Source apportionment of elevated BaP concentrations in PM10 aerosols in an alpine valley in Austria

INTRODUCTION: In a village situated at 1215 m a.s.l. in a natural preserve in an Austrian alpine valley elevated BaP concentrations have been measured in the last years. A highly frequented highway leading from Italy to Germany passes near the village. Monthly means of particulate BaP concentrations show a clear seasonal trend with values below 1 ng/m3 during the warmer months and with concentrations up to 9 ng/m3 in the cold season. Annual averages in the years 2000 – 2005 ranged between 1.4 and 2.8 ng/m3 much higher than the EU target value of 1 ng/m3. We used a macrotracer model developed at the Vienna University of Technology to determine the contributions of the sources for BaP emissions, which were mainly space heating with wood and traffic from the highway.