Ambient Air Quality and Implications for Human Health and Environmental Sustainability in Agricultural Communities of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

Ambient air pollution in oil-producing agricultural landscapes poses a dual threat to environmental integrity and public health. This cross-sectional study quantified pollutant loads and associated health outcomes across eight communities in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Nine criteria pollutants (NO₂, SO₂, CO, CO₂, H₂S, NH₃, Cl₂, PM₂.₅, PM₁₀) were measured with calibrated sensors, and 350 residents were surveyed through structured questionnaires, focus-group discussions, and field observations. Pollutant severity was benchmarked with the U.S. EPA Air Quality Index (AQI) against WHO, Federal Environmental Protection Agency (Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA), and Federal Ministry of Environment (Federal Ministry of Environment (FMEnv) standards; inferential analyses comprised Pearson correlations, Principal Component Analysis (PCA), and Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA). Mean AQI values classified Esit Eket, Ibeno, and Mbo as “unhealthy” to “very unhealthy.” Respiratory illnesses (41.45%), hypertension (24.80%), and birth defects (12.30%) were the most prevalent morbidities. MANOVA indicated highly significant spatial and seasonal heterogeneity: location (Wilks’ Λ = .000, F (84, 136.61) = 3518.42, p < .001, η² = .999), season (Λ = .001, F (12, 21) = 1344.80, p < .001, η² = .999), and their interaction (Λ = .000, F (84, 136.61) = 267.53, p < .001, η² = .989). Correlation analysis revealed a moderate positive association between air pollution and respiratory disease (r = .575) and a strong inverse relationship between soil pollution and respiratory disease (r = -.691); corrosion of roofing sheets was negatively associated with birth defects (r = -.752, p = .051). PCA (KMO = 0.751; Bartlett’s p < .001) extracted two orthogonal factors: Component 1 combustion-related emissions (high loadings for PM1.₅, PM2.5, CO2, Cl2, NH₃) and Component 2 fine particulate secondary pollution (dominant loading for CO and SO₂). The findings highlight the urgent need for context-specific, seasonally adaptive air-quality interventions focusing on primary emission controls and mitigation of secondary particulate formation. Enhanced real-time monitoring, stricter enforcement of flaring regulations, and targeted health surveillance in high-risk communities are recommended to safeguard environmental sustainability and public health resilience in Nigeria’s oilproducing regions. These and other recommendations have been communicated to the appropriate quarters. While partial eta squared (η²) values approach 1.000, such extreme values may overstate effect magnitude. This could be due to small error variance or multicollinearity; further robustness checks are advised.