Health risk assessment of emissions from brick kilns in Tando Hyder, Sindh, Pakistan using the AERMOD dispersion model

Pakistan has more than 18,000 brick kilns and produced about 45 billion bricks every year. Brick making in Pakistan is a traditional small-scale and unmanaged industry. Coal is a major source of fuel for brick kilns. In Pakistan, urbanization, in terms of building construction has increased by 10% per year from 2015 to 2020. That growth has increased demand of building construction stock by 80% which causes an increased production of building materials and bricks. This increase in demand for bricks will increase the consumption of coal used in brick manufacturing. Therefore, there is an urgent need to assess the health risk to people living near brick kilns. This study assesses the health risk due to the emission of air pollutants from brick kilns. Two non-carcinogenic pollutants (i.e., SO2 and Hg) and three carcinogenic pollutants (i.e., As, Cd and Cr) were selected for this health risk assessment. Both short-term and long-term health impacts were assessed. The AERMOD air dispersion model was used for predicting ground-level concentrations within a 10 km radius of the brick kilns. Non-carcinogenic health risk assessments indicate adverse health impacts from short-term concentrations, while long-term concentrations are within acceptable limits. Carcinogenic health risks also indicate adverse health effects from short-term concentration, while only As and Cr cause adverse health impacts from long-term concentration and exposure. The findings of this study show that a detailed assessment of the health effects caused by emissions from all of the brick kilns and ambient air concentration with meteorological conditions should be carried out.