A pioneering study conducted by researchers at Lund University and others has revealed that almost half of hazardous nanoparticles in coastal air can be attributed to ship traffic.
Researchers from Lund University highlighted the fact that previous assumptions were that land-based pollution from northern European countries and emissions of natural particles from the surface of the sea accounted for a much larger proportion of hazardous nanoparticles in coastal air.
However, the study quantified that just over half of hazardous nanoparticles in coastal areas can actually be attributed to land-based pollution such as cars, biomass combustion, industries in addition to natural particles from the sea surface and ship traffic is accountable for the rest.
The fact that these researchers have been able to distinguish different types of hazardous nanoparticles has made this the first study of its kind. The unique method that the university used was to examine air flows between two locations in the Baltic Sea region and a final location also in the Baltic region. One measuring station was located in southern Sweden and one on the Finnish archipelago. It was from these two locations that air quality was first analysed before further analysis was conducted on the air quality of the travelled wind at a measuring station on the Lithuanian coast.
The reason for this approach was the fact that the wind can often carry the particles eastwards for long distances before they are washed away by rainfall. Therefore, by comparing levels of nanoparticles in two locations, they were able to draw conclusions about the respective proportions that stem from cars and other emissions, and sea traffic.
The issue with hazardous nanoparticles is their negative effect on human health, particularly respiratory and pulmonary system due to their small size of between 1 and 100 nanometres in size. Scientists quote that particles from sea traffic in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea may contribute to 10,000 premature deaths every year.
