Evaluation of the submicron particles distribution between mountain and urban site: contribution of the transportation for defining environmental and human health issues

Transportation is one of the main causes of atmospheric pollution, especially in downtownbig cities. Researchers usually point their attention to gaseous and/or particulate matter pollutants.This paper investigated the role of submicron particles, particularly the fraction ranging between5–560 nm, in aerosol chemistry for identifying the contribution of autovehicular trac andinvestigating the doses deposited in the human respiratory tract. Measurements carried out by twoFast Mobility Particle Sizer (FMPS, TSI) analyzers were simultaneously performed at two dierentsampling sites (an urban and a mountain site) during workdays and weekends in July. The totalparticle number (2–2.5 times higher in the urban site), the aerosol size distribution (dierent modesduring the day), and the ultrafine/non-ultrafine particle ratios (ranging between 2–4 times betweentwo sites) were investigated and discussed in relationship to the high autovehicular trac in Romeand the almost null anthropogenic emissions at the mountain site, as well as the diering contributionsof both to the “fresh nucleation” and to “aged aerosol”. Furthermore, the regional cumulative numberdoses deposited in the human respiratory tract were studied for both sites: The dierence betweenthe urban/mountain site was very high (up to 15 fold), confirming the pollutant role of transportation.