The seasonal changes in ambient mass concentrations and chemical composition of fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) were investigated in three locations in Poland. The analyses included PM_2.5-bound hazardous benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), As, Ni, Cd, and Pb. The samples of PM_2.5 were collected daily in Katowice (southern Poland, urban background site), Gdańsk, and Diabla Góra (northern Poland, urban and regional background sites, respectively) during 1-year-long campaign in 2010. Based on monthly ambient concentrations of PM_2.5-bound carbon (organic and elemental), water-soluble ions (Na⁺, NH₄ ⁺, K⁺, Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺, Cl⁻, NO₃ ⁻, SO₄ ²⁻), and elements As, Ni, Cd, Pb, Ti, Al, Fe, the chemical mass closure of PM_2.5 was checked for each of the four seasons of the year and for the heating and non-heating periods at each site. Also, the annual concentrations of PM_2.5 were determined and the annual PM_2.5 mass closure checked. At each measuring point, the PM_2.5 concentrations were high compared to its Polish yearly permissible value, 25 μg/m³, and its concentrations elsewhere in Europe. The highest annual PM_2.5 concentration, 43 μg/m³, occurred in Katowice; it was twice the annual PM_2.5 concentration in Gdańsk, and thrice the one in Diabla Góra. The high annual averages were due to very high monthly concentrations in the heating period, which were highest in the winter. PM_2.5 consisted mainly of carbonaceous matter (elemental carbon (EC) + organic matter (OM), the sum of elemental carbon, EC, and organic matter, OM; its annual mass contributions to PM_2.5 were 43, 31, and 33 % in Katowice, Gdansk, and Diabla Góra, respectively), secondary inorganic aerosol (SIA), the Na_Cl group, and crustal matter (CM)—in the decreasing order of their yearly mass contributions to PM_2.5. OM, EC, SIA, Na_Cl, and CM accounted for almost 81 % of the PM_2.5 mass in Katowice, 74 % in Gdańsk, and 90 % in Diabla Góra. The annual average toxic metal contribution to the PM_2.5 mass was not greater than 0.2 % at each site. In Katowice and Gdańsk, the yearly ambient BaP concentrations were high (15.4 and 3.2 ng/m³, respectively); in rural Diabla Góra, the concentrations of BaP were almost equal to 1 ng/m³, the Polish BaP annual limit. The great seasonal fluctuations of the shares of the component groups in PM_2.5 and of the concentrations of PM_2.5 and its components are due to the seasonal fluctuations of the emissions of PM and its precursors from hard and brown coal combustion for energy production, growing in a heating season, reaching maximum in winter, and decreasing in a non-heating period. In Gdańsk, northern Poland, especially in the spring and autumn, sea spray might have affected the chemical composition of PM_2.5. The greatest hazard from PM_2.5 occurs in Katowice, southern Poland, in winter, when very high concentrations of PM_2.5 and PM_2.5-related carbonaceous matter, including BaP, are maintained by poor natural ventilation in cities, weather conditions, and the highest level of industrialization in Poland. In less industrialized northern Poland, where the aeration in cities is better and rather gaseous than solid fuels are used, the health hazard from ambient PM_2.5 is much lower.

This paper presents a 120-day-long variability of chemical composition of submicron particulate matter (PM1) over Warsaw. The content of the following components was examined in the PM1 mass: primary (POM) and secondary (SOM) organic matter, secondary inorganic matter (SIM), elemental carbon (EC) as well as Na and Cl ions (primary inorganic matter). The 24-hour concentrations of PM1 were subject to seasonal fluctuations which are typical of urban areas in Poland; their values averaged 11 µg m–3 in summer and 17 µg m–3 in winter. Most of the PM1 components and gaseous pollutants (SO2, NO2 and NOx) revealed higher mean concentrations in winter than in summer. A statistical analysis of meteorological parameters and 24-h concentrations of PM1, PM10, SO2, NO2 and NOx confirmed a significant influence of air temperature and precipitation on the concentration patterns of these pollutants over Warsaw. The highest concentrations of PM1 occurred in winter for the following wind directions: S, SE, N and NE; in summer for NE, E and S. The analysis of back trajectories demonstrated that on days with the highest 24-h concentration of PM1 polluted air masses arrived from S and SE and affected the concentration of PM1 over Warsaw. The submicron particulate matter, in as much as 62%, comprises secondary matter (SOM and SIM). The primary sources of its precursors and – to a smaller extent – of the primary matter as well – are traffic and combustion of various fuels for the purpose of heat and power generation. Their average contribution to the development of PM1 was 15% and 51%, respectively, for the entire period of observations.

Beauty salons make a considerable part of the service sector. However, although the beauty salon staffs are exposed to a vast number of ambient chemicals during the whole workday, the occupational health hazard and the indoor air quality in beauty salons are poorly known. Specifically, reports on relations between indoor particulate matter and its outdoor or indoor sources in beauty salons are rare. Here we studied the effects of external and internal sources of aerosol in beauty salons on indoor ambient particulate matter and on its elemental and organic carbon contents. We selected four beauty salons differing in the number and type of particulate matter indoor and outdoor sources. The approach consisted in taking ten eight-hour samples of total suspended particulate matter and ten samples of its respirable sub-fraction simultaneously indoors and outdoors at each site, then analyzing them for carbon content using a thermo-optical method. The ambient concentrations of particulate matter and organic carbon were higher indoors than outdoors. We show that differences between indoor and the outdoor concentrations is due to the indoor use of cosmetics and other human activity. The effects of indoor sources on indoor elemental carbon concentrations are lower than on organic carbon concentrations.

Twenty-four-hour samples of fine ambient particulate matter (PM_2.5; particles with aerodynamic diameters ≤2.5 µm) were collected in a suburban (quasi-rural) area in Racibórz (Poland) between 1 January 2011 and 26 December 2012. The samples were analyzed for the contents of 28 elements. Sources of PM_2.5 were identified and the contribution of each source to the PM_2.5 concentration was assessed using an enrichment factor (EF) analysis, a principal component analysis (PCA), and multi-linear regression analysis (MLRA). In the cold season (January–March and October–December 2011–2012), the mean ambient concentration of PM_2.5 in Racibórz was 48.7 ± 39.4 µg·m⁻³, which was much higher than at other suburban or rural sites in Europe. Additionally the ambient concentrations of some toxic PM_2.5-bound elements were also high, i.e., the mean ambient concentrations of PM_2.5-bound As, Cd, and Pb were 11.3 ± 11.5, 5.2 ± 2.5, and 34.0 ± 34.2 ng·m⁻³, respectively. In the warm season (April–September 2011–2012), the PM_2.5 and PM_2.5-bound element concentrations in Racibórz were comparable to the concentrations noted at other suburban (or rural) sites in Europe. Our findings suggest that elemental composition and concentrations of PM_2.5 in Racibórz are mainly influenced by anthropogenic emissions, i.e., the energy production based on coal and biomass combustion, traffic, and industry.

The study presents the analysis of measurement results for the ambient mass concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), PM2.5-bound carbonaceous matter (OC, EC) and water-soluble ions (Cl–, NO3–, SO42–, Na+, NH4+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+). The 24-h PM2.5 samples were collected in the heating and non-heating seasons at two regional background sites in Southern Poland in 2011–2013. The percentage of the secondary organic and inorganic matter in PM2.5 was calculated. Over the whole measurement period, the mean PM2.5 concentration was 31.56 µg m–3 and 24.92 µg m–3 in Racibórz and Złoty Potok, respectively. Regardless of the season, the total carbon percentage in PM2.5 was comparable at both sites and amounted ~40%. There were no visible seasonal variations in the secondary organic carbon (SOC) share in PM2.5. The mean percentage of the primary organic carbon (POC) in PM2.5 was higher than the SOC percentage at both locations. The mean contribution of the water-soluble ions in the PM2.5 mass was lower than the TC percentage, with values 20.35% (Złoty Potok) and 33.56% (Racibórz). The total share of the secondary ions (SO42–, NO3– and NH4+) in PM2.5 was comparable in both measurement periods. It was shown that PM2.5 at regional background sites in Southern Poland is significantly different than at similar stations across Europe. It is reflected by higher concentrations of PM2.5 and its main components and lower percentage of the secondary ions in the PM2.5 mass. The carbonaceous matter percentage in PM2.5 is higher than in other parts of Europe.