Source Contributions to Rural Carbonaceous Winter Aerosol in North-Eastern Poland

Abstract

Concentrations of aerosol particles in Poland and their sources are rarely discussed in peer-reviewed journal articles despite serious air quality issues. A source apportionment of carbonaceous aerosol particles was performed during winter at a rural background environment field site in north-eastern Poland. Data were used of light absorption at seven wavelengths and levoglucosan concentrations along existing monitoring of PM 2.5 , organic carbon and elemental carbon (OC/EC) at the Diabła Góra EMEP monitoring site between January 17 and March 19 during the EMEP intensive winter campaign of 2018. Average PM 2.5 , OC, EC, equivalent black carbon (eBC) and levoglucosan concentrations and standard deviations amounted to 18.5 ± 9.3, 4.5 ± 2.5, 0.57 ± 0.28, 1.04 ± 0.62 and 0.134 ± 0.084 µg m −3 respectively. Various tools for source apportionment were used to obtain a source contribution to carbonaceous matter (CM) with three components. The wood combustion source component contributed 1.63 µg m −3 (21%), domestic coal combustion 3.3 µg m −3 (41%) and road transport exhaust 2.9 µg m −3 (38%). Similar levels and temporal variability were found for the nearby Lithuanian site of Preila, corroborating the Polish results.

Impact of long-range transport on black carbon source contribution and optical aerosol properties in two urban environments

“…Another large BC source could be coal combustion, which is more common in Poland than Lithuania. In the cold season in North-Eastern Poland coal combustion is reported to contribute 41% to the total carbonaceous matter [ 70 ]. The aethalometer model apportions BC based on differences in light absorption for biomass burning and fossil fuel combustion but does not take into account coal combustion, which could make a contribution to total BC mass concentration.…”

Complex Characterization of Fine Fraction and Source Contribution to PM2.5 Mass at an Urban Area in Central Europe

“…In the present study (2018/2019), the concentrations of the following elements: Cl (630 ± 590 ng/m 3 ), K (230 ± 140 ng/m 3 ), Ca (50 ± 30 ng/m 3 ), Fe (150 ± 120 ng/m 3 ), Cu (5.9 ± 5.0 ng/m 3 ), Zn (75 ± 56 ng/m 3 ), Br (7.5 ± 4.1 ng/m 3 ) and Pb (12.5 ± 9.8 ng/m 3 ) were significantly lower than in our previous work conducted in 2016/2017 in Krakow. The concentration of V (4.3 ± 2.6 ng/m 3 ), Cr (5.1 ± 3.7 ng/m 3 ), Mn (9.0 ± 6.0 ng/m 3 ) and Ni (5.9 ± 8.0 ng/m 3 [29]. In our previous study, concentrations of SO 4 2− were 6.35 µg/m 3 and 2.44 µg/m 3 in winter and summer, respectively [18].…”

“…Also, the health effects of PM are thought to be strongly related to particle size. Note that fine particles have more adverse effects, since they can penetrate deeper into the respiratory tract than coarse particles [3,4]. PM2.5 (fine particles) refers to particles less than 2.5 micrometers in aerodynamic diameter.…”

“…Numerous studies indicate that the air quality in Poland is one of the worst in the EU [10]. This may be connected with the fact that coal combustion is the significant source of PM in Poland [3,11]. In Krakow, the annual PM2.5 limit is regularly exceeded.…”