Origen y características de las partículas finas y ultrafinas en el aire ambiente de Huelva

Resum

The ultrafine particulate air pollution has become a concern, because of its effects on health. In this work, a study of ultrafine particles in an urban industrialised city of Huelva is presented. The main objective is to identify the sources and processes contributing to ultrafine particle concentrations in ambient air downwind of coastal industrial emissions in the city of Huelva. In addition to the typical urban vehicle exhaust emissions, aerosols precursors are emitted at the south of the city, where two Industrial Estates, Punta del Sebo and Nuevo Puerto, are located. A Cu-smelter plant, phosphoric acid and fertilizer plants, and oil refinery and petrochemical plants are the most important activities placed in these industrial areas. The results of this work evidence that the contribution o f some industrial emissions to ultrafine particles in ambient air is comparable (often higher) to that of vehicle exhaust emissions.