Assessing PM10 source reduction in urban agglomerations for air quality compliance†
Abstract
The objective of this work was to study PM10 and PM2.5 concentration data available from monitoring stations in two large urban agglomerations in Greece and to estimate the emissions reduction required for compliance with the EU Air Quality Standards (AQS) for particulate matter. The cities studied are namely the Athens and Thessaloniki Metropolitan Areas (AMA and TMA, respectively). PM10 concentrations during the period 2001–2010 have been evaluated for 15 air quality monitoring stations in the two urban areas. It was found that the concentrations of PM10 during the period studied constantly exceeded the threshold values at the traffic and industrial stations in TMA and most of the traffic sites in AMA. Most of the occurrences of non-attainment to the daily AQSs were observed during the winter period at all stations (more pronounced for TMA stations). The