Average daily contributions (90% CI black bar) to PM10 in relative (%, left pie charts), OPAA and OPDTT per source’s mass in absolute (OPm in nmol/min m−3, middle bar plot) and OPAA and OPDTT per ...volume in relative (OPv in %, right bar plot) values grouped according to sources common activities. Arrows indicate (additional) associations between the sources.
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•Concentrations of PM10 at the site are comparable to other Alpine valleys, however, OP levels are higher compared to European sites.•Extensive tests with PMF were performed including organic tracers.•The most important sources of PM10, OP per µg of source as well as OP per m3 at the site are biomass burning and activities related to cement production.•Sources with important contributions to PM10 do not necessarily have high OP.•An unusual chloride-rich source was identified with high OP per µg of source.
Toxicity of particulate matter (PM) depends on its sources, size and composition. We identified PM10 sources and determined their contribution to oxidative potential (OP) as a health proxy for PM exposure in an Alpine valley influenced by cement industry. PM10 filter sample chemical analysis and equivalent black carbon (eBC) were measured at an urban background site from November 2020 to November 2021. Using an optimized Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) model, the source chemical fingerprints and contributions to PM10 were determined. The OP assessed through two assays, ascorbic acid (AA) and dithiothreitol (DTT), was attributed to the PM sources from the PMF model with a multiple linear regression (MLR) model. Ten factors were found at the site, including biomass burning (34, 40 and 38% contribution to annual PM10, OPAA and OPDDT, respectively), traffic (14, 19 and 7%), nitrate- and sulphate-rich (together: 16, 5 and 8%), aged sea salt (2, 2 and 0%) and mineral dust (10, 12 and 17%). The introduction of innovative organic tracers allowed the quantification of the PM primary and secondary biogenic fractions (together: 13, 8 and 21%). In addition, two unusual factors due to local features, a chloride-rich factor and a second mineral dust-rich factor (named the cement dust factor) were found, contributing together 10, 14 and 8%. We associate these two factors to different processes in the cement plant. Despite their rather low contribution to PM10 mass, these sources have one of the highest OPs per µg of source. The results of the study provide vital information about the influence of particular sources on PM10 and OP in complex environments and are thus useful for PM control strategies and actions.
During two campaigns in winter 2004, size segregated impactor samples (0.1–10
μm) and filter samples were taken in two Central European cities (Vienna, Austria and Ljubljana, Slovenia). The impactor ...samples were analyzed for major inorganic ions and short-chain organic acids, total carbon (TC) and black carbon (BC). Maximum concentrations of total mass were 71.6
μg
m
−3 in Vienna and 73.1
μg
m
−3 in Ljubljana. Minimum concentrations in Vienna were only half those in Ljubljana. The BC content of the aerosol was similar (ca. 8%), but the BC/TC ratio was higher in Vienna than in Ljubljana (0.39 vs. 0.29), reflecting the different contribution of diesel traffic emissions. The mass median diameters of the submicron size distributions of all major fractions (total mass, TC, BC and
SO
4
2
-
) were smaller in Vienna (0.43
μm, 0.41
μm, 0.38
μm and 0.48
μm, respectively) than in Ljubljana (0.55
μm, 0.44
μm, 0.42
μm and 0.60
μm, respectively). Impactor/filter ratios for total mass were 0.79 in Vienna and 0.82 in Ljubljana, while the ratios for BC were 0.56 in Vienna and 0.49 in Ljubljana. An estimation of the mixing state of accumulation mode BC indicated that 33% and 37% of BC, respectively, are mixed externally to the aerosol in the accumulation size range in Vienna and Ljubljana.
The eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano starting on 14 April 2010 resulted in the spreading of volcanic ash over most parts of Europe. In Slovenia, the presence of volcanic ash was monitored ...using ground-based in-situ measurements, lidar-based remote sensing and airborne in-situ measurements. Volcanic origin of the detected aerosols was confirmed by subsequent spectral and chemical analysis of the collected samples. The initial arrival of volcanic ash to Slovenia was first detected through the analysis of precipitation, which occurred on 17 April 2010 at 01:00 UTC and confirmed by satellite-based remote sensing. At this time, the presence of low clouds and occasional precipitation prevented ash monitoring using lidar-based remote sensing. The second arrival of volcanic ash on 20 April 2010 was detected by both lidar-based remote sensing and airborne in-situ measurements, revealing two or more elevated atmospheric aerosol layers. The ash was not seen in satellite images due to lower concentrations. The identification of aerosol samples from ground-based and airborne in-situ measurements based on energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy confirmed that a fraction of particles were volcanic ash from the Eyjafjallajökull eruption. To explain the history of the air masses bringing volcanic ash to Slovenia, we analyzed airflow trajectories using ECMWF and HYSPLIT models.
This paper synthesizes data on aerosol (particulate matter, PM) physical and chemical characteristics, which were obtained over the past decade in aerosol research and monitoring activities at more ...than 60 natural background, rural, near-city, urban, and kerbside sites across Europe. The data include simultaneously measured PM
10 and/or PM
2.5 mass on the one hand, and aerosol particle number concentrations or PM chemistry on the other hand. The aerosol data presented in our previous works (
Van Dingenen et al., 2004; Putaud et al., 2004) were updated and merged to those collected in the framework of the EU supported European Cooperation in the field of Scientific and Technical action COST633 (
Particulate matter:
Properties related to health effects). A number of conclusions from our previous studies were confirmed. There is no single ratio between PM
2.5 and PM
10 mass concentrations valid for all sites, although fairly constant ratios ranging from 0.5 to 0.9 are observed at most individual sites. There is no general correlation between PM mass and particle number concentrations, although particle number concentrations increase with PM
2.5 levels at most sites. The main constituents of both PM
10 and PM
2.5 are generally organic matter, sulfate and nitrate. Mineral dust can also be a major constituent of PM
10 at kerbside sites and in Southern Europe. There is a clear decreasing gradient in SO
4
2− and NO
3
− contribution to PM
10 when moving from rural to urban to kerbside sites. In contrast, the total carbon/PM
10 ratio increases from rural to kerbside sites. Some new conclusions were also drawn from this work: the ratio between ultrafine particle and total particle number concentration decreases with PM
2.5 concentration at all sites but one, and significant gradients in PM chemistry are observed when moving from Northwestern, to Southern to Central Europe. Compiling an even larger number of data sets would have further increased the significance of our conclusions, but collecting all the aerosol data sets obtained also through research projects remains a tedious task.
This paper presents the results of an intercomparison exercise for the determination of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), nickel (Ni) and lead (Pb) in PM10, which are regulated by the European Directives ...for ambient air quality. Thirteen laboratories participated, generally using the European reference methods of measurement which consist of a microwave digestion followed by analysis with either ICP-MS or GFAAS. Each participant was asked to analyse five test samples: a liquid Certified Reference Material (CRM), two sub-samples of a NIST dust CRM (one already-digested and one to be digested by the participants) and two loaded filters (one already-digested and one to be digested by the participants).Participants were able to meet the Data Quality Objectives (DQOs) of the European Directives (expanded uncertainties of 25% for Pb and 40% for As, Cd and Ni) for 93% of all test samples, except for the loaded filter that were digested by the participants. In fact, only 76% of DQOs were met for this test sample, the closest to a routine sample analysis in the laboratory. The difficulties in analysing this test sample came mainly from digestion and contamination processes. Satisfactory results were also obtained using other digestion techniques (Soxhlet extraction and high pressure methods) and analytical methods (ICP-OES for Cd, Ni and Pb, EDXRF for Pb and Ni and Voltammetry for As, Ni, and Pb).Participants claimed uncertainties of about 10% for Pb and between 15 and 20% for As, Cd and Ni. These uncertainties were confirmed for 77% of results. The reproducibility of the methods of measurement was between 41 and 54% while repeatability remained between 5 and 12% except for the analysis of As on filters which was up to 20%. The majority of participant results showed higher between-day variability (14 +/- 11%) than within-day variability (6.0 +/- 5.3%).
We present a newly developed total carbon analyzer
(TCA08) and a method for online speciation of carbonaceous aerosol with a
high time resolution. The total carbon content is determined by flash
...heating of a sample collected on a quartz-fiber filter with a time base
between 20 min and 24 h. The limit of detection is approximately
0.3 µg C, which corresponds to a concentration of 0.3 µg C m−3 at a
sample flow rate of 16.7 L min−1 and a 1 h sampling time base. The
concentration of particulate equivalent organic carbon (OC) is determined by
subtracting black carbon concentration, concurrently measured optically by
an Aethalometer®, from the total carbon
concentration measured by the TCA08. The combination of the TCA08 and
Aethalometer (AE33) is an easy-to-deploy and low-maintenance continuous
measurement technique for the high-time-resolution determination of
equivalent organic and elemental carbon (EC) in different particulate matter
size fractions, which avoids pyrolytic correction and the need for high-purity
compressed gases. The performance of this online method relative to the
standardized off-line thermo-optical OC–EC method and respective instruments
was evaluated during a winter field campaign at an urban background location
in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The organic-matter-to-organic-carbon ratio obtained
from the comparison with an aerosol chemical speciation monitor (ACSM) was
OM/OC=1.8, in the expected range.
We report on one-year continuous measurements of aerosol black carbon at the EMEP/GAW regional air quality station on Mt. Krvavec in Slovenia, where ozone concentration has been monitored routinely ...since 1991. The results show several characteristic BC and O
3 concentration patterns with positive and negative correlation.
This paper presents the results of an intercomparison exercise for the determination of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), nickel (Ni) and lead (Pb) in PM
10, which are regulated by the European Directives ...for ambient air quality. Thirteen laboratories participated, generally using the European reference methods of measurement which consist of a microwave digestion followed by analysis with either ICP-MS or GFAAS. Each participant was asked to analyse five test samples: a liquid Certified Reference Material (CRM), two sub-samples of a NIST dust CRM (one already-digested and one to be digested by the participants) and two loaded filters (one already-digested and one to be digested by the participants).
Participants were able to meet the Data Quality Objectives (DQOs) of the European Directives (expanded uncertainties of 25% for Pb and 40% for As, Cd and Ni) for 93% of all test samples, except for the loaded filter that were digested by the participants. In fact, only 76% of DQOs were met for this test sample, the closest to a routine sample analysis in the laboratory. The difficulties in analysing this test sample came mainly from digestion and contamination processes. Satisfactory results were also obtained using other digestion techniques (Soxhlet extraction and high pressure methods) and analytical methods (ICP-OES for Cd, Ni and Pb, EDXRF for Pb and Ni and Voltammetry for As, Ni, and Pb).
Participants claimed uncertainties of about 10% for Pb and between 15 and 20% for As, Cd and Ni. These uncertainties were confirmed for 77% of results. The reproducibility of the methods of measurement was between 41 and 54% while repeatability remained between 5 and 12% except for the analysis of As on filters which was up to 20%. The majority of participant results showed higher between-day variability (14 ± 11%) than within-day variability (6.0 ± 5.3%).
► Participants mainly analysed heavy metalbyICPMS/GFAAS after micro-wave digestion. ► 76% of participants had uncertainty <25% for Pb and 40% for As, Cd and Ni in PM
10. ► Sample digestion and contamination processes were the major difficulties. ► Suitable digestion with Soxhlet and high pressure and partly analysis by ICP-OES, EDXRF and Voltammetry. ► Reproducibility: 41–54%, repeatability: 5–12% except for As (20%).
While SO sub(2) emission in Europe is no longer primary air pollution problem, there are some other air contaminants that still deserve special attention or even become ecologically more important ...due to technical (sources) and climatic reason. Among them are particulate materials (e.g. soot), NO sub(x), ozone and many gaseous organic compounds. In this paper we report on the results of soot (aerosol black carbon, BC) monitored at characteristic residential area at the National Institute of Chemistry (NIC), south of center of Ljubljana. We also report on the results of short measuring campaign in which several air pollution measuring techniques were applied at the same time at another residential area north of center of Ljubljana, Hydrometeorological Institute of Slovenia (HIS).
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