PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations in Central and Eastern Europe: Results from the Cesar study

Danny Houthuijs; Oscar Breugelmans; Gerard Hoek; Éva Vaskövi; Eva Miháliková; Jozef S. Pastuszka; Vitezslav Jirik; Stela Sachelarescu; Dobrinka Lolova; Kees Meliefste; Evtimia Uzunova; Carmen Marinescu; Jaroslav Volf; Frank De Leeuw; Henk Van De Wiel; Tony Fletcher; Erik Lebret; Bert Brunekreef

doi:10.1016/S1352-2310(01)00123-6

PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 concentrations in Central and Eastern Europe: Results from the Cesar study

Danny Houthuijs^*
, Oscar Breugelmans
, Gerard Hoek
, Éva Vaskövi
, Eva Miháliková
, Jozef S. Pastuszka
, Vitezslav Jirik
, Stela Sachelarescu
, Dobrinka Lolova
, Kees Meliefste
, Evtimia Uzunova
, Carmen Marinescu
, Jaroslav Volf
, Frank De Leeuw
, Henk Van De Wiel
, Tony Fletcher
, Erik Lebret
, Bert Brunekreef

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

Between November 1995 and October 1996, particulate matter concentrations (PM₁₀ and PM_2.5) were measured in 25 study areas in six Central and Eastern European countries: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovak Republic. To assess annual mean concentration levels, 24-h averaged concentrations were measured every sixth day on a fixed urban background site using Harvard impactors with a 2.5 and 10μm cut-point. The concentration of the coarse fraction of PM₁₀ (PM_10-2.5) was calculated as the difference between the PM₁₀ and the PM_2.5 concentration. Spatial variation within study areas was assessed by additional sampling on one or two urban background sites within each study area for two periods of 1 month. QA/QC procedures were implemented to ensure comparability of results between study areas. A two to threefold concentration range was found between study areas, ranging from an annual mean of 41 to 98μgm^-3 for PM₁₀, from 29 to 68μgm^-3 for PM_2.5 and from 12 to 40μgm^-3 for PM_10-2.5. The lowest concentrations were found in the Slovak Republic, the highest concentrations in Bulgaria and Poland. The variation in PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 concentrations between study areas was about 4 times greater than the spatial variation within study areas suggesting that measurements at a single sampling site sufficiently characterise the exposure of the population in the study areas. PM₁₀ concentrations increased considerably during the heating season, ranging from an average increase of 18μgm^-3 in the Slovak Republic to 45μgm^-3 in Poland. The increase of PM₁₀ was mainly driven by increases in PM_2.5; PM_10-2.5 concentrations changed only marginally or even decreased. Overall, the results indicate high levels of particulate air pollution in Central and Eastern Europe with large changes between seasons, likely caused by local heating.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	2757-2771
Number of pages	15
Journal	Atmospheric Environment
Volume	35
Issue number	15
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/S1352-2310(01)00123-6
Publication status	Published - 2001

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The Central European Study on Air pollution and Respiratory health (CESAR) was funded by the Commission of the European Communities (CEC): Directorate General XII, Science Research and Development in the framework of the Cooperation with Third Countries and International Organisations research and technological development program (contract no. IC15-CT98-0320), and Directorate General I, External Economic Relations, in the framework of the financial and technical assistance provided to Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) under the Phare Multi-Country Environment program (contract no. 94-0472). The authors would like to thank Caroline Ameling, Nico Nagelkerke, Sam Pattenden, and Ben Armstrong for their statistical advice; Ronald Hoogerbrugge, Hans van Dalen, Jan Waldus, and Cock Oosterman for their contributions to the Quality Assurance/Quality Control program; Albena Izidorova, Zvetanka Koleva, Ardem Babikian, Libor Janca, Vera Vydrarova, Jaroslava Henkova, Zdena Dluhosova, Karla Vanova, Milada Plucnarova, Zuzana Tunysova, Erzsebet Gyorgyos, Laszlo Jerszi, Miklos Vondra and Marieke Oldenwening for their participation in the field and laboratory activities.

Copyright:
Copyright 2018 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

Funding

The Central European Study on Air pollution and Respiratory health (CESAR) was funded by the Commission of the European Communities (CEC): Directorate General XII, Science Research and Development in the framework of the Cooperation with Third Countries and International Organisations research and technological development program (contract no. IC15-CT98-0320), and Directorate General I, External Economic Relations, in the framework of the financial and technical assistance provided to Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) under the Phare Multi-Country Environment program (contract no. 94-0472). The authors would like to thank Caroline Ameling, Nico Nagelkerke, Sam Pattenden, and Ben Armstrong for their statistical advice; Ronald Hoogerbrugge, Hans van Dalen, Jan Waldus, and Cock Oosterman for their contributions to the Quality Assurance/Quality Control program; Albena Izidorova, Zvetanka Koleva, Ardem Babikian, Libor Janca, Vera Vydrarova, Jaroslava Henkova, Zdena Dluhosova, Karla Vanova, Milada Plucnarova, Zuzana Tunysova, Erzsebet Gyorgyos, Laszlo Jerszi, Miklos Vondra and Marieke Oldenwening for their participation in the field and laboratory activities.

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities

Keywords

Central and Eastern Europe
Particulate matter
QA/QC

Access to Document

10.1016/S1352-2310(01)00123-6

Cite this

Houthuijs, D., Breugelmans, O., Hoek, G., Vaskövi, É., Miháliková, E., Pastuszka, J. S., Jirik, V., Sachelarescu, S., Lolova, D., Meliefste, K., Uzunova, E., Marinescu, C., Volf, J., De Leeuw, F., Van De Wiel, H., Fletcher, T., Lebret, E., & Brunekreef, B. (2001). PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 concentrations in Central and Eastern Europe: Results from the Cesar study. Atmospheric Environment, 35(15), 2757-2771. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1352-2310(01)00123-6

@article{5b3069cef8ff4b0d8affd9898a95e6f3,

title = "PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations in Central and Eastern Europe: Results from the Cesar study",

abstract = "Between November 1995 and October 1996, particulate matter concentrations (PM10 and PM2.5) were measured in 25 study areas in six Central and Eastern European countries: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovak Republic. To assess annual mean concentration levels, 24-h averaged concentrations were measured every sixth day on a fixed urban background site using Harvard impactors with a 2.5 and 10μm cut-point. The concentration of the coarse fraction of PM10 (PM10-2.5) was calculated as the difference between the PM10 and the PM2.5 concentration. Spatial variation within study areas was assessed by additional sampling on one or two urban background sites within each study area for two periods of 1 month. QA/QC procedures were implemented to ensure comparability of results between study areas. A two to threefold concentration range was found between study areas, ranging from an annual mean of 41 to 98μgm-3 for PM10, from 29 to 68μgm-3 for PM2.5 and from 12 to 40μgm-3 for PM10-2.5. The lowest concentrations were found in the Slovak Republic, the highest concentrations in Bulgaria and Poland. The variation in PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations between study areas was about 4 times greater than the spatial variation within study areas suggesting that measurements at a single sampling site sufficiently characterise the exposure of the population in the study areas. PM10 concentrations increased considerably during the heating season, ranging from an average increase of 18μgm-3 in the Slovak Republic to 45μgm-3 in Poland. The increase of PM10 was mainly driven by increases in PM2.5; PM10-2.5 concentrations changed only marginally or even decreased. Overall, the results indicate high levels of particulate air pollution in Central and Eastern Europe with large changes between seasons, likely caused by local heating.",

keywords = "Central and Eastern Europe, Particulate matter, QA/QC",

author = "Danny Houthuijs and Oscar Breugelmans and Gerard Hoek and {\'E}va Vask{\"o}vi and Eva Mih{\'a}likov{\'a} and Pastuszka, \{Jozef S.\} and Vitezslav Jirik and Stela Sachelarescu and Dobrinka Lolova and Kees Meliefste and Evtimia Uzunova and Carmen Marinescu and Jaroslav Volf and \{De Leeuw\}, Frank and \{Van De Wiel\}, Henk and Tony Fletcher and Erik Lebret and Bert Brunekreef",

note = "Funding Information: The Central European Study on Air pollution and Respiratory health (CESAR) was funded by the Commission of the European Communities (CEC): Directorate General XII, Science Research and Development in the framework of the Cooperation with Third Countries and International Organisations research and technological development program (contract no. IC15-CT98-0320), and Directorate General I, External Economic Relations, in the framework of the financial and technical assistance provided to Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) under the Phare Multi-Country Environment program (contract no. 94-0472). The authors would like to thank Caroline Ameling, Nico Nagelkerke, Sam Pattenden, and Ben Armstrong for their statistical advice; Ronald Hoogerbrugge, Hans van Dalen, Jan Waldus, and Cock Oosterman for their contributions to the Quality Assurance/Quality Control program; Albena Izidorova, Zvetanka Koleva, Ardem Babikian, Libor Janca, Vera Vydrarova, Jaroslava Henkova, Zdena Dluhosova, Karla Vanova, Milada Plucnarova, Zuzana Tunysova, Erzsebet Gyorgyos, Laszlo Jerszi, Miklos Vondra and Marieke Oldenwening for their participation in the field and laboratory activities. Copyright: Copyright 2018 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.",

year = "2001",

doi = "10.1016/S1352-2310(01)00123-6",

language = "English",

volume = "35",

pages = "2757--2771",

journal = "Atmospheric Environment",

issn = "1352-2310",

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Houthuijs, D, Breugelmans, O, Hoek, G, Vaskövi, É, Miháliková, E, Pastuszka, JS, Jirik, V, Sachelarescu, S, Lolova, D, Meliefste, K, Uzunova, E, Marinescu, C, Volf, J, De Leeuw, F, Van De Wiel, H, Fletcher, T, Lebret, E & Brunekreef, B 2001, 'PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 concentrations in Central and Eastern Europe: Results from the Cesar study', Atmospheric Environment, vol. 35, no. 15, pp. 2757-2771. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1352-2310(01)00123-6

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T1 - PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations in Central and Eastern Europe

T2 - Results from the Cesar study

AU - Houthuijs, Danny

AU - Breugelmans, Oscar

AU - Hoek, Gerard

AU - Vaskövi, Éva

AU - Miháliková, Eva

AU - Pastuszka, Jozef S.

AU - Jirik, Vitezslav

AU - Sachelarescu, Stela

AU - Lolova, Dobrinka

AU - Meliefste, Kees

AU - Uzunova, Evtimia

AU - Marinescu, Carmen

AU - Volf, Jaroslav

AU - De Leeuw, Frank

AU - Van De Wiel, Henk

AU - Fletcher, Tony

AU - Lebret, Erik

AU - Brunekreef, Bert

N1 - Funding Information: The Central European Study on Air pollution and Respiratory health (CESAR) was funded by the Commission of the European Communities (CEC): Directorate General XII, Science Research and Development in the framework of the Cooperation with Third Countries and International Organisations research and technological development program (contract no. IC15-CT98-0320), and Directorate General I, External Economic Relations, in the framework of the financial and technical assistance provided to Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) under the Phare Multi-Country Environment program (contract no. 94-0472). The authors would like to thank Caroline Ameling, Nico Nagelkerke, Sam Pattenden, and Ben Armstrong for their statistical advice; Ronald Hoogerbrugge, Hans van Dalen, Jan Waldus, and Cock Oosterman for their contributions to the Quality Assurance/Quality Control program; Albena Izidorova, Zvetanka Koleva, Ardem Babikian, Libor Janca, Vera Vydrarova, Jaroslava Henkova, Zdena Dluhosova, Karla Vanova, Milada Plucnarova, Zuzana Tunysova, Erzsebet Gyorgyos, Laszlo Jerszi, Miklos Vondra and Marieke Oldenwening for their participation in the field and laboratory activities. Copyright: Copyright 2018 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

PY - 2001

Y1 - 2001

N2 - Between November 1995 and October 1996, particulate matter concentrations (PM10 and PM2.5) were measured in 25 study areas in six Central and Eastern European countries: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovak Republic. To assess annual mean concentration levels, 24-h averaged concentrations were measured every sixth day on a fixed urban background site using Harvard impactors with a 2.5 and 10μm cut-point. The concentration of the coarse fraction of PM10 (PM10-2.5) was calculated as the difference between the PM10 and the PM2.5 concentration. Spatial variation within study areas was assessed by additional sampling on one or two urban background sites within each study area for two periods of 1 month. QA/QC procedures were implemented to ensure comparability of results between study areas. A two to threefold concentration range was found between study areas, ranging from an annual mean of 41 to 98μgm-3 for PM10, from 29 to 68μgm-3 for PM2.5 and from 12 to 40μgm-3 for PM10-2.5. The lowest concentrations were found in the Slovak Republic, the highest concentrations in Bulgaria and Poland. The variation in PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations between study areas was about 4 times greater than the spatial variation within study areas suggesting that measurements at a single sampling site sufficiently characterise the exposure of the population in the study areas. PM10 concentrations increased considerably during the heating season, ranging from an average increase of 18μgm-3 in the Slovak Republic to 45μgm-3 in Poland. The increase of PM10 was mainly driven by increases in PM2.5; PM10-2.5 concentrations changed only marginally or even decreased. Overall, the results indicate high levels of particulate air pollution in Central and Eastern Europe with large changes between seasons, likely caused by local heating.

AB - Between November 1995 and October 1996, particulate matter concentrations (PM10 and PM2.5) were measured in 25 study areas in six Central and Eastern European countries: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovak Republic. To assess annual mean concentration levels, 24-h averaged concentrations were measured every sixth day on a fixed urban background site using Harvard impactors with a 2.5 and 10μm cut-point. The concentration of the coarse fraction of PM10 (PM10-2.5) was calculated as the difference between the PM10 and the PM2.5 concentration. Spatial variation within study areas was assessed by additional sampling on one or two urban background sites within each study area for two periods of 1 month. QA/QC procedures were implemented to ensure comparability of results between study areas. A two to threefold concentration range was found between study areas, ranging from an annual mean of 41 to 98μgm-3 for PM10, from 29 to 68μgm-3 for PM2.5 and from 12 to 40μgm-3 for PM10-2.5. The lowest concentrations were found in the Slovak Republic, the highest concentrations in Bulgaria and Poland. The variation in PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations between study areas was about 4 times greater than the spatial variation within study areas suggesting that measurements at a single sampling site sufficiently characterise the exposure of the population in the study areas. PM10 concentrations increased considerably during the heating season, ranging from an average increase of 18μgm-3 in the Slovak Republic to 45μgm-3 in Poland. The increase of PM10 was mainly driven by increases in PM2.5; PM10-2.5 concentrations changed only marginally or even decreased. Overall, the results indicate high levels of particulate air pollution in Central and Eastern Europe with large changes between seasons, likely caused by local heating.

KW - Central and Eastern Europe

KW - Particulate matter

KW - QA/QC

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/0035055550

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DO - 10.1016/S1352-2310(01)00123-6

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:0035055550

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