Investigation of levels, sources, spatial and temporal variations of atmospheric particulate (PM2.5) and gaseous phase (O3 ve NOx) pollutants: Dilovasi case

Dilovasi is one of the regions with the highest industrial activities in our country. Although several studies indicated that air pollution is one of the major environmental threats to health of the citizens living and working in the region, there is no detailed study showing the levels and types of the organic and inorganic pollutants. The objectives of the current study can be listed as follows: (1) To determine the PM2.5 mass concentration in addition to the levels of parameters in PM2.5 chemical composition; (2) To assess the temporal variations of these pollutants and apportion their sources; (3) To determine the concentrations of inorganic and organic pollutants in dry deposition samples; (4) To investigate spatial distribution of the corresponding pollutants determined in dry deposition samples. In order to achieve these objectives, an ambient monitoring station was placed at the garden of Dilovasi municipality (40.79° N – 29.54° E, 51 m) and daily PM2.5 samples were collected between February 2015 and January 2016. Ozone, NOx and meteorological data were also recorded concurrently. Moreover, dry deposition samples were also collected in spring, summer and autumn seasons at 23 different points to evaluate spatial and seasonal variations in the pollutant concentrations. The average PM2.5 mass concentration was found as 66.50±51.21 µg/m3 during the sampling period. The measured concentrations were ranged from 2.23 pg/m3 for Tm to 19.18 µg/m3 for TC in PM2.5. Average concentration was found for O3 and NOx as 24.71±13.66 ppb ve 33.52±27.90 ppb, respectively. Dry deposition data fluxes of Cr, Pb, Zn, Fe, As, OC and TC were higher at industrial points as compared to other sampling locations. Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) applied to PM2.5 chemical composition data resolved that petroleum combustion, road dust, resuspended soil, coal combustion, traffic and secondary inorganic aerosol are the sources affecting the air quality of Dilovası.