Software made in Italy against pollution ‘Sahara’ – Panorama

Rome, August 5 (AdnKronos) – A software to calculate the load of PM10 of Saharan origin. To develop it was the Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate of the National Research Council as part of ‘tuning fork’, a project coordinated dall’Isac-Cnr and funded by the European Life + 2010, which aims to identify dust source ‘natural’ for defalcarle from the calculation of the annual PM10 and achieve a savings of public money on sanctions imposed for exceeding the limits.

Europe, in fact, is regularly reached by air from the Sahara that brings the finer fractions of the desert sands and Italy is at the center of these currents, with heat waves and notes consequences of ‘red rain’ that often contribute to overcoming the limits of the law sanctioned by ‘Europe for PM10, the set of polluting particles of diameter less than 10 m (micrometers), then easily inhaled.

“We have developed an innovative semi-automatic system to collect, organize and store information necessary to identify the origin of Saharan dust, “says Gian Paolo Gobbi ISAC-CNR. “In particular, the software analyzes the information, creates a database of events Saharan and quantifies their impact on levels of PM10. The system is distributed free of charge to agencies for air quality,” he continues.

“It is scientifically proven that inhalation of these particles is associated with increased mortality and adverse health effects: Recent studies have shown a link between Rome increases of PM10 due to events Saharan and hospitalizations for respiratory problems and cerebrovascular diseases “, still remembers the researcher. “Always to increases in PM10 during Saharan events were associated increases in mortality from respiratory and cardiac problems,” he adds.

The researchers also in partnership with some European companies have developed systems automated laser-radar that can probe the atmosphere up to 10 km in height and recognize the presence of clouds of dust minerals. “However, to wash the streets before rush hour during and after the events of Saharan and close traffic before exceeding the parameters of the law, based on model predictions, and not to slippage occurred, remain the simplest and most effective forms of prevention “emphasizes Gobbi.

At the national level we can see that the concentration of PM10 associated with these events is greater in the vicinity of major roads, particularly those in the North, always due to the resuspension of dust from the traffic.

“A study that we conducted in the Lazio region which ‘demonstration’ using Diapason showed that in 2004-2014 the average load of PM10 has decreased from 48 to 26 mg / m3 (micrograms per cubic meter, ed), depending both variations of weather is the economic crisis, which resulted in less use of cars. In the same decade, the annual load of dust source Saharan Africa has dropped from 1.9 to 1.6 g / m3 in rural areas and 2.3 to 1.1 mg / m3 in the urban area of ​​Rome: reductions which led to a decrease of 60-70% of exceedances of the sanctioned limit of 50 ug / m3, “concludes the researcher.

The problem is not solved, however. “By 2020, concentrations of PM10 are expected to lift by about 15%. And, to date, 12 of the 37 stations measuring air most of Lazio recorded 35 exceedances per year set by the EU as a limit, while 10 stations, including 5 in Rome, have more than 40 exceedances per year. ”