Air quality in non-industrialised area in the typical Polish countryside based on measurements of selected pollutants in immission and deposition phase

Abstract

Abstract The immission and deposition levels of selected pollutants occurring in the area of a typical Polish village have been presented. In the course of a year-long research project (2009–2010), concentration levels of gaseous compounds in the air were determined (SO2, NO2, C6H6), as well as the level of solid particles deposition with the consideration of their chemical composition (Mn, Zn, Pb, Ni, Cd, Cu). Measurements were conducted in the area of rural settlements and at the site of plantation fields adjacent to the village. Classical analytical techniques (AAS, GC, IC) and biomonitoring with the use of mosses and lichens were used for the purposes of the study. Air quality in rural areas is determined mostly by the influence of the local sources (agricultural and uncontrolled emission) and that the quantity of toxicants enriching the environment depends on cyclical weather states periods characteristic for the temperate climate. The spatial location of the village and meteorological conditions conducive to the spread and dilution of pollutants. Average monthly and the average annual concentrations of the classic gaseous atmosphere quality indicators do not entail the atmosphere's serious degradation. The presence of heavy metals and size of their deposition in the dust have shown that air quality is not at a satisfactory level. The deposition of solid particles is determined by the partition in the formation of emissions between uncontrolled and agricultural sources. The major source of the gas pollutants is associated with uncontrolled emission from residential and farm buildings.