Commuter Exposure to Black Carbon, Fine Particulate Matter and Particle Number Concentration in Ferry and at the Pier in Istanbul

Abstract

This paper presents measurements and analyses of the concentrations of black carbon (BC), particle number concentration (PNC), and PM2.5 (<= 2.5 mu m) while commuting by ferries in Istanbul. In this context, exposures to the mentioned pollutants were estimated for car ferry, fast ferry, and at the piers, and for two travel routes, for a total of 89 trips. BC, PNC, and PM2.5 measurements were simultaneously performed in a ferry and at the piers, and the correlation between pollutant concentrations, meteorological parameters, and environmental factors were analyzed. The mean concentrations for all pollutants in car ferry were lower than the average concentrations in fast ferry. The concentration ratios of fast ferry to car ferry for BC, PNC, and PM2.5 were 6.4, 1.2, and 1.3, respectively. High variability in the concentrations was observed at the piers and in ferry during berthing. The highest mean concentrations (+/- standard deviation) of BC (14.3 +/- 10.1 mu g m(-3)) and PNC (42,005 +/- 30,899 pt cm(-3)) were measured at Yalova pier. The highest mean concentration (+/- standard deviation) of PM2.5 (26.1 +/- 11.5) was measured at Bostanci pier. It was observed that the main external sources of BC, PNC, and PM2.5 at the piers were road transport, residential heating, and shipping activity. There were no significant correlations between BC, PNC, and PM2.5 in fast ferry, while BC was positively correlated with PNC (r = 0.61, p < 0.01) and PM2.5 (r = 0.76, p < 0.01) in car ferry. At the piers, significant relations between pollutants and meteorological variables were observed. It was noticed that there was no significant difference between summer and winter in ferry and at the pier concentrations of BC, PNC, and PM2.5 except for Yenikapi pier and Bakirkoy pier. The highest total exposure to PNC and PM2.5 was in car ferry mode, while the highest total exposure to BC was in fast ferry mode.