The dark side of the tradition: The polluting effect of Epiphany folk fires in the eastern Po Valley (Italy)

Masiol, Mauro; Formenton, Gianni; Giraldo, Giorgia; Pasqualetto, Alberto; Tieppo, Paulo; Pavoni, Bruno

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.12.077

Cited by 10 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…The peak of combustion contribution on January 6 supports this interpretation: in the Veneto Region on the eve of Epiphany, a religious celebration (between January 5 th and January 6 th ). At this time, thousands of bonfires burn wooden material particularly in the rural areas of Venice and Treviso and causing an increase of PM2.5, PM10, K + and total carbon levels (Masiol et al, 2014b). Moreover, the biomass combustion source contributions are statistically significant correlated with NOx and CO (AIR: rNOx = 0.6; rCO = 0.7; TV: rNOx = 0.6; rCO = 0.7) in both sites.…”

Section: Identification and Apportion Of Pm25 Sourcesmentioning

confidence: 90%

Urban air quality in a mid-size city — PM2.5 composition, sources and identification of impact areas: From local to long range contributions

Squizzato

Cazzaro

Innocente

et al. 2017

Atmospheric Research

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Urban air quality represents a major public health burden and is a long-standing concern to European citizens. Combustion processes and traffic-related emissions represent the main primary particulate matter (PM) sources in urban areas. Other sources can also affect air quality (e.g., secondary aerosol, industrial) depending on the characteristics of the study area. Thus, the identification and the apportionment of all sources is of crucial importance to make effective corrective decisions within environmental policies. The aim of this study is to evaluate the impacts of different emissions sources on PM2.5 concentrations and compositions in a mid-size city in the Po Valley (Treviso, Italy). Data have been analyzed to highlight compositional differences (elements and major inorganic ions), to determine PM2.5 sources and their contributions, and to evaluate the influence of air mass movements. Non-parametric tests, positive matrix factorization (PMF), conditional bivariate probability function (CBPF), and concentration weighted trajectory (CWT) have been used in a multi-chemometrics approach to understand the areal-scale (proximate, local, long-range) where different sources act on PM2.5 levels and composition. Results identified three levels of scale from which the pollution arose: (i) a proximate local scale (close to the sampling site) for traffic non-exhaust and resuspended dust sources; (ii) a local urban scale (including both sampling site and areas close to them) for combustion and industrial; and (iii) a regional scale characterized by ammonium nitrate and ammonium sulfate. This approach and results can help to develop and adopt better air quality policy action

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Section: Identification and Apportion Of Pm25 Sourcesmentioning

confidence: 90%

Urban air quality in a mid-size city — PM2.5 composition, sources and identification of impact areas: From local to long range contributions

Squizzato

Cazzaro

Innocente

et al. 2017

Atmospheric Research

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“…However, the aim of this study is to detect the general behaviour of air pollution and some clearly identified high pollution episodes which occurred in 2008/14 across the region. Examples are the burning of a thousand folk fires on the eve of Epiphany (Masiol et al, 2014a) or fireworks for Christmas and other local celebrations. Consequently, preliminary data handling and clean-up are carried out to check the datasets for robustness, outliers and anomalous records.…”

Section: Qa/qc and Data Handlingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Air quality across a European hotspot: Spatial gradients, seasonality, diurnal cycles and trends in the Veneto region, NE Italy

Masiol

Squizzato

Formenton

et al. 2017

Science of The Total Environment

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The Veneto region (NE Italy) lies in the eastern part of the Po Valley, a European hotspot for air pollution. Data for key air pollutants (CO, NO, NO, O, SO, PM and PM) measured over 7years (2008/2014) across 43 sites in Veneto were processed to characterise their spatial and temporal patterns and assess the air quality. Nitrogen oxides, PM and ozone are critical pollutants frequently breaching the EC limit and target values. Intersite analysis demonstrates a widespread pollution across the region and shows that primary pollutants (nitrogen oxides, CO, PM) are significantly higher in cities and over the flat lands due to higher anthropogenic pressures. The spatial variation of air pollutants at rural sites was then mapped to depict the gradient of background pollution: nitrogen oxides are higher in the plain area due to the presence of strong diffuse anthropogenic sources, while ozone increases toward the mountains probably due to the higher levels of biogenic ozone-precursors and low NO emissions which are not sufficient to titrate out the photochemical O. Data-depth classification analysis revealed a poor categorization among urban, traffic and industrial sites: weather and urban planning factors may cause a general homogeneity of air pollution within cities driving this poor classification. Seasonal and diurnal cycles were investigated: the effect of primary sources in populated areas is evident throughout the region and drives similar patterns for most pollutants: road traffic appears the predominant potential source shaping the daily cycles. Trend analysis of experimental data reveals a general decrease of air pollution across the region, which agrees well with changes assessed by emission inventories. This study provides key information on air quality across NE Italy and highlights future research needs and possible developments of the regional monitoring network.

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“…(2012) reported increases up to 100% in concentrations of PM10 during a local festival (Vishu) where fireworks are used. In Italy, Masiol et al (2014) reported high contribution for both PM10 (peak concentration of 700 µg/m 3 ) and trace gases during folk fires burnt on the eve of Epiphany (January), with average increase of between 65 and 200 µg/m 3 for PM10 and 90-235 µg/m 3 for PM2.5. Finally, in Iran, higher than average PM concentrations have been reported during the fireworks related to the Chahar-Shanbe Suri festival (Oroji et al, 2019).…”

Section: Accepted Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

Air quality during and after festivals: Aerosol concentrations, composition and health effects

Singh

Pant

Pope

2019

Atmospheric Research

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The dark side of the tradition: The polluting effect of Epiphany folk fires in the eastern Po Valley (Italy)

Cited by 10 publications

References 60 publications

Urban air quality in a mid-size city — PM2.5 composition, sources and identification of impact areas: From local to long range contributions

Urban air quality in a mid-size city — PM2.5 composition, sources and identification of impact areas: From local to long range contributions

Air quality across a European hotspot: Spatial gradients, seasonality, diurnal cycles and trends in the Veneto region, NE Italy

Air quality during and after festivals: Aerosol concentrations, composition and health effects

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