2005 - 2010
The negative effects of small particles PM10 (less than 10 micrometers in diameter (WHO, 1999)) on human health in urban areas have been confirmed in numerous long-term studies on air quality in urban areas. According to the Directive of the European Commission issued in 1999 (1999/30/EC), the UE countries are instructed to monitor PM particles and to reduce their emission in urban areas. The results of preliminary investigations performed within the project ”Air Quality studies in urban areas: heavy metals, radionuclides and their interaction in the atmosphere”, revealed the need for the continuous and long-term systematic sampling, measurements and analysis of interaction of specific pollutants PM10, PM2.5, as well as ozone, heavy metals and radionuclides in the ground level air.
The research activities on concentration, transport and interaction of suspended particles PM10 and PM2.5, heavy metals, natural and man made radionuclides and ozone in various medias (air, total atmospheric deposition, plant material-leaves, moss and soil) in ground level urban air have been performed at representative sampling points with specific micro-climate conditions. Physical and chemical characterization of PM10 and PM2.5 particles has been done by scanning electron microscope (SEM with EDX).
Active biomonitoring method with moss bags has been used to estimate the deposition of heavy metals and radionuclides in the urban air.
The air-back trajectories model has been applied for determination of main sources of pollution in the Belgrade area. Based on the studies in the field, and transport modeling a reliable database will be formed and will used as the input parameters for epidemiological studies on the health status of the population in urban areas and are basic ones for evaluation of the health risk due to ground level air contamination.