Analysis of concentrations trends and origins of PM₁₀ in selected European cities

¹ Wroclaw University of Science and Technology Faculty of Environmental Engineering, Unit of Ecologistics and Environmental Risk Management, Wyb. Wyspianskiego 27, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland
² Voivodship Inspectorate of Environmental Protection in Poznan, 4 Czarna Rola Str., 61-625 Poznan, Poland
³ Institute of Environmental Protection – National Research Institute, Air Quality Monitoring Division, Krucza 5/11d, 00-548 Warsaw, Poland

^* Corresponding author: anna.chlebowska@pwr.edu.pl

Abstract

Particulate matter is generated in many natural and anthropogenic processes and, therefore, taking part in chemical reactions and physical processes in the atmosphere could affect human health, climate, and natural environment. The dust, after emission to the atmosphere, remains there in a floating state to form an atmospheric aerosol with different properties – depending on the morphology, the fraction, shape, surface, and chemical composition of the particles. The chemical composition of particulate matter is heterogeneous and depends on the type of emission sources and the time of residence in the atmosphere. The contribution of individual types of sources in the total dust emission is different in European countries. The aim of the study was to analyze the concentrations of PM₁₀ at urban background and traffic stations in the chosen 17 European cities. For this purpose, the data from the database of the European Environment Agency and Chief Inspectorate of Environmental Protection was used. The annual average concentrations of ₁₀ and daily average concentrations of PM₁₀ in 2014 will be presented to confirm that in the European cities there is a problem about high ₁₀ concentrations, especially in Poland and other eastern countries. In the case of daily average ₁₀ concentration, the highest concentrations of pollutants in the winter season suggests that for the low air quality in these cities the phenomenon of so- called low-stack-emissions from the municipal sector is responsible.