Seasonal Variation of Particulate Matter Mass Concentration and Content of Metals

In this paper, an attempt is made to characterize PM10 imission field in the area of Warszawa with regard to PM content of the metals As, Cd, and Ni. Particulate matter concentration measurements were performed within this agglomeration with the use of many measuring methods, different not only in respect of the sampler operation rules, but also of the accuracy, sampling frequency, and separation of the particulate matter fractions. Since 1 October 2003, Warszawa agglomeration has had an extended measurement network consisting of 4 automatic stations and 7 manual ones. This paper attempts to estimate the influence of the prevailing meteorological conditions on PM10 imission and also to determine those parameter groups that enable the best description of monthly and seasonal variability of particulate matter. The data considered in this paper were collected in 2004-08. Based on the performed analysis, it could be concluded that air quality in the area of Warszawa agglomeration is still unsatisfactory. The main cause of high PM concentration in Warszawa is the dynamic development of vehicular traffic and ever-increasing number of cars; both factors cause the PM concentration to be several times higher. The second important source of particulate matter in the Warszawa area is so-called "low emission," occurring in the heating season, generated mainly by the processes of combustion in the communal and housing sectors. In 2004-08 the meteorological conditions prevailed 22.4% to 76.2% of the decadal variability of PM concentration in the individual months and 9.5% to 56.8% of seasonal variability. The most significant influence of the meteorological conditions was during the winter, especially in January. The regression analysis has found evidence for statistically vital relationships of PM10 concentration and meteorological parameters, especially maximum air temperature, wind speed, and precipitation. Research on the chemical composition of PMs presented in this paper confirms that the target values of arsenic, cadmium, and nickel concentration in PM10, determined by Directive 2004/107/WE, were not exceeded at the network stations in 2006-08 and the recorded concentration of these heavy metals were low. Analyzing the tendency of air quality changes for the last five years in the area of Warszawa, it was found that there was danger of not complying with the requirements set by the European Union. The time limit by which the member countries have to adjust the PM10 concentration limits in their territories to the EU norms is June 2011.