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STUDY OF THE EVOLUTION OF THE PARTICULATE MATTER AND HEAVY METALS EMISSIONS IN THE FIRST NINE COUNTRIES ENROLLED IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

Simona Condurache-Bota

Abstract

Particulate matter and heavy metals represent some of the most dangerous pollutants along with nitrogen and sulfur oxides and the persistent organic pollutants. They affect not only human health, but also all living things and, some of them, even the climate by light diffusion and/or greenhouse effect. Thus, PM2.5 can induce serious respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, while both PM2.5 and PM10 play an important role in the atmospheric chemical and physical processes. At their turn, even though some heavy metals are essential elements for the organisms, such as Fe, Cu, Zn and Cr, when their concentration in living things surpasses a boundary, they become toxic. Other heavy metals are toxic even in small quantities, such as: Hg, Pb and Cd. This study presents the analysis of the emissions evolution of PM2.5, PM10 and 6 heavy metals: Pb, Cd, Hg, As, Cr and Co from the first 9 countries enrolled in the European Union (EU-09): Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands and United Kingdom. The chosen period is 1990-2014. The data are those reported to/from the European Environment Agency ? EEA. The emissions are computed and analyzed by sectors: industry, transportation, waste and agriculture. Not only the evolution of emitted quantities are studied, but also their percentage variation from total emission sources are inferred and analyzed as they evolved. Also, by taking into account the average atmospheric volume, their emissions by cubic meter and year and even by cubic meter and day were computed, as if they were all emitted into the atmosphere, which is likely the case, most of the times, in order to assess their relevance/danger to health. It was found that the PM emissions from agriculture increased from 1990 to 2014, while they decreased for the other sectors. Still, the PM percentage of contribution to the total emissions increased by both agriculture and waste management along the entire monitored period, while they decreased from transportation sources. The PM2.5 emissions reached as high as 0.969 g/m3/day from industry in 1990, while, in the same year, the PM10 reached 1.085 g/m3/day. As for heavy metals, it was found that Pb, Cd and Hg emissions decreased in each sector, while As, Cr and Cu increased from transportation and industrial sources. The Pb emissions were at their highest value in 1990 from transportation, reaching 1.872 g/m3/year, while Cd emitted from transportation peaked in 2005 to 0.332 mg/m3/year. The annual Hg emissions were the highest also in 1990, with 0.315 g/m3/year. The evolution of the chosen pollutants stresses the necessity to further reduce the emitting causes much faster and more drastically, since it is well-known that it is better to reduce the pollutant emissions at their sources than to try to reduce their effects or to remediate the damaged environment.

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DOI resolver: doi.org/10.5593/sgem2019/4.1/s19.138

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