Abstract
The regional air pollution study in Lithuania provided a comprehensive overview of air quality in Lithuania (in Vilnius (capital) and rest of territory) when 375 monitoring sites at different representative locations (urban, suburban, and residential) were equipped with diffusion samplers. The samples were analyzed for sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentration. The measurement results show that the mean concentrations of SO2 in all investigation sites during the study period did not exceed the annual limit value of 20.0 μg·m−3 and were below the lower assessment threshold value of 8.0 μg·m−3. The mean concentrations of NO2 in Vilnius agglomeration exceeded the annual limit value of 40 μg·m−3 at seven sites and in zone–at three sites with the intensive traffic flow, located near to highway. Comparison of SO2 and NO2 concentration levels was performed for 2004-2005 and 2010-2011. The level of nitrogen dioxide concentrations has decreased by 34, 26, 24, and 49% during the next six years in the city of Vilnius, and the concentration of SO2 in the air environment decreased by 40–60%.
Highlights
During the past 20 years, there has been a marked improvement of the air in Europe [1]
E measurement results show that the mean concentrations of SO2 in all investigation sites during the study period did not exceed the annual limit value of 20.0 μg·m−3 and were below the lower assessment threshold value of 8.0 μg·m−3. e mean concentrations of NO2 in Vilnius agglomeration exceeded the annual limit value of 40 μg·m−3 at seven sites and in zone–at three sites with the intensive traffic flow, located near to highway
Methodology e analysis of concentration for SO2 and NO2 using diffusive samplers were set up in the urban background, semiurban, and roadside sites in order to get spatial variation in pollutants concentrations. e obtained data were compared with the acceptable levels of air pollutants that are adopted in the European Union (EU) as the limit values (Table 1)
Summary
During the past 20 years, there has been a marked improvement of the air in Europe [1]. Nitrogen oxides are mostly produced during combustion by industrial facilities and the road transport sector. The main goals of monitoring lie in providing useful up-to-date information to the public on pollutant concentrations in ambient air, as well as supporting economical stakeholders and decision makers in air-quality assessment and management. Instruments for air quality may change in complexity and cost. While air pollution is highest in urban zones, the monitoring efforts are typically concentrated in cities, and little sites represent the background level. E use of passive samplers greatly reduces the cost and the need of long-term measurement programs [2,3,4]. Personal passive air samplers have been developed and widely used to measure gaseous air pollutants since their introduction in the late 1970s [5, 6]
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