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An investigation of local and regional sources of fine particulate matter in the Ostrava,the Czech Republic
Citation:
Conner, T., L. Cernikovsky, J. Novak, H. Placha, B. Krejci, I. Nikolova, E. Chalupníckova, AND R. Williams. An investigation of local and regional sources of fine particulate matter in the Ostrava,the Czech Republic. Atmospheric Pollution Research. Turkish National Committee for Air Pollution Research and Control, Izmir, Turkey, 6(3):454-463, (2015).
Impact/Purpose:
The National Exposure Research Laboratory’s (NERL’s) Human Exposure and Atmospheric Sciences Division (HEASD) conducts research in support of EPA’s mission to protect human health and the environment. HEASD’s research program supports Goal 1 (Clean Air) and Goal 4 (Healthy People) of EPA’s strategic plan. More specifically, our division conducts research to characterize the movement of pollutants from the source to contact with humans. Our multidisciplinary research program produces Methods, Measurements, and Models to identify relationships between and characterize processes that link source emissions, environmental concentrations, human exposures, and target-tissue dose. The impact of these tools is improved regulatory programs and policies for EPA.
Description:
Despite efforts to reduce air pollutants, particularly in the coal power plant and industrial sectors, the Ostrava region of the Czech Republic continues to experience episodes of high pollutant concentrations, especially during the fall and winter seasons. A short-term investigation was conducted in the Ostrava metropolitan area in the spring and fall of 2012 to determine the impact of regional and local sources on overall air quality in the region. Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) samples were collected in consecutive 12-hour day and night increments at three sampling sites strategically located to evaluate conditions upwind and downwind of a large steel works industrial complex. These samples were analyzed for metals, organic and elemental (black) carbon, and selected polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The PM2.5 samples were supplemented with continuous monitoring of gases (SO2 O3, NO, NO2, NOX, CO, benzene) and meteorological parameters. On average, the fine particulate matter mass concentrations during the fall were more than twice the average concentrations during the spring at each sampling site. Likewise, concentrations for most individual species were higher in the fall than in the spring. However, concentrations of crustal elements Si and Ti were higher in the spring than in the fall. Diurnal differences in fine mass concentrations were less pronounced than seasonal differences, with concentrations slightly higher at night at each site. The summed PAH concentrations increased with proximity to the industrial complex. Overall, the results indicate a source or group of sources to the NE of all sampling sites that dominates the fine particle mass concentrations in the fall, and competes with contributions from the local industrial complex in the spring.
URLs/Downloads:
FINAL FINAL OSTRAVA_TEXT WITH SUPPLEMENTAL ATTACHED_NOVEMBER2014.PDF (PDF, NA pp, 1367.025 KB, about PDF)Atmospheric Pollution Research
