STRAP - Sources, TRansport and fate of persistent Air Pollutants in the environment of Slovenia

Poor air quality is one of the most pressing problems in urban areas negatively impacting human health and the quality of the environment. Reducing air pollution requires effective planning strategies and ways to assess the effectiveness of these strategies in terms of the overall impact on air quality. STRAP (Sources, TRAnsport and fate of persistent air Pollutants in the environment of Slovenia) strives to improve our scientific understanding of air pollution by investigating the source, transport, dispersion and fate of persistent air pollutants: black carbon (BC), particulate matter (PM), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and mercury (Hg) in Slovenia. To date the life cycle of these compounds remain poorly understood and in the case of BC not covered by EU legislation. STRAP will build on existing knowledge and use state-of-the-art techniques based on stable isotope measurements using highly precise multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICPMS) and compound-specific stable isotope analysis (CSIA) to improve source apportionment. Characterization of sources using BC with highly time resolved measurements and a stable isotope approach will differentiate between fossil and biomass carbon and provide information on whether the contributions are recent and local or aged and regional. In addition, STRAP will construct weather and atmospheric pollutant dispersion models (modelling system) to study and predict the pathway of a pollutant from source to affected population. STRAP will also develop an innovative integrated methodology combining measurement and modelling data to understand better pollutant dispersion in the atmosphere. This approach represents a step forward and a novel contribution to guidelines for assessing air pollution that are currently either based on actual measurements or modelling. STRAP will perform graphical statistical analysis based on the sunflower algorithm (Sunflower quotation) of measured and modelled pollutant concentrations at an hourly resolution to act as a public warning system. It will also estimate the status of specific environments (urban, marine, industrial) important for planning and managing pollution abatement strategies in relation to environmental change and human health. Furthermore, STRAP will create an environment favorable to transnational cooperation with experienced partners from Italy and Australia and synergy with on-going EU projects including SIRS, MercOx, ICARUS, HBM4EU and PrepAir. The project will educate and train young researchers thereby enhancing the career opportunities of a new generation of environmental air quality researchers.

STRAP introduces novel research ideas and solutions into the field of air pollution both nationally and internationally and will enhance Slovenian and European competitiveness in the environmental and life sciences. The results will yield a unique and comprehensive dataset characterizing persistent air pollutants including black carbon (BC), particulate matter (PM), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and mercury (Hg), which will help identify processes, distribution and the impact of pollutants in urban, industrial and marine areas – with selected locations acting as “test beds” and will represent the input for developed modeling systems. STRAP using a combination of molecular and stable isotope techniques (C and Hg) represents the “cutting-edge” in environmental studies and a novel application in air quality studies. The unique power of isotopes offers the diagnostic and dynamic information needed to identify sources of contamination, its history of accumulation, environmental pathways and its impact on the environment and human health all of which is vital for making cost effective mitigation decisions. The project will also greatly benefit from the two SMEs: methodologies developed by AEROSOL have commercial potential enabling BC measurements in different environmental applications, while specific modelling and “sunflower” techniques developed by MEIS are directly applicable to monitoring air quality. Further, many air pollution studies, focus separately on either actual measurements or on modelling the dispersion of pollutants or on providing guidelines for air pollution abatement measures whereas STRAP will develop a unique and innovative integrated methodology combining measurements and modelling. This will significantly increase data reliability and offer greater insight into the dispersion of pollutants in the atmosphere. Based on the results STRAP will estimate the current status of the urban (Ljubljana, Celje) and industrial areas (TEŠ) and the marine environment (Gulf of Trieste), which is essential for planning and managing air pollution abatement strategies in relation to environmental change and human health.

STRAP introduces novel research ideas and solutions into the field of air pollution both nationally and internationally and will enhance Slovenian and European competitiveness in the environmental and life sciences. The results will yield a unique and comprehensive dataset characterizing persistent air pollutants including black carbon (BC), particulate matter (PM), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and mercury (Hg), which will help identify processes, distribution and the impact of pollutants in urban, industrial and marine areas – with selected locations acting as “test beds” and will represent the input for developed modeling systems. STRAP using a combination of molecular and stable isotope techniques (C and Hg) represents the “cutting-edge” in environmental studies and a novel application in air quality studies. The unique power of isotopes offers the diagnostic and dynamic information needed to identify sources of contamination, its history of accumulation, environmental pathways and its impact on the environment and human health all of which is vital for making cost effective mitigation decisions. The project will also greatly benefit from the two SMEs: methodologies developed by AEROSOL have commercial potential enabling BC measurements in different environmental applications, while specific modelling and “sunflower” techniques developed by MEIS are directly applicable to monitoring air quality. Further, many air pollution studies, focus separately on either actual measurements or on modelling the dispersion of pollutants or on providing guidelines for air pollution abatement measures whereas STRAP will develop a unique and innovative integrated methodology combining measurements and modelling. This will significantly increase data reliability and offer greater insight into the dispersion of pollutants in the atmosphere. Based on the results STRAP will estimate the current status of the urban (Ljubljana, Celje) and industrial areas (TEŠ) and the marine environment (Gulf of Trieste), which is essential for planning and managing air pollution abatement strategies in relation to environmental change and human health.