OPEN ACCESS
Road traffic is recognized as a significant source of particulate matter (PM), especially in urban areas, where exceedances of the legislation PM limit values is one of the main environmental concerns. Therefore, the development and implementation of methodologies allowing detailed characterization of PM within urban areas are required to find potential solutions to decrease PM levels.
This work aims to provide a detailed characterization of traffic-related PM concentrations at urban scale by using an integrated modelling approach and insitu aerosol measurements. For this purpose, a modelling cascade based on transportation-emission-dispersion approach was implemented for a medium-sized Portuguese city (Coimbra). Moreover, optical aerosol measurements were obtained from an experimental field monitoring campaign (June 2017) implemented at a city ‘hot-spot’ to provide relevant in-situ data on number, surface and mass concentrations distribution into 31 size ranges from 0.25 to 32 μm.
The spatial distribution of the exhaust and non-exhaust traffic-related emissions is analysed and discussed addressing their contribution to the PM pollution. The current study evidences the importance of road traffic non-exhaust emissions and demonstrates the usefulness of the integrated modelling approach in the mobility policy relevant context.
aerosol, non-exhaust emissions, particulate matter, road transport and urban area
[1] European Environment Agency, Air quality in Europe – 2018 report. EEA Report No. 12/2018, 2018.
[2] Orru, H., Maasikmets, M., Lai, T., Tamm, T., Kaasik, M., Kimmel, V., Orru, K., Merisalu, E. & Forsberg, B., Health impacts of particulate matter in five major Estonian towns: main sources of exposure and local differences. Air Quality, Atmosphere and Health, 4(3), pp. 247–258, 2011.
[3] Analitis, A., Katsouyanni, K., Dimakopoulou, K., Samoli, E., Nikoloulopoulos, A. K., Petasakis, Y., Touloumi, G., Schwartz, J., Anderson, H. R., Cambra, K., Forastiere, F., Zmirou, D., Vonk, J. M., Clancy, L., Kriz, B., Bobvos, J. & Pekkanen, J., Short-term effects of ambient particles on cardiovascular and respiratory mortality. Epidemiology, 17(2), pp. 230–233, 2006.
[4] Lelieveld, J., Evans, J. S., Fnais, M., Giannadaki, D. & Pozzer, A., The contribution of outdoor air pollution sources to premature mortality on a global scale. Nature, 525(7569), pp. 367–371, 2015.
[5] Tchepel, O. & Dias, D., Quantification of health benefits related with reduction of atmospheric PM10 levels: implementation of population mobility approach. International Journal of Environmental Health Research, 21(3), pp. 189–200, 2011.
[6] World Health Organization, Public Health, Environmental and Social Determinants of Health (PHE) e-News, 2017.
[7] Dias, D. & Tchepel, O., Spatial and temporal dynamics in air pollution exposure assessment. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15(3), pp. 558, 2018.
[8] Amato, F., Cassee, F. R., van der Gon, H. A. D., Gehrig, R., Gustafsson, M., Hafner, W., Harrison, R. M., Jozwicka, M., Kelly, F. J., Moreno, T., Prevot, A. S. H., Schaap, M., Sunyer, J. & Querol, X., Urban air quality: the challenge of traffic non-exhaust emissions. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 275, pp. 31–36, 2014.
[9] GRIMM Aerosol Technik GmbH & Co. KG, Portable Laser Aerosol Spectrometer –Model 11-C manual. Ainring, Germany, 2015.
[10] PTV, VISUM 13 User Guide. PTV-AG, Karlsruhe, Germany, 2013.
[11] CERC, ADMS-Roads, An Air Quality Management System User Guide. v. 4.1, Cambridge Environmental Research Consultants, Cambridge, UK., 2017.