Important Contribution to Aerosol Oxidative Potential from Residential Solid Fuel Burning in Central Ireland
Matteo Rinaldi,
Francesco Manarini,
Mattia Lucertini,
Marco Rapuano,
Stefano Decesari,
Marco Paglione,
Maria Cristina Facchini,
Chunshui Lin,
Darius Ceburnis,
Colin D. O’Dowd,
Paul Buckley,
Stig Hellebust,
John Wenger,
Jurgita Ovadnevaite
Affiliations
Matteo Rinaldi
Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, National Research Council of Italy, 40129 Bologna, Italy
Francesco Manarini
Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, National Research Council of Italy, 40129 Bologna, Italy
Mattia Lucertini
Department of Sociology and Business Law, University of Bologna, 40100 Bologna, Italy
Marco Rapuano
Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, National Research Council of Italy, 40129 Bologna, Italy
Stefano Decesari
Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, National Research Council of Italy, 40129 Bologna, Italy
Marco Paglione
Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, National Research Council of Italy, 40129 Bologna, Italy
Maria Cristina Facchini
Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, National Research Council of Italy, 40129 Bologna, Italy
Chunshui Lin
State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology and Key Laboratory of Aerosol Chemistry and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an 710061, China
Darius Ceburnis
School of Physics, Ryan Institute’s Centre for Climate and & Pollution Studies and Marine Renewable Energy Ireland, National University of Ireland Galway, H91 CF50 Galway, Ireland
Colin D. O’Dowd
School of Physics, Ryan Institute’s Centre for Climate and & Pollution Studies and Marine Renewable Energy Ireland, National University of Ireland Galway, H91 CF50 Galway, Ireland
Paul Buckley
School of Chemistry and Environmental Research Institute, University College Cork, T12 YN60 Cork, Ireland
Stig Hellebust
School of Chemistry and Environmental Research Institute, University College Cork, T12 YN60 Cork, Ireland
John Wenger
School of Chemistry and Environmental Research Institute, University College Cork, T12 YN60 Cork, Ireland
Jurgita Ovadnevaite
School of Physics, Ryan Institute’s Centre for Climate and & Pollution Studies and Marine Renewable Energy Ireland, National University of Ireland Galway, H91 CF50 Galway, Ireland
Numerous studies have shown negative health effects related to exposure to ambient particulate matter (PM), likely due to induced oxidative stress. In this study, we have examined ambient PM samples from Birr, a small (~5000 inhabitants) town in central Ireland, for their water-soluble DTT-based oxidative potential (OP_DTT) with a resolution of 6 h, together with online chemical characterization measurements, to assess the OP of organic aerosols, in particular from residential solid fuel burning. The OP_DTT normalized by the volume of sampled air shows a high variability, ranging from −1 m−3, and a high correlation with PM mass. A lower variability was associated with the mass-normalized OP. Nevertheless, both tended to present higher values during night-time pollution episodes. Simple and multivariate linear regression approaches linked OP_DTT to residential solid fuel burning, and in particular to wood (~87%) and peat (~13%) combustion. The results of the present study show how residential solid fuel burning can have a severe impact on air quality, even in small towns, with potential negative health effects on the exposed population.
