The government decision to promote the change of energy mix has led to a serious decrease in industrial activities in the energy basin of Western Macedonia and subsequently had a positive influence on the air quality of the region. To examine the fact and estimate the current atmospheric emission sources, PM10 samples were collected at different sites in Western Macedonia, Greece, from February 2022 to May 2023 and were analyzed for metallic components, major ions, and PAHs. The dataset was then analyzed using PMF and CMB model to identify the possible emission sources. In this study, the first results are presented and discussed.

In surface mines, various activities (e.g., excavations, loading and unloading of material, moving vehicles on unpaved haul roads, etc.) represent significant sources of fugitive dust. The estimation of dust generation from each individual source is a basic step in planning and implementation decision-making systems regarding the air quality of the surrounding area. Typically, this can be obtained by using emission factor or prediction-type equations. A detailed study was carried out at four surface lignite mines to determine PM emission factors and to develop the prediction-type equations of various surface mining activities. In this work, the data, method and results referring to the stacker, one of and the significant fugitive dust emissions source in mining operations are presented and analyzed.