Abstract
The aim of this study was to compare particulate matter (PM) pollutants performed at three different enclosed parking garages (A, B and C) and two streets (1 and 2) in Belgium. Particle mass concentrations, number concentrations and their size distributions were measured in real time using an Electrical Low Pressure Impactor Plus (ELPI+) instrument. PM1, PM2.5 and PM10 particle ranges were characterized under this study and these concentrations were compared with the reference values recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and the European Union (EU). The results showed that the average mass concentrations in the garages ranged from 28-50 µg/Nm3 for PM1, 43-60 µg/Nm3 for PM2.5 and 58-90 µg/Nm3 for PM10, while in the streets they varied from 14-18 µg/Nm3 for PM1, 23-27 µg/Nm3 for PM2.5 and 54-59 µg/Nm3 for PM10 respectively. The number concentrations were obtained in the range of 28xE03 to 47xE03 particles/cm3 for the garages while 17xE03 to 22xE03 particles/cm3 for the streets. In all garages, it has been observed that PM2.5 concentrations exceeded the 24h reference values recommended by WHO and USEPA while and PM10 concentrations exceeded WHO and EU guidelines. Particle number size distributions showed dominant quantities of fine particles in all measurements, while two distinct particle sizes of coarse and fine modes were observed in the mass size distributions.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 457-465 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Global NEST Journal |
| Volume | 15 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| Publication status | Published - 31 Dec 2013 |
Keywords
- Particulate matter
- air quality
- parking garages
- streets
- mass concentration
- number concentration
- size distributions