title: Evaluation of some air pollution indicators in Turkey.
abstract: This article intends to shed a light on air quality in Turkey and compare air pollutant emissions on a national scale with that of the European countries. In order to estimate the quantities of Turkish emissions in the past and their future predictions, a national emission inventory was prepared with respect to five major pollutants consisting of particulate matter(PM), SOx, NOx, non-methane volatile organic compounds, and CO with 5-year intervals between 1985 and 2005. The results suggest that Turkey is a rather large emission source at the European scale, although emission indicators on unit area and per capita were shown to be somewhat smaller in magnitude. Levels of air pollution in some of the big cities in Turkey were also evaluated from available national monitoring data. These evaluations for the urban air qualities covered SO2 and PM parameters between 1986 and 1996, and results were compared with the present Turkish air quality limits, their probable revisions, WHO (Europe) guidelines and related EC directives. Results showed that the air quality limits were not met, especially during the winter periods in Turkish cities. Urban air pollutants characterizing the air in Turkish cities other than SO2 and PM, however, could not have been evaluated as these pollutants were not systematically monitored in these cities.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Engineering, Dokuz Eylul University, Tinaztepe Campus, Buca/Izmir, Turkey. tolga.elbir@deu.edu.tr
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Elbir
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Müezzinoğlu
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bayram
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D000397:Air Pollution / Q000032:analysis* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002248:Carbon Monoxide / Q000032:analysis; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D005060:Europe; D005544:Forecasting; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D007220:Industrial Waste / Q000032:analysis; D009609:Nitrous Oxide / Q000032:analysis; D011159:Population Surveillance; D013458:Sulfur Dioxide / Q000032:analysis; D014421:Turkey; D014504:Urban Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001335:Vehicle Emissions / Q000032:analysis; D014944:World Health Organization
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D007220:Industrial Waste; D001335:Vehicle Emissions; D013458:Sulfur Dioxide; D002248:Carbon Monoxide; D009609:Nitrous Oxide