Monitoring of aerosol (PM10 and Black Smoke) in a small rural settlement - the effect of local heating on air quality
Abstrakt
Concentrations of particulate matter passing through a size-selective inlet with a 50% efficiency cut-off at 10 μm aerodynamic diameter (PM10) were measured during one winter and two summer periods in a small mountain village, Albrechtice in the Jizerské hory Mts, Czech Republic. PM10 was measured by a laser photometer DustTrak (DT, 15-minute integrates) and by a Harvard Impactor (HI, 24-h integrates).
Twenty four hour concentrations of the soot content were estimated by means of the OECD "Black Smoke" (BS) method. Comparison of 24-h PM10 data from Albrechtice with PM10 data from two nearby cities - Jablonec nad Nisou and Liberec - and one background site - Souš - showed that the average PM10 concentrations in Albrechtice were the highest during the heating season (37 μg mMINUS SIGN 3).
Average PM10 concentrations in the village were lower than the average concentrations in urban areas during both summer seasons. PM10 (measured by HI) and 24-h concentrations of BS strongly correlated during the heating season (0.89).
The correlation coefficient dropped to 0.68 during the second summer period. Daily maximum concentrations were recorded mainly between 4 and 12 p.m. with a distinct peak between 8 and 10 p.m. showing a clear effect of evening lighting up stoves and household boilers.
PM10 negatively correlated with temperature and wind velocity. The highest PM10 and BS concentrations were recorded when temperature was lower than 5 oC and wind velocity lower than 3 m sMINUS SIGN 1, indicating that local sources and not long-range transport of pollutants were the most important factors for PM10 values in the village.
The results of the study support the assumption that traditional local heating in small settlements including rural villages may cause an important local air quality problem.