Mathouse. A new air quality monitoring station in Gdańsk, the first one focused on traffic pollution

The sixth air quality monitoring station of the ARMAG Foundation in Gdańsk was launched in July 2021. Photo. Grzegorz Mehring/www.gdansk.pl

Thanks to the "Agency of Regional Atmospheric Monitoring Gdańsk-Gdynia-Sopot" Foundation (ARMAG) continuous monitoring of air quality is carried out, including in particular testing the concentrations of such pollutants as: sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, ozone or benzene. The Foundation prepares and disseminates information on the state of atmospheric air in various forms.

- In Gdańsk, but also in the entire agglomeration, together with the University of Gdańsk and other local governments, we have been monitoring air quality since 1993, when the ARMAG Foundation was established. It was a pilot, absolutely pioneering program in Poland. Today, there are nine such stations controlling the state of air in the entire Tri-City. In Gdańsk itself, thanks to this new station, we already have six measurement points - says Aleksandra Dulkiewicz, Mayor of Gdańsk.

Aleksandra Dulkiewicz - mayor of Gdańsk, Magdalena Haas - director of the ARMAG Foundation and prof. Piotr Stepnowski - rector of the University of Gdańsk, president of the board of the ARMAG Foundation with the station in the background Grzegorz Mehring/www.gdansk.pl

New air quality measurement point

One of the elements of the system is the new - sixth - measuring station operating at ul. Słowackiego (next to the Jacek Kaczmarski Roundabout). The devices collected at this point collect data primarily on pollutants emitted by vehicles. This is possible thanks to the specific location. The station is located at a certain distance from the city center, and thus from sources of pollution other than communication. At the same time, it is located on a busy street, on a green belt between two traffic lanes. This is the first station of this type in Pomerania. The new point was included in the ARMAG Foundation's network at the beginning of July.

- This station is the final stage of the project under the Regional Operational Program of the Pomeranian Voivodeship, also with the support of WFOŚiGW in Gdańsk. This is a communication station, dedicated to pollution from linear emissions, i.e. from transport. Hence the location of this station, quite unusual for our network. This is the first such station in Pomerania, so we are eagerly waiting for the results - emphasizes Magdalena Haas, director of the ARMAG Foundation. - Of course, we will have to analyze these results, according to the meteorological data that we will collect in parallel. Only then will we be able to properly interpret the measurement - adds the head of ARMAG.

Measuring station at ul. Słowackiego was established as part of funding from the Regional Operational Program for the Pomeranian Voivodeship for the years 2014-2020 and funding from the Provincial Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management in Gdańsk, with the support of the municipalities of Gdańsk, Gdynia and Sopot. The total cost of the investment is approx. PLN 592,515.60 gross.

- Every resident can see information about air quality online every day, see how these indicators fluctuate. You can also read the air quality forecast. This is extremely important, because thanks to the very good cooperation of scientists from the University of Gdańsk and Gdańsk University of Technology and the ARMAG Foundation, we were able to build very modern air quality prediction models. The strategic goals of the city, the entire agglomeration or the metropolitan area in terms of improving air quality and improving the quality of the environment in general are extremely important. It seems to me that these are tasks not only for local governments, but for our entire community, including the academic community - adds Piotr Stepnowski, Rector of the University of Gdańsk, President of the ARMAG Foundation.

The devices collected at this point collect data primarily on pollutants emitted by vehicles. Grzegorz Mehring/www.gdansk.pl

Line emission pollution

The ARMAG Foundation station is dedicated to the measurement of pollution coming from linear emission, i.e. communication: the traffic of cars and trucks. The control of pollutants from this source is extremely important because they contain a lot of harmful compounds. The situation is particularly bad in terms of PM10 and PM2.5 particulate matter pollution and the most toxic compounds, i.e. hydrocarbons, nitrogen and carbon oxides. Particulate matter PM (their main component is soot) are products coming out of the engine exhaust system, containing, among others, a certain amount of carbon particles, sulfur and nitrogen compounds, metals and heavy hydrocarbons. They persist in the atmosphere for a long time and are easily absorbed.

- In Poland, line emission, after communal emission, with which we have the biggest problem, comes second. Therefore, a dedicated measurement of this type of emission is very important. It is necessary to carry out various types of analyses, to manage traffic and to prepare a transport strategy for the city - explains Magdalena Haas.

Gdańsk takes care of clean air

Constant and professional control of air quality is just one of the activities undertaken by the city of Gdańsk for clean air.

- Since 1 July, the Energy Office has been operating at the Municipal Office in Gdańsk. We continue the exchange program of the so-called. cinderellas. Funds in the amount of over PLN 1.6 million were transferred from the Department of Environment to Gdańskie Nieruchomości for this very purpose, for the replacement of heating with more ecological ones. Some time ago we showed you a special vehicle - a laboratory that we purchased for the needs of the City Guard to strengthen our Ecopatrol. Together, we make sure that the air quality in Gdańsk is as good as possible - emphasizes Aleksandra Dulkiewicz, Mayor of Gdańsk.

MAAT project

The new station was built as part of a broader project "Expansion of atmospheric monitoring in the Tri-City agglomeration" under the Pomorskie ROP. The aim is to expand the existing atmospheric monitoring system in the Tri-City agglomeration. In addition to the first communication station in the Pomeranian Voivodeship at ul. Słowackiego, a new urban background station was also built in Sopot (it replaced the old station). As a result of the implementation of project activities, the existing stations were also equipped with three new analyzers for the simultaneous measurement of PM10, PM2.5 and PM1 dust, e.g. at the measuring stations: AM3 Gdańsk Nowy Port, AM4 Gdynia Pogórze and AM9 Gdynia Dąbrowa.

The new station of the ARMAG Foundation in Gdańsk Matarnia is dedicated to the measurement of pollutants from linear emissions, i.e. communication: traffic of cars and trucksGrzegorz Mehring/www.gdansk.pl developed by IB