SAPPHIRE

Coordinator: Dr. Stuart Harrad, University of Birmingham, UK

Title: Source apportionment of Airborne Particulate Matter and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Urban Regions of Europe.

Aim: To develop and validate a readily transferable common pan-European methodological approach to source apportionment of atmospheric PM and PAH that will be utilised by city authorities.

www: http://www.gees.bham.ac.uk/research/sapphire/

Project summary

1. Problems to be solved

Air pollution by both particulate matter (PM) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) presents a significant problem to EU citizens. This is due to their proven adverse impacts on human health, in terms of their role in the aetiology of inter alia lung cancer, along with respiratory and cardiovascular disease. There are also significant adverse impacts for the economy of the EU as a consequence of air pollution-related disease, owing to: (a) the additional burden placed on health services; and (b) the number of working days lost. Consequently, the EU and its member states are actively legislating for improvements in air quality and monitoring to verify progress in this regard, as failure to tackle this issue will negatively impact on the social well-being and economic competitiveness of the EU. An integral part of improving air quality is the identification (or apportionment) of the principal sources of pollutants, as so doing permits the most effective targeting of source control strategies. Currently, the methodology used for source apportionment of PM and PAH is somewhat disparate in nature, and is rarely accessible in a format that is both readily implementable and relevant to the local city authorities with responsibility for air quality management. As a result, there is a need to develop a harmonised approach to source apportionment of PM and PAH to meet the needs of local city authorities.

2. Scientific objectives and approach

The overall objective of SAPPHIRE is to develop and validate a readily transferable common pan-European methodological approach to source apportionment of atmospheric PM and PAH that will be utilised by city authorities. To do so, a series of campaigns monitoring air pollution at 2 locations in each of the following partner cities: Athens, Birmingham, Copenhagen, Helsinki, and Oporto. Data from these campaigns will be used to develop and validate the source apportionment methodology. A technical report describing clearly the source apportionment protocol will be written, and a user friendly customised software package to assist in the data analysis required for source apportionment will be produced. To maximise exploitation of SAPPHIRE outputs, the local authorities of partner cities will critically appraise and review drafts of both the technical report and software package.

3. Expected impacts

The principal deliverable of SAPPHIRE will be a harmonised approach to source apportionment of atmospheric PM and PAH. City authorities will have access to a technical report and accompanying user friendly customised software package (with users manual) for data acquisition and interpretation. Use of the approach will allow the sources of atmospheric PM and PAH to be estimated. In turn this will permit development of appropriate control strategies aimed at reducing concentrations of PM and PAH, and allow the probable impact of the various options for control to be assessed. For example, the effect of reducing permitted vehicle or stack emissions, or of local traffic management schemes, or modifying industrial processes, could be predicted more reliably. Together with knowledge of the social and economic costs of air pollution, proposed control measures could be subjected to cost/benefit assessments.