Assessing winter-type PM10 pollution in the city of Kirikkale, Turkey: A case study

Abstract

In this study, an emission inventory of winter-type PM10 was carried out for a 6-months period between October 2003 and March 2004 in the city of Kirikkale, Turkey. The monthly measurements of particulate matter concentrations were performed at 13 stations uniformly located across the city. Both temporal and spatial variations in PM10 concentrations within the city were evaluated. To identify the type of emission, the stations were classified into four different categories as urban, rural, urban-industrial and rural-industrial ones. The comparison of the measured PM10 concentrations against the Turkish and European Union limit values of 150 mu g/m(3) and 50 mu g/m(3), respectively, revealed that the city faces a serious winter-type air pollution problem caused by domestic heating, traffic load and industrial emissions, especially in the city centre and the regions close to heavy industrial plants. Overall, the study results suggest that in order to avoid possible health-related risks in the study area, there is an urgent need to reduce PM10 concentrations to an acceptable range during winter.