Turoczi, et al
http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/ ... 3-2012.pdf
Conclusions
Ecotoxicities of bulk PM10/PM2.5 of various types were directly measured for the first
time to the best of our knowledge. The results were not surprising in the sense that
emission samples were generally more ecotoxic than ambient ones. However, wood
smoke was found to be more ecotoxic than particulates emitted from modern diesel
engines. This finding is perhaps unexpected but definitely should have an impact on
future air quality legislation. The vast difference between the ecotoxicities of EURO 4
and EURO 1 diesel engines of buses – combined with the similarly large differences
between their particulate emissions – underlines the importance of speeding up the
10 introduction of tighter emission standards. It follows from the higher ecotoxicity of primary
emission that urban PM10 proved to more ecotoxic in winter than in summer due
to the vast difference in aerosol sources and the degree of atmospheric mixing. An
alarming conclusion of the present study is that in winter urban PM10/PM2.5 has significantly
higher specific ecotoxicity during high pollution episodes than in times of low
15 pollution levels. This effect potentially aggravates the health risks posed by the high
ambient concentrations of urban particulate matter. These results refer to the ecotoxicity
of the particulates only and not to their potential chronic (carcinogenic, mutagenic,
teratogenic etc.) effects.
