Particulate matter air pollution in an urban area : a case study

Many European agglomerations suffer from high concentrations of particulate matter (PM), which is now one of the most detrimental pollutants characterizing the urban atmospheric environment. This paper addresses the problem of PM10 pollution in the Warsaw metropolitan area, including very harmful fine fractions (PM2.5), and also some heavy metals. The analysis of air quality in the Warsaw agglomeration discussed in this study is based on results from computer modeling presented elsewhere, and refers to emission and meteorological data for the year 2012. The range of emissions considered in this analysis includes the main sectors of municipal activity: energy generation, industry, urban transport, residential sector. The trans-boundary inflow of the main pollutants coming from distant sources is also taken into account. The regional scale computer model CALPUFF was used to assess the annual mean concentrations of major pollutants in the urban area. The results show the regions where the air quality limits are exceeded and indicate the dominant sources of emission which are responsible for these vio-lations (source apportionment). These are the key data required to implement efficient regulatory actions.