I. Kopanakis

Measurements of particulate matter concentrations at a landfill site (Crete, Greece).

Large amounts of solid waste are disposed in landfills and the potential of particulate matter (PM) emissions into the atmosphere is significant. Particulate matter emissions in landfills are the result of resuspension from the disposed waste and other activities such as mechanical recycling and composting, waste unloading and sorting, the process of coating residues and waste transport by trucks. Measurements of ambient levels of inhalable particulate matter (PM(10)) were performed in a landfill site located at Chania (Crete, Greece). Elevated PM(10) concentrations were measured in the landfill site during several landfill operations. It was observed that the meteorological conditions (mainly wind velocity and temperature) influence considerably the PM(10) concentrations. Comparison between the PM(10) concentrations at the landfill and at a PM(10) background site indicates the influence of the landfill activities on local concentrations at the landfill. No correlation was observed between the measurements at the landfill and the background sites. Finally, specific preventing measures are proposed to control the PM concentrations in landfills.

Ambient Particulate Matter Concentration Levels and their Origin During Dust Event Episodes in the Eastern Mediterranean

The eastern Mediterranean region is strongly influenced by long-range transported particulate matter such as desert dust from northern Africa. To investigate the dynamics of Saharan dust events and their origin, satellite images from the MODIS spectroradiometer of NASA’s satellites Terra and Aqua, and back trajectories analysis of the HYSPLIT model were combined together with continuous ground-based field data. Field PM10 and PM2.5 measurements were performed in the period 2003–2013 at the Akrotiri monitoring station on the island of Crete (Greece). Furthermore, the mineralogical composition of a small number of samples was determined by X-ray powder diffraction, whereas elemental particle composition analysis was performed on the dust samples collected using the ICP-MS technique for a series of elements. The annual average percentage of days with Sahara dust outbreaks in the region of western Crete (Akrotiri station) was 9.3% for the period 2003–2013. Excluding the PM10 exceedances caused by Sahara dust events, the average PM10 monthly concentrations are decreased by 20.5% during the 8-month period November–June, with higher PM10 concentration reduction (29.9%) in the period February–April. Mineralogical analysis showed that illite was the most abundant mineral identified in all samples, followed by quartz and calcite. Gypsum was detected only in the dry sample. Moreover, the elemental particle composition analysis showed that collected dust originated from Africa deserts.