Current state of particulate matter research and management in Serbia

Abstract

Particulate matter is the air pollutant that currently receives most attention from the atmospheric research community, the legislative authorities and the general public. Limiting particulate matter in the atmosphere which will result in significant benefits for human health, with associated positive economic consequences. Successful management of particulate matter requires scientific knowledge about particulate matter "from cradle to grave", covering sources of particles, processes that govern their formation, composition, dispersion and fate in the atmosphere, as well as knowledge about human exposure and associated health and well being. Such knowledge allows to design and perform effective and efficient abatement measures and monitoring. This paper provides an introduction to the research and monitoring regarding particulate matter in Serbia. The contributions were first partly presented at the 2nd international workshop of the WeBIOPATR "Outdoor concentration, size distribution and composition of respirable particles in WB urban area" project in September 2009. This information provides context to the contributions in this number, and was part of the rationale of the project WeBIOPATR.