AIRUSE: strategies to reduce air pollution

Barcelona is these days a laboratory to study the use of Calcium-Magnesium Acetate (CMA) as a tool to reduce pollutant particles in the air, which have important negative effects on health. The experiment is part of the European project AIRUSE.

The PM10 are produced by the re-suspension of particles settled on the road. The Instituto de Diagnóstico Ambiental y Estudios del Agua of the CSIC is leading the European Project AIRUSE. The main objective of the project is to provide to the National Authorities of Southern European countries the appropriate measures to reduce PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations in the air, small particles less than 2.5 and 10 micrometers in diameter.

Air pollution due to these airborne particles is a major environmental problem: these particles are so small they can be inhaled by people and they are thought to be the cause of many lung diseases. That’s why the European Union has established regulations to control these particles taking into account the health impact.

Nevertheless, several urban and industrial areas in Europe are not capable of meeting those implemented EU standards for particulate matter and very often surpass the established limits.

Scientists think that a better understanding of the causes of the limit excesses is necessary, and not just monitoring environmental air pollutant concentrations. It is necessary to understand why in some cities there is more pollution than in others, why they cannot manage to reduce the level of these particles and to find strategies and tools to reduce that pollution.

One of the strategies to be assessed on the project AIRUSE is the use of Calcium-Magnesium Acetate (CMA), which is totally harmless, to reduce the emissions of pollutant particles. Previous studies in London, Austria and Switzerland suggested that adding the harmless CMA to the water for cleaning the streets, can reduce the levels of PM10, and therefore air pollution. The PM10 are produced by the re-suspension of particles settled on the road. The reduction of the amount of PM10 would be possible because the CMA links the pollutant particles and keeps them stuck to the paved surface.

Used for the experiment: from left to right, mobile units to measure the pollution;  vehicles for spreading the mixture of CMA and water; and vehicles for cleaning.

Now the scientists are experimenting the efficacy of a mixture of water and CMA on a street in Barcelona. Between April and May 2013, up to ten times the mixture will be applied, to check the effects.

In the experiment are involved the CSIC’s Instituto de Diagnostico Ambiental y Estudios del Agua (IDAEA) and the Barcelona city council, Ajuntament de Barcelona. They count on the collaboration of the local government, the Generalitat de Catalunya, and the Diputació de Barcelona.

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