) in Egor, 0.07660 ± 0.060 (0.07620–0.07724) in
Ekenwan, 0.09833 ± 0.096 (0.09723–0.09897) in Oluku,
0.14623 ± 0.184 (0.14412–0.14754) in Upper Sokpoba,
y = 0.61x - 0.0199
R² = 0.6558
0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.25
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35
TSP
Inhalable
Fig. 1 Scatter plot showing
relationship between the value of
chlorine gas in TSP and inhalable
particle in Benin City
y = 0.5509x + 0.0193
R² = 0.636
0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.25
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3
TSP
Respirable
Fig. 2 Scatter plot showing
relationship between the mean
concentration of chlorine gas in
total suspended particulate matter
and the mean concentration of
chlorine gas in respirable
particulate matter in Benin City
Air Qual Atmos Health

0.17387 ± 0.091 (0.17284–0.17457) in Dumez, 0.22239 ±
0.10 (0.22165–0.22352) in Uwasota, 0.18157 ± 0.544
(0.17817–0.18784) in Eyan, and 0.26622 ± 0.108 (0.26524–
0.26737) in Federal Road. Table 6also shows the inferential
statistics, which test for spatial variation in mean respirable
level in Benin City. ANOVA showed that there is a statisti-
cally significant (p< 0.05) difference in the mean respirable in
the different locations. Scheffe post hoc analysis revealed that
none of the locations have statistical the same level of respi-
rable in Benin City as they were all statistically significantly
different in their mean respirable level. The values obtained in
this study can be compared with previous work in Nigeria and
westernized world; Mkomas et al. (2010)hadameanvalueof
465 ng/m
3
(0.00016 ppm); Owoade et al. (2010)hadarange
of 1.0–6.6 μg/m
3
(0.000345–0.002 3 ppm). Note that 1 ppm
of chlorine gas is equal to 2.9 mg/m
3
, while Ezeh et al. (2015)
had a mean of 25 μg/m
3
(0.0000086 ppm), and Han et al.
(2009) had an average of 37.0 ng/m
3
(0.000013 ppm).
Figure 1shows the relationship between inhalable particu-
late matter and TSP in Benin City. The figure shows that there
is a very strong positive significant relationship (r= 0.810;
R
2
=0.6558; p= 0.000) between inhalable PM and TSP. The
coefficient of determination shows that the inhalable PM was
able to predict the level of TSP to a level of approximately
66%, which indicates a good fit to the linear model.
Figure 2shows the relationship between respirable
particulate matter and TSP in Benin City. The figure
shows that there is a very strong positive significant
relationship (r= 0.798; R
2
= 0.64; p= 0.000) between re-
spirable PM and TSP. The coefficient of determination
shows that the respirable PM was able to predict the
level of TSP to a level of approximately 64%, which
indicates a good fit to the linear model.
Figure 3shows the correlation between chlorine values
in inhalable particle and respirable particle in Benin
City. The figure shows that there is a very strong pos-
itive significant relationship (r = 0.975; R
2
= 0.9503; p=
0.000) between inhalable PM and respirable PM. The
coefficient of determination shows that the respirable
PM was able estimate the level of inhalable PM to a
level of approximately 95%, which indicates a very
good fit to the linear model.
Conclusion
There are plethora routes in which people could be ex-
posed to chlorine gas: industrial chlorine, swimming
pool water, and accidental discharge from a storage.
More than one regulatory bodies had set a limit in
which exposure to atmospheric chlorine should not be
higher than certain ppm. For EPA, the limit is 0.5 ppm,
while that of OSHA, the legal limit is 1 ppm. In this
study, the data obtained were lower than the standards.
Cough and phlegm were the most frequent respiratory
symptoms. Other occupations should also be investigat-
ed, and also, there is the need to extend the present
study to other local government areas in Edo State for
proper understanding of the chlorine level pollutant pro-
files needed to establish environmental guidelines,
which will also serve as reference for future studies.
Acknowledgments The authors wish to thank Dr. Nosa Okungbowa
School of Medical Science, University of Benin, for his immeasurable
ideas and logistic support.
y = 1.063x - 0.0623
R² = 0.9503
0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.25
0.3
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35
Inhalable
Respirable
Fig. 3 Scatter plot showing
relationship between chlorine in
respirable and inhalable particle
in Benin City
Air Qual Atmos Health

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