SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION AND MODELING OF ULTRAFINE PARTICLE NUMBER CONCENTRATION IN A SWISS URBAN CITY

Background and Aims: This study is part of “Projet Tri-national Trafic, Air, Bruit et Sante” (TRITABS), a tri-national study on traffic air pollution, noise and cardiovascular health in three European cities: Basel (CH), Girona (ES) and Grenoble (FR). As spatial distribution of road traffic noise and air pollution varies between cities, city-specific analyses are required to disentangle their effects on cardiovascular health. This paper focuses on the spatial distribution and modeling of particle number concentration (PN) in Basel. Methods: 20-minutes measurements of PN and traffic volume were collected at 60 locations across the city of Basel during non-rush hour (9:30-16:00h) and repeated in three seasons: spring, summer and winter. PN was collected using a portable particle counter, miniDiSC (miniature diffusion size classifier), which measures ultrafine particles in 10-300 nm range. For each monitoring location detailed spatial characteristics were recorded and potential predictor variables were deriv...