Abstract: As different forms of pollution continue to cause destruction all over the world, it is evident that air pollution is causing detrimental effects on the health of people in the Republic of Kenya. With levels of air quality being above the World Health Organization’s guidelines for the past 40 years, people continue to suffer from long-term cardiovascular and respiratory illnesses caused by particulate matter. Aside from health effects, particulate matter is also directly affecting crop yields around the world through climate change. Additionally, fuel economy has been found to be two to three times worse in Kenya than in other areas, allowing motorbikes and other vehicles to be the main source of elevated particulate matter levels in the air. This paper aims to quantify the costs and benefits of implementing a particulate matter filter onto motorbikes in Kenya. Alternative methods for eliminating this form of air pollution include porosity, electrostatic, and thermal radiation filters. Utilizing knowledge from these classifications of filters that are being tested and data on the Particulate Matter (PM) levels in Nairobi, Kenya from NEMA, this analysis is able to estimate the most effective course of action in order to minimize the amount of particulate matter put into the air. From the collected research and benefit-cost analysis, one would expect the benefits of a thermal radiation filter to exceed the advantages of other filter types.
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