Scholarly record

AN INTEGRATIVE APPROACH TO PM2.5 MONITORING FOR A BETTER PROTECTION OF CHILDREN-S HEALTH AGAINST AIR POLLUTION THREATS IN URBAN AREAS

Daniel Dunea, Stefania Iordache, Emil Lungu, Dumitru Dumitru

Abstract

Modelling of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) requires new approaches for the evaluation of populationпїЅs exposure and associated health effects in various urban microenvironments. Such decision support tools are assisting local authorities in adapting proper plans for minimizing the resulting ecological and epidemiological impacts. An environmental decision support system (EDSS) with web-based GIS capabilities was developed to allow for examination of PM2.5 fraction concentrations in Ploiesti city, Romania. The air quality in the city is influenced significantly by industrial and traffic emissions. The study describes the EDSS components including the spatiotemporal analysis tools that present air quality data according to the corresponding geographic location and spatial topologies of the analyzed area. The system was designed to integrate air pollution records from the official monitoring network, continuous and sequential measurements of PM2.5, modelling results, and meteorological data. EDSS is able to draw isolines of concentrations resulted from the interpolation of PM measurements at spatial scale. The study pointed out the importance of incorporating mobility patterns and temporal changes when estimating concentrations of contaminants for developing analysis tools to be used for quantifying population exposure in environmental epidemiological investigations.

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