Contribution of mineral dust sources to street side ambient and suspension PM10 samples

Abstract The aim of this study was to determine the relative contributions of mineral dust sources, particularly pavement wear and traction sanding in the PM 10 samples collected from 1) street side ambient air and 2) street dust suspension emission samples. The study was conducted between autumn 2011 and spring 2012 at Suurmetsantie in Helsinki, Finland. The results showed that dust from pavement aggregates was the largest source during spring, accounting for 40–50 percent of the particulate matter in the air and suspension samples. Based on studies on formation of dust, major source of the dust from pavement aggregates is the wear by studded tyres. Traction sanding (1–5.6 mm wet sieved crushed stone) and road salting (NaCl) were applied frequently during the winter 2011/2012. Sanding material explained about 25 percent of the street dust in the air and suspension samples. Traction sanding is estimated to account for approximately few percent of the pavement dust via “the sandpaper effect”. Effect of road salt was few percent in the samples. The source contributions from pavement and traction sanding observed in spring 2012 at Suurmetsantie are similar to what has been estimated in a previous study conducted in the early 2000s in Finland. The general perception in Finland has been that traction sanding is the main source of airborne street dust. Studies conducted in 2000s and the results of this study, however, indicate that traction sanding has been an important but not the main source of dust in PM 10 even in winters with extensive use of sanding for traction control.