Exposure to Aerosols Particles on an Urban Road

Traffic-related emissions, apart from emissions from fuel combustion for heating purposes, significantly deteriorate air quality in cities. The above mainly concerns areas located close to busy traffic routes. According to epidemiological studies, traffic-related emissions have an adverse health effect. This specifically affects commuters (drivers and car passengers) as well as pedestrians. The aim of this study was to determine the variations of particle number and mass concentrations along a busy road in Lublin, Poland and their impact on the particle exposure for commuters and pedestrians. On-route and fixed-site measurements were performed in the summer (June) with a focus on peak and off-peak traffic hours and road sections with low and high traffic intensity. During peak hours, the average number concentration of ultrafine particles (PN0.1) in the road section near 4-way traffic intersections (TIs) was about 2 times higher than during off-peak hours. The average mass concentration of fine particles (PM2.5) was also approximately twice as high than in off-peak hours. Similar relations were found for other measured aerosol particles as well as with respect to particle exposure. The obtained results indicate the need for further extended research on traffic-related emissions and exposure and the ways of limiting them.

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Opracowanie rekordu w ramach umowy 509/P-DUN/2018 ze środków MNiSW przeznaczonych na działalność upowszechniającą naukę (2019).