Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
in the north-western-European region is of anthropogenic origin. The uncertainty in
this analysis is considerable, and the result is indicative.
A chemical transport model (LOTOS-EUROS) was used to obtain a detailed
source apportionment. In total, 75% of the modelled PM10 mass could be explained.
The important contributions to PM10 come from agriculture, on- and off-road
transport and natural sources (sea salt). Secondary contributions are derived from
power generation, industrial processes and combustion as well as households. Of the
modelled part, 70-80% of PM10 over the Netherlands is anthropogenic. The
increase in source contribution going from low to high PM levels is proportional
for most sectors, except for agriculture and transport, which become more important
mainly due to the more than proportional rise in ammonium nitrate concentrations.
Sea-salt concentrations decline with rising PM10. The same was found for Spain, but
here, the impact of Saharan dust on PM episodes is clearly recognisable and much
larger than in north-western Europe. Natural sources in Spain contribute about half
of the modelled PM10 concentrations. Significant anthropogenic sources are similar
to those in north-western Europe.
Keywords Anthropogenic contribution, Chemical composition, Chemical trans-
port modelling, Natural contribution, North-western Europe, PM10, Source appor-
tionment, Spain
Contents
1 Introduction and Scope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
2 Concentrations and Chemical Composition at Urban and Rural Sites . . . . ................ 241
2.1 Data Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
2.2 Handling ............................................................................... 241
2.3 Chemical Composition . ............................................................... 243
2.4 The Urban Increment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
3 Anthropogenic and Natural Contributions to PM
in North-Western Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
4 Modelled Origin of Particulate Matter in the Netherlands and Spain ..................... 249
5 Concluding Remarks . . . ..................................................................... 254
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
1
Introduction and Scope
Although air quality in Europe has improved substantially over the last decades, it
still poses a significant threat to human health [
1
]. Short- and long-term health
effects have been described, but so far there is no conclusive evidence which
component(s) or property can be held responsible. As a consequence, the European
air quality guidelines keep a focus on particulate mass, and, next to the PM10
guideline, the Directive 2008/50/EC introduced additional objectives with respect
to PM2.5. Although various abatement measures have been implemented to reduce
the levels of particulate matter, many European countries still have problems
adhering to the guidelines; in particular, this concerns the maximum number of
exceedances of the daily limit value for PM10. The heavily populated regions in the
