title: Increased biomass burning due to the economic crisis in Greece and its adverse impact on wintertime air quality in Thessaloniki.
abstract: The recent economic crisis in Greece resulted in a serious wintertime air pollution episode in Thessaloniki. This air quality deterioration was mostly due to the increased price of fuel oil, conventionally used as a source of energy for domestic heating, which encouraged the residents to burn the less expensive wood/biomass during the cold season. A wintertime sampling campaign for fine particles (PM2.5) was conducted in Thessaloniki during the winters of 2012 and 2013 in an effort to quantify the extent to which the ambient air was impacted by the increased wood smoke emissions. The results indicated a 30% increase in the PM2.5 mass concentration as well as a 2-5-fold increase in the concentration of wood smoke tracers, including potassium, levoglucosan, mannosan, and galactosan. The concentrations of fuel oil tracers (e.g., Ni and V), on the other hand, declined by 20-30% during 2013 compared with 2012. Moreover, a distinct diurnal variation was observed for wood smoke tracers, with significantly higher concentrations in the evening period compared with the morning. Correlation analysis indicated a strong association between reactive oxygen species (ROS) activity and the concentrations of levoglucosan, galactosan, and potassium, underscoring the potential impact of wood smoke on PM-induced toxicity during the winter months in Thessaloniki.
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Southern California , 3620 South Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90089, United States.
authors.forename: Arian
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Saffari
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Daher
authors.forename: Constantini
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Samara
authors.forename: Dimitra
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Voutsa
authors.forename: Athanasios
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kouras
authors.forename: Evangelia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Manoli
authors.forename: Olga
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Karagkiozidou
authors.forename: Christos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Vlachokostas
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Moussiopoulos
authors.forename: Martin M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Shafer
authors.forename: James J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Schauer
authors.forename: Constantinos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sioutas
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis; D000397:Air Pollution / Q000032:analysis*; D057172:Economic Recession / Q000266:history*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005390:Fires; D005690:Galactose / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000032:analysis; D005947:Glucose / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000032:analysis; D006115:Greece; D006361:Heating; D049674:History, 21st Century; D008358:Mannose / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000032:analysis; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000032:analysis*; D012621:Seasons; D012906:Smoke / Q000032:analysis; D014934:Wood
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D052638:Particulate Matter; D012906:Smoke; C458759:galactosan; C458739:mannosan; C014989:1,6-anhydro-beta-glucopyranose; D005947:Glucose; D008358:Mannose; D005690:Galactose