Air Pollution Sources’ Contribution to PM2.5 Concentration in the Northeastern Part of the Czech Republic

Abstract

This article focuses on the source apportionment of air pollution in a specific northeastern part of the Czech Republic. The research area, located around the city of Třinec, is significantly affected by a complex spectrum of air pollution sources, including local residential heating (coal and wood burning), heavy industry (mainly iron and steel production), road traffic, and regional and long-range air pollution transport from the nearby cities, Poland, and other countries. The main pollution sources contributing to the total concentration of fine suspended particles (PM2.5) were evaluated on the basis of the measurements at three sites and on subsequent positive matrix factorization modeling. The six major air pollution factors were identified, and their relative and absolute contributions were quantified. The result of the study is that the most important current task of air protection is to reduce the residential emissions from solid fuels, which are responsible for approximately 50–60% of PM2.5 concentration, followed by the regional primary and secondary aerosol sources (up to 40% of the total PM2.5 aerosol mass). Lower contributions have been identified in the case of resuspended mineral and biogenic particles (15–20%), long-range (trans-European) air pollution transport (up to 10%), and heavy industry (up to 10% in the most affected location). A detailed discussion has been provided considering specific regional EC (elemental carbon)–OC (organic carbon) relations in the region with traditional coal-burning for household heating which complicate the interpretation of the PMF (Positive Matrix Factorization) results, especially due to the interference between the traffic, residential heating, and biogenic aerosol factors.

Characterization of PM10 Sampled on the Top of a Former Mining Tower by the High-Volume Wind Direction-Dependent Sampler Using INNA

“…In the cold part of the year, the PM 10 concentrations originating in the Polish borderland (the north, northeast and east direction) increased by almost 50%, despite the prevailing wind in this season blowing in the opposite direction. This fact has already been stated in many previous studies [3,21,26,27,29] and confirms once again the importance of the cross-border PM pollution in this region, emphasizing that it is not just a problem of directly adjacent areas but of the region as a whole.…”

“…Substantial pollution in the region has challenged researchers to identify causes and look for solutions, starting in the 1990s with the US EPA project Silesia [19,20]; later on, the effort continued with projects AIR SILESIA [21,22] and AIR TRITIA [6,23]. Moreover, numerous case studies focused on the pollution origin were performed [24][25][26] together with the recently published study of the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (CHMI) [27,28]. All the studies emphasized the role of both the industry and the transboundary pollution from Poland (caused mainly by domestic boilers).…”

“…The air quality in the region is significantly influenced by the rate and nature of cross-border pollution transmission along the most frequent wind directions (typically SW/NE), together with the inverse character of the weather with steady atmosphere and subsequently worsened dispersion conditions, which significantly contribute to increased air pollution during the winter. According to the available studies [6,22,27,30], the contribution of the cross-border PM pollution to the annual average values can vary from 20-40% depending on the location in the region, emissions and meteorological conditions in the year.…”

The Impact of Solid Fuel Residential Boilers Exchange on Particulate Matter Air Pollution

“…This is a traditional coal-mining region with heavy industry and a relatively high level of urbanization. The average yearly concentrations of PM10 in the ambient air in this region have not been significantly decreasing in the past years but remain quite high in the range of 30.9 μg/m 3 in 2016 to 33.8 μg/m 3 in 2018 [27]. For the comparison of the modelled data of PM10 concentrations, we conducted a series of PM10 measurements in Dolni Lhota and Vratimov, using a hi-vol air sampler, during the heating season in 2018 (Figure 5).…”

Monitoring of Heavy Metals and Nitrogen Concentrations in Mosses in the Vicinity of an Integrated Iron and Steel Plant: Case Study in Czechia

“…The Czech reference methodology SYMOS'97 [84,85] based on Sutton's theory of turbulent diffusion [71] was used for modelling. Season-specific airborne PM 10 concentrations were modelled as the pollution in the area can be significantly influenced by domestic heating during the winter period [3,86]. Thus, air pollution modelling was run to obtain average winter season PM 10 concentrations and average summer season PM 10 concentrations on receptors located at the moss sampling sites.…”