Variation of atmospheric air pollution under conditions of rapid economic change—Estonia 1994–1999

Abstract

Estonia is an example of a country with economy in transition whose atmospheric air pollution has been remarkably influenced by economic changes. During the period of 1994–1999 GDP increased by one-fourth, while agricultural production, electricity and heat production dropped by one-sixths during the studied period. These processes are reflected in the quantity of emissions and structure of air pollution. The study is based on the measurements of concentrations of pollutants at six Estonian Euroairnet monitoring stations—at three sites in the capital city and at three sites in remote areas. The pollutants concerned are the first-priority pollutants in the European Union legislation—nitrogen oxides, SO 2, O 3, particulate matter, and additionally CO. The study reveals that concentrations of gaseous pollutants in Estonia remain within the EU limit values except for ozone in remote areas. The main trend during the studied period was a significant, up to several times, decrease in concentrations of SO 2 and CO while the decrease of nitrogen oxides was less remarkable. The paper propose ratio of NO x /SO 2 as an index describing increasing transport loads and drop in use of sulphur-rich fuels—thus of structure of economy. The annual variation of pollutants is explained by seasonal variations of anthropogenic activity in conditions where local fuels are widely used for heating during winter. Air pollution in Estonian rural stations mostly originated from transboundary fluxes. The 1–3 day delay of the weekly minimum of pollutant concentrations and the wind roses allow to conclude that essential part of pollutants is imported from West Europe.