THE RELATIVE INFLUENCES OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY PARTICULATES TO URBAN AIR QUALITY IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

摘要

This study uses a combination of data from U.K. monitoring stations and from modelling undertaken with the U.K. Meteorological Office's NAME Model to investigate the relative influences of primary and secondary particulates on total PM_(10) levels at sites in the United Kingdom. Co-located PM_(10) and sulphate aerosol measurements indicate that sulphate has a disproportionately large influence on the variation of PM_(10) levels in comparison to its contribution to their total mass. Comparisons of measured PM_(10) at urban centre, roadside and rural sites suggest that local primary sources have very little influence on daily mean levels. NAME has been used to model both primary particles and sulphate aerosol from sources across the whole of Europe. The discrepancies between modelled and observed PM_(10) suggest that coarse particles, such as windblown dust and resuspended roaddust, may comprise a very large, if not dominant, proportion of observed PM_(10) levels. The apparently minor role of primary particles (especially locally-sourced ones) raises a number of issues regarding the suitability of current U.K. and European legislation to addressing the particle problem.