Abstract
In spite of a dramatic decrease in anthropogenic emissions, ambient concentrations of major pollutants have not changed within many urban locations. To clarify the relationship between ambient air quality trend and the population exposures, we compared the intraurban versus temporal variability of the collocated measurements of five major air pollutants including particulate matter (PM) with an aerodynamic diameter <10 µm (PM10), < 2.5 µm (PM2.5), tropospheric ozone (O3), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), in Kraków, Poland, during the 2000−2010 period. Strong seasonal trends and overall absence of spatial heterogeneity in PM10 and PM2.5, except in the traffic monitoring site, were observed across the monitoring network. The range of median PM2.5 concentrations during winter (54–64 µg/m3) was 3- to 4-times higher than the summer medians (15–26 µg/m3) across the sites during 2009−2010. Furthermore, large proportion of PM10 appears to be comprised of PM2.5 (PM2.5/PM10 concentration ratios range, 0.5–0.7). At each monitoring site, the Pearson’s correlation coefficients between PM2.5 and PM10 ranged between 0.944 and 0.963, suggesting a health-relevance of PM10 monitoring. One ln-unit increase in PM10 was associated with 92%–100% increase in PM2.5 concentrations in the same location. While PM10 did not demonstrate a clear temporal trend, SO2 concentrations steadily declined by 40% during the 2000–2010 period. Summertime median NO2 concentration was acutely elevated (70 μg/m3 vs. 22 μg/m3) at the traffic oriented site compared to the city’s central monitoring site. The traffic and the industrial sites were associated with highest number of days during which 24-hour mean PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations exceeded the European Union standard. Steadily growing contributions by vehicular emissions appear to be associated with the absence of clear trend in PM10. Current practices of air quality control within Kraków may not be adequate for the protection of the public’s health.
Highlights
In spite of reduction in anthropogenic emission of major air pollutants within Europe during the last several decades, such a trend has not been matched by corresponding declines in childhood asthma and allergy prevalence [1,2]
TRAFFIC (21%) and INDU (16%) sites were respectively associated with the highest number of days during which 24-hour mean PM with an aerodynamic diameter
INDU was associated with a widest range for daily PM10 concentration (6.6 592 g/m3) during winter (Figure 2)
Summary
In spite of reduction in anthropogenic emission of major air pollutants within Europe during the last several decades, such a trend has not been matched by corresponding declines in childhood asthma and allergy prevalence [1,2]. Total annual emission of particulate matter within. A city with one of the highest historic levels of air pollution within eastern Europe, is estimated at 150,000 tons during the 1970s [3]. Exposures to particulate matter (PM) have demonstrated robust associations with wide number of health end-points [10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18]. Beginning around 1995, both regional and national government bodies have made concerted efforts to improve the air quality [3]
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