Analysis of air pollution in the City of Odesa using automated observation data

Abstract

The work presents the analysis of air pollution in the City of Odesa using, among others, the data of automated observations. The air basin state was also evaluated using individual parameters of sustainable development.
 According to the official data of the recent years the City of Odesa belongs to the most polluted cities of Ukraine in terms of air pollution. Based on the ranking results it was established that the level of atmospheric pollution in the City of Odesa can be classified as high for the most of pollutants. It is classified as acceptable for some substances (sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide) and as extremely high for formaldehyde concentration.
 After comparing the observational data related to content of individual pollutants at the OSENU's observation point and the data of long-term observations in the city it was found that the content of nitrogen dioxide generally corresponds to the average long-term values. The observations conducted at the points of the city network indicated that the content of carbon monoxide is two orders of magnitude lower and the content of PM10 is one order of magnitude lower than dust concentrations. The increased content of certain pollutants in the air (nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, etc.) is observed in the summer-autumn period and caused by the traffic intensification.
 The evaluation of the city's air basin state using individual parameters of the environmental measurement index showed that we observed better conditions in 2014 and 2016. The conditions for sustainable development are characterized by average indicators, however, towards worsening of the situation.
 The results obtained in this paper form a basis for extending the implementation of the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on introducing a new procedure for state monitoring of the atmospheric air in Ukraine. The existing laboratory base of the observation points requires radical re-equipment. It is also necessary to conduct an air pollution survey for identification of high priority pollutants and, based thereon, development of monitoring programs with consideration of the necessity for keeping certain impurities under control.