Testing in the frame of the Airuse project: above, collecting air samples in the city; below, testing a treatment for reducing the road dust. Image: Airuse Scientists from,seven research centers have given the European Commission and national authorities a package of recommendations to decrease the atmospheric particle pollution in the Southern European cities. The recommendations are the result of the European project AIRUSE Life+, funded by the EU LIFE program, which has been developed in 5 southern European cities: Athens, Barcelona, Florence, Milan and Porto, where sampling and experiments have been conducted.
Particulate matter suspended in air is one of the most worrying environmental issues. These minuscule particles with diameters of less than 2,5 micrometers (in the case of the so called PM2,5 particles) and less than 10 micrometres (in the case of the PM10 particles) can be inhaled by people. It is thought that they aggravate respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. In order to control this particulate pollution, the European Union has established regulations based on health impact criteria.
Xavier Querol, a CSIC research professor at the Instituto de Diagnostico Ambiental y Estudios del Agua (IDAEA) is the coordinator of the AIRUSE LIFE+ Project. He explains that this pollution has conditions and sources which are more relevant in the South than in the Northern Europe. For instance, because rain is scarce, air doesn’t get clean so often and particles are permanently suspended in the air. Emission sources are road traffic, industries and ships. Also, dust from different sources: African dust, building work dust, as well as residential and urban parks (which often have sand or earth ground, in contrast with the grass in Northern European parks). A new and increasing source of particles is biomass burning.
Biomass burning: certified equipment and pellets
Among the recommendations scientist have brought to the authorities, Querol highlights the need of certifying as soon as possible the biomass burning systems. Combustion appliances should be replaced by certified equipment and the market firewood and pellets should be regulated. It is an “essential” aspect, says Xavier Querol, as some of the pellets that are being now used, such as the ones of recycled wood which was previously treated with chemicals, are releasing notorious levels of pollutants. Nowadays, there is not any certification for these biomass equipments either the pellets in the Southern European countries.
Biomass: certifying pellets as soon as possible is “essential”, as some of the pellets now in use are releasing notorious levels of pollutants.
Another recommendation is systematic street washing three of four hours before peak-times, a strategy that efficiently reduces the resuspension of road dust. Similarly, use of nano-polymers reduce the soil resuspension in urban parks.
Low emission zones and eco-labelling for all vehicles
The scientists have also analyzed strategies which have been implemented in the North of Europe, such as the low emission zones or the incentives to promote cleaner vehicle technologies, and if they have been effective and why. For example, the implantation of low emission zones, where circulation is prohibited to the most polluting vehicles, has been effective in Germany but not in other countries. The reason is that in Germany, vehicle labelling has been applied to all kinds of cars: passenger cars, heavy goods vehicles, new and old cars.
Other recommendations are
- the implementation of low emission zones, where the entrance of the oldest diesel is prohibited;
- a homogeneous procedure of eco-labelling for all cars in all over Europe;
- limitations to stop the increase in diesel cars (like taxing equally both fuels;
- clear advantages to the users of cleaner vehicles, like economic incentives or priority in road circulation, in order to promote the use of electric cars;
- a European certification procedure for biomass heating appliances and pellets.
The partners of the AIRUSe Project are the Instituto de Diagnóstico Ambiental y Estudios del Agua of the CSIC (Spanish National Research Council), as coordinator, the National Center for Scientific Research Demokritos (Greece); the Universidade de Aveiro (Portugal); the University of Florence (Italy); the Institute of Ceramic Technology of the University Jaume I; the University of Birmingham (Reino Unido); and the regional agency for the protection of the environment ARPA Lombardia (Italy).